Gift-Giving: In Japan and China gift-giving is an integral part of business protocol however in US or UK, it has negative connotations. Where gifts are exchanged should one give lavish gifts? Are they always reciprocated? Should they be wrapped? Are there numbers or colours that should be avoided?

All above in one way or another will impact cross cultural negotiation and can only be learnt through cross cultural training. Doing or saying wrong thing at wrong time, poor communication and cross cultural misunderstandings can all have harmful consequences.

Cross cultural negotiation training builds its foundations upon understanding etiquettes and approaches to business abroad before focusing on cross cultural differences in negotiation styles and techniques.

There are three interconnected aspects that need to be considered before entering into cross cultural negotiation.

The Basis of Relationship: in much of Europe and North America, business is contractual in nature. Personal relationships are seen as unhealthy as they can cloud objectivity and lead to complications. In South America and much of Asia, business is personal. Partnerships will only be made with those they know, trust and feel comfortable with. It is therefore necessary to invest in relationship building before conducting business.

Information at Negotiations: Western business culture places emphasis on clearly presented and rationally argued business proposals using statistics and facts. Other business cultures rely on similar information but with differences. For example, visual and oral communicators such as South Americans may prefer information presented through speech or using maps, graphs and charts.

Negotiation Styles: way in which we approach negotiation differs across cultures. For example, in Middle East rather than approaching topics sequentially negotiators may discuss issues simultaneously. South Americans can become quite vocal and animated. The Japanese will negotiate in teams and decisions will be based upon consensual agreement. In Asia, decisions are usually made by most senior figure or head of a family. In China, negotiators are highly trained in art of gaining concessions. In Germany, decisions can take a long time due to need to analyse information and statistics in great depth. In UK, pressure tactics and imposing deadlines are ways of closing deals whilst in Greece this would backfire.

Clearly there are many factors that need to be considered when approaching cross cultural negotiation. Through cross cultural negotiation training, business personnel are given appropriate knowledge that can help them prepare their presentations and sales pitches effectively. By tailoring your behaviour and way you approach negotiation you will succeed in maximising your potential.

Neil Payne is Director of cross cultural communications consultancy, Kwintessential Ltd.

You must stand firm. You must make certain your friends and family understands that when you are working, then you ARE working! If they wish to socialize with you, then they need to do it during hours that are not dedicated to your home business.

You are only one who can stand up for you. Your friends and family will seldom be able to appreciate your dedication to your home business, unless you make effort to make sure that they have same respect for your business that you do.

TIP #5: You should allot a certain portion of your day to email and to regular mail. For example, allot one hour in morning and one hour in afternoon to handling your written communications.

Unless you dedicate certain times to handling of these communications, you will soon find yourself on downward slope of decreased productivity.

TIP #6: When you find yourself spending too much time doing non-productive activities, then you should seriously consider finding a third-party service provider who will assist you in those non-profitable business activities.

As an example, you might be in mail-order business. You might believe that your time is best spent writing ad copy and setting up your advertising, but you find yourself spending far too much time taking care of your books to take care of your advertising in manner that you should. In this event, it might make more sense to hire a bookkeeper to handle your financial records for you.

CONCLUSION: In end, success of your home business is entirely and completely reliant upon you and decisions that you make.

You had your reasons for deciding to start your own home based business. You must always keep your reasons in forefront of your mind. You must always be able to rely upon your own self and your dedication to success of your business.

Your friends and family might be annoyed that they cannot come visit upon their own whim, but when success comes to you and your business, they will better appreciate you for putting your foot down when necessary.

Success is within your reach, if only you can stay focused on your goals. You must decide to reach for your goals, and then, you must have discipline necessary to reach them.

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