This is a completely different matter than to establish a joint venture with a Chinese company under supervision, control and guidance of the provincial authorities, something quite different, too, from selling consumer goods in China. Selling engineering goods, processes, special chemicals, new technologies is all around the world different from promoting BMWs, Luis Vuitton consumer goods or French wines for sale to the individual consumer. No easier, no harder, just completely different. And for sure, it is completely different from being in China as a journalist for a German newspaper.
Here in China an additional problem occurs which is comparable with the marketing and sales in Europe: there are as many cultures, there is not “the” unified Chinese culture any more than there is “the” European culture. Italians think and act differently than Bavarians, Northern Germans, Frenchmen (whether southern or Breton), Poles or Norwegians.
China is larger than (Western) Europe and at least equally diverse. And Chinese companies have employees and managers from all corners of China, North, South, East, West, Central. And there are many different norths and souths and centres. Moreover, there is a huge difference in whether companies are financed by investors from HongKong or from Taiwan or Japan or Europe or the U.S. Or by mainland Chinese. And if from HongKong, have they recently moved in from the mainland or have they always been HongKong Chinese, or have they lived for ten years even in Canada? (Many HongKong Chinese “fled” to Canada as it became clear that China would get back the city-state, but when they realised that China kept his word and the reforms of Deng XiaoPing became visibly effective, they returned en masse and are now more or less successful businessmen in HongKong and throughout China.) All this widely influences attitudes, but in what way? And like with business everywhere else in the world, it does matter a lot whether the customer is a private company, perhaps with a founder and investor actively at the head of the company, or a branch plant, a subsidiary of a corporation or a differently structured big company.
How do you want to follow pre-set rules? Neither did I know any, nor did I intend to follow them. I argued with – hopefully – common sense and relied on arguments, expertise, conviction and confidence building.
Many books claim a lot about how you have to go eating and (much) drinking with your Chinese business partners, and that you have to visit karaoke bars (which are called KTV here). During those more than five years that I am writing about here, I have been not once in a KTV, let alone with a customer. (My football friends wanted to invite me once, but for some reason I was prevented that night. I’ve not regretted it yet.)
Of course we went to eat with customers and other business partners, this is normal and nothing extraordinary, neither in the West nor in China. Unusual, perhaps, is the notion that we were never in a particularly extravagant restaurant. We were merely “eating together”, sometimes in a larger restaurant near the company that we visited, full of ordinary people from the neighbourhood, sometimes in a small “restaurant” just around the corner, on small plastic chairs, in the throng of passers-by and workers from the opposite side of the street.
It does not matter – I think neither in China nor in Germany, Europe and the U.S.
– what standard the restaurant or eating place subscribes to or how much to spend, but how to communicate with people. Eating together is a wonderful foundation for informal connections and communication creating confidence. This is true for Italy and for China as for France alike, while in Germany or USA I am rather under the impression that eating was an annoying formality meant to impress the guest rather than to communicate intensively.
And maybe the standard lunch, wherever it is, with various employees and managers of many Chinese customers is an even more important foundation, because unconsciously many things are noticed (“What does he like or refuse, what is he talking about? Whom does he accept, whom doesn’t he? What does he know about China, what doesn’t he?”), and consciously many things are getting asked: “In what way does your process differ from that of the competitor? How long will you be here? Where are you otherwise? What do you do on weekends? What – playing football, not golf? And you don’t go shopping in HongKong?”
All this helps to create a model of the other. “Is he reliable? Is he familiar with the technology he wants to sell us?”
Ultimately, I believe, without having it planned that way, that the crucial aspects were my unrestricted availability (“Can we meet tomorrow, maybe tomorrow afternoon?” – “I’m sorry, at that time I have scheduled another appointment, but the day after tomorrow I can shift a forenoon appointment to the afternoon, is that OK?” – “Yes, that’s fine, see you the day after tomorrow!”) and the fact that I am always “staying on the ball”.
“Staying on the ball” means to accept phone calls at once, never to look for pretexts, never to “talk away” any problems but always to investigate by analysis, to suggest resolving the issue only based on detailed analysis, to write any major report or important e-mail both in English and Chinese; not delaying even unpleasant appointments, and always being personally available when required.
Finally, the customers notice that I’m almost always present, my statements and those of my staff are reliable, the measures we propose are sound, the analysis reports are world class.