First Impressions in Business for Immigrant Entrepreneurs: What Canadians are Looking For
Marie Gervais, Global Leadership Associates Inc. www.global-leadership.ca
Canadian business protocol
There are some expected cultural business norms in Canada with regard to informal meetings, phone manners, email, social media and follow up. If you want to succeed in business in Canada, it is best to follow these norms to give the best first impression possible. Of course when you know someone well, the relationship will be less formal.
Phone: answering
Answering the phone is an area where most immigrant businesses need to pay more attention to Canadian norms. It is VERY important to answer the phone in a friendly, clear, relaxed and interested manner. People judge your business harshly if the first person they talk to does not answer the phone in a way that makes them feel welcome. “Good morning, ABC Machining, Jamal speaking. How may I help you? (or how may I direct your call?)” gives the impression of professionalism. Some immigrants answer the phone in a defensive manner sounding like they are suspicious of the caller. Others do not answer until the other person starts speaking. I have called businesses where the person answering the phone grunted, yelled, called out loudly several times to employees while on the phone with me, asked me several times who I was, or could not remember my name after I called many times. If I get the impression that my business is not welcome, or that I am not welcome unless I belong the culture of the business owner, I will take my business elsewhere, and I will not be referring the business to anyone else. Make sure that everyone in your business answers the phone in the same professional way. Call in to make sure they are. This cannot be stressed enough.
Voice mail
Your voice mail should be clear, welcoming and provide the necessary information in a short period of time. Some immigrant businesses ask a native speaking Canadian to leave a voice message for their business. This does not leave a good impression because it looks like false advertising. On the other hand if three out of three people cannot understand your voice message, you need to ask someone else to record it.
Leaving a message
When you leave a message state your full name, clearly and slowly, remembering that the phone distorts voices and if someone has to listen to your message several times to get the information, they may not go to the trouble. Make sure you leave your contact information and repeat it slowly; don’t assume the other person has caller ID on their phone or that they will know who you are. Do leave a message. It makes people suspicious if you call several times and don’t leave a message.
Calling back
The biggest mistake made by immigrants is not calling back. If someone contacts you and you do not call back you have lost credibility and business. It doesn’t matter to the person who called you if your English is perfect; it does matter that you show you want to communicate. Always return calls. If the other person is not there, leave a message.
Most business connections are done by email. You should be looking at your email several times a day and responding within 48 hours. If you can’t give an answer respond and say you will get back to the person in a couple of days and then make sure you do. Make sure you have a business email that looks professional. A name like Hotcheeks4U@yahoo.com is not professional and neither is an email that does not have your name in it. Jamal@ABCmachining.net is a better email than jyt@ABCm.net because the second email does not show your name or your business name.
Linked In
A great way to connect with business and to keep records of your contacts is to tell them you will connect with them through Linked In. This has quickly become the most important business connecting tool in North American.
It is not considered good taste to try to connect with a business connection on facebook, unless it is through a business facebook page.
Text messaging
Only use text messages if you have confirmed with a business contact that they do use texting. When sending a text always identify yourself, it is not always clear where a text is coming from.
Meetings
Come on time to the meeting and if you are going to be late, call to say how much longer you will be. It is never a good idea to come with a friend to a meeting or an interview unless that friend is part of your business and necessary to the meeting. Additionally trying to bring along a Canadian friend or phoning a Canadian friend from a meeting to try to give your self more status or credibility will not work in Canada. Pointing out or naming friends of yours who you think will give you more status by association will not be effective. Your business contact will think you are incompetent or that you are acting in a suspicious manner. In Canada you must present yourself on your own merits and the merits of your products or services, people are not interested in who you know or how highly regarded you are. They are also suspicious of people who flaunt their titles or their accomplishments.
Meeting for coffee
Usually for a first meeting whoever asks for the meeting to take place pays for the coffee/tea. If a Canadian host does not offer to pay for you however, don’t be offended, not everyone follows the same protocol. But if you ask for the meeting or if your meeting partner has to go out of his or her way to meet you, it is considered courteous to pay for their coffee. This is however not obligatory and not something you should do each time. So if there are several meetings involved, people generally pay for their own coffee unless you have made some kind of an arrangement where you take turns paying.
Meeting for lunch
If you meet for lunch make sure the place you choose is quiet enough to talk and be willing to eat whatever food is offered there. When people insist on having a food that the restaurant doesn’t offer (for example: “Why don’t you have rice on the menu? I don’t eat meals without rice!), it does not look good to the person you are meeting for business. Show appreciation and courtesy to the servers in a restaurant. It is considered impolite to ignore, speak in a disdainful manner towards, or not thank a server. It is even better if you compliment the server, the food and/or the restaurant – but only if you can sincerely do it, not as flattery. A sincere compliment makes a good impression on Canadians who have high regard for customer service.
If you are at a business meeting, don’t eat anything that is messy, will make noise, or for which you have to get your fingers dirty. Make sure you do not speak with your mouth full. Watch the eating norms of your meeting partner and copy them.
Thank the business meeting partner for taking the time for lunch.
Common mistakes immigrants make at first meetings
Don’t apologize for your English – if you have to repeat something do it without saying you are sorry. Canadians appreciate confidence and are suspicious of people who are too meek or who are always apologizing.
Show respect but not to the point of deference or even reverence. If you are too “suppliant” in your attitude, you have lost the respect of the Canadian speaker.
If you need something, present your case in a calm and polite way. Groveling and begging is very off-putting for Canadians. It is not a good idea to say, “I really need this job, my family has to eat”, or “You should give me a chance, I can do it, please buy/use the service/hire me”. Instead say, “You will appreciate our company’s professional service and high standard of customer satisfaction”.
If you come on strong, criticize, try to intimidate, or act upset if the speaker does not want to take you up on your offer, you will lose business. Leave the choice in the speaker’s court and remember to remain detached, friendly and neutral in your approach. If you intimidate or get upset with a person in authority, you have not only lost their business but you will be making things difficult for the next immigrant who tries to make a business deal. People tend to stereotype, if they have a bad experience with one person from a country, they will be less likely to try to engage with a second person from that same country. This is also true between minority groups. A business owner from one country will be very insulted if someone from another company comes in and criticizes the business. Stay away from criticism generally – this includes so-called “feedback”; usually an indirect way to criticize.
Common mistakes immigrants make in follow up
The most common mistake is not following up! The person who called you doesn’t care if your English has mistakes in it, he or she does care that you don’t return the call or do what you said you would do. Always follow up what you say you are going to do. Be consistent in fulfilling your promises or don’t make the promise in the first place.
The second mistake is making too many calls or trying to get too friendly or personal with your business contact especially in the beginning. Most business contacts are made through weak interpersonal connections, not strong ones.
How and when to interrupt a speaker
It is a fine art to know when to interrupt a speaker and when not to. In Canada it is generally considered polite not to interrupt. However the person who interrupts is showing that they have something important to say and that they have the confidence to say it. Interrupting too frequently looks disrespectful to Canadians. Not interrupting at all looks like incompetence and lack of confidence. Study how and when people interrupt and match your interruption style accordingly.
How much silence?
In Canada more than a second of silence is generally considered very long, unless it is an emotional exchange between people, which is not usual for business.
Smells
If you can be smelled, it is generally not considered professional here. People should not be able to smell what you ate for lunch or what you cooked for dinner the night before. They should also never smell body odor. Strong perfume is frowned upon.
A final note
In your business dealings, you are likely to find Canadians who are rude or unprofessional in their business dealings. That is not your problem; they will certainly lose business and credibility if they are not following the expected protocols. But as an immigrant you may be judged more harshly than the Canadian business owners, so it is always best to be on the safe side and be careful to observe Canadian business etiquette. People are tolerant of mistakes newcomers make, but they are less tolerant of mistakes from immigrants who have been here for several years. Take the high road and your business will prosper because of it. If you do, you may teach a Canadian business owner a thing or two about politeness and helping customers feel welcome.
