Contracts in other lands
By Becky Lash, Member Huntsville/North Alabama chapter, CIC and IDL SIGs
I work with customers from several different countries. Usually these customers arrive by personal reference. I have found my perception of a country’s cultural values might or might not be accurate. I’ve found certain approaches work whatever my preconceived ideas of the cultural values of a nationality–or gender, for that matter. These approaches seem to work with customers from any country, including the USA.
(1) Get a deposit up front if you have never worked with the company before. You appear more professional. You will be treated better, regardless of the customer’s nationality. If you can’t get a deposit, you should not work with them.
(2) Write your emails in literal, black-and-white language. Use short sentences. Do not use compound sentences, contractions, progressive tense, possessives, or parenthetical phrases. Do not use slang. Write to the point that you think you might be over-explaining—with a note like “You might already know about the following . . . ” Keep it humble and deferential.
(3) Don’t use humor. This often comes across as offensive. However, keep your emails light-hearted. Say “thank you for your response and feedback” every time.
(4) Include terms and conditions in your proposal/contract in simple sentences. Let the customer know that you are open to discuss any terms that they might have concerns about or might want to modify.
(5) Eliminate adjectives and adverbs wherever possible. These kinds of words are easily misunderstood. This is an easy way to simplify your language and the questions you send the customer.
(6) Keep in mind that some business owners might not have worked with a contract writer before. Try to educate them about the process in a nice way.
(7) If you know a few phrases of German, Spanish, or whatever language the customer might speak, greet them and say good-bye to them in that language. They will love it and will correct you, if you’re wrong.
(8) Keep in mind whether the customer uses English or American English.
(9) Keep in mind that most customers coming to you speak English better than most Americans could ever hope to speak their language. In Europe, most people know two or three languages. Americans usually only know one.
Becky Lash has over fifteen years experience in writing for the software and hardware industry. She is the owner of Epic Trends (r) and enjoys working with customers of varied nationalities. This article originally appeared as a post on the CIC SIG email list and is published by permission of the author.