Viewpoint August 24, 2010, 3:31PM EST

How to Grow Your Business Globally

Small businesses looking to export must learn to deal with cultural issues that can slow foreign success. Get help—and read business cards

Story Tools

President Barack Obama's National Export Initiative, an ambitious plan to double U.S. exports within five years, is helping small businesses sell their products or services in new markets. For example, small business loan authorizations from the Export-Import Bank in the first half of the fiscal year grew to $2.3 billion, from $1.7 billion over the same period in 2009.

As some exporting barriers fall, others may remain—including issues of culture and language. This year's UPS Business Monitor United States, an annual survey of U.S. small and midsize business exporters with fewer than 500 employees, found that one-third of respondents cited cultural or language barriers as the reason why they didn't follow up on an international sales lead. Small businesses that were new to exporting said that their limited knowledge of the marketplace in foreign countries constituted one of their biggest barriers to overseas expansion.

As president of UPS's international division, I've faced many cultural challenges. I've committed my share of faux pas, such as arranging a 7 p.m. dinner with customers in Spain, where most people dine much later, and giving myself 45 minutes to get to a meeting on the other side of Mumbai, a trip that takes more than two hours.

I've learned from (and eventually laughed at) these mistakes because international growth is imperative today for businesses of any size. Ninety-six percent of the world's consumers live outside the U.S., so failing to export today may mean you'll have to play catch-up later. The key to not letting language and cultural barriers slow you down is to have the right advisors and keep learning from your peers. The following are a few things we've learned along the way from our experiences and those of our customers.

Do your homework. Companies need to carefully and holistically plan entry to a new market, which can run counter to the American proclivity to act quickly. In addition to doing market research, executives at small businesses that succeed in new markets gain a basic understanding of common business etiquette by visiting the country where they intend to do business and by working with organizations that know the market firsthand, such as chambers of commerce.

No matter how prepared a business might be, an etiquette faux pas or two is inevitable. Learn from mistakes. (In Spain, I now arrange breakfast meetings; when I'm in big cities such as Mumbai, I always build extra travel time into my schedule.)

Relationships are everything. Outside the U.S., cultivating business relationships is essential. This is especially true in China, Vietnam, Brazil, Poland, and other emerging markets. What do you do if you don't know anybody in your target market? The U.S. Commercial Service (USCS), the trade arm of the U.S. government, is an excellent resource to help businesses find distributors and partners and secure the right introductions.

After introductions are made, you0 must cultivate relationships with business partners. In China, for example, going to dinner with colleagues is really important; the underpinnings of confidence and trust are built around the table. I'm in China every six weeks, and each trip I take involves long conversations over meals with colleagues and partners. Without taking the time to build those relationships, business wouldn't get done.

In addition to building relationships with business partners, it's critical to get to know other exporters. By networking with peers, you learn a lot from each others' experiences. UPS regularly hosts small networking events connecting seasoned exporters with those just starting out, which help small businesses save time, money, and heartache.

Slow down. U.S. businesses must adapt to a slower pace of business elsewhere. Consider this lesson learned from our customer Style West, a fashion company that distributes high-end Brazilian fashion and exports its U.S.-made rainwear line, Däv. "I'm from New York, so I tend to be very up-front and abrupt in business.