For the first meeting, what to consider?

[Tina Lee]

One of my foreign client is coming to China next week for the frist meeting, what should we do? Is there any business etiquette we should pay attention to? This clinet has already placed lots of orders to our company, but we never meet each other.

 

[Will7am]

Best advise I can give is just be friendly and stay professional, if you feel it slipping away I advise hit the alcohol

Regards, Will.

 

[SBOnline]

Hi Tina,

I found this advice for you online that you might find useful - hope the meeting goes well!

http://www.chinasavvy.com/toolbox/chinese-business-etiquette.php

 

[Tina Lee]

Best advise I can give is just be friendly and stay professional, if you feel it slipping away I advise hit the alcohol

Regards, Will.

Hi Will, thank you for your advice. Anyway, i don't think alcohol is a good way, i am easy to get drunk.

 

[WilliamH]

Dont assume that they love take-away food as they may well prefer to eat local Chinese food. Do have a knife and fork available in case they cant use or refuse to use chop sticks and do have lots of still bottled water available for them.

Overall however just treat them as you would any other customer. For most people, going to China is a great business trip so dont worry about them too much.

Best of luck and I hope all goes well.

 

[Tina Lee]

Hi Tina,

I found this advice for you online that you might find useful - hope the meeting goes well!



Yeah, culture is quite different between Asian and Western countries, we have to learn not only business etiquette, but also other aspects of culture difference.

 

[Tina Lee]

Dont assume that they love take-away food as they may well prefer to eat local Chinese food. Do have a knife and fork available in case they cant use or refuse to use chop sticks and do have lots of still bottled water available for them.

Overall however just treat them as you would any other customer. For most people, going to China is a great business trip so dont worry about them too much.

Best of luck and I hope all goes well.

Thank you so much for your advice William, it helps me a lot.

 

[Brighton Restaurants]

An ideal idea for a successful client meeting is to take your client to a good Drink & Dine Restaurant. Be careful while choosing a venue as it will put a great impact on your meeting. Better choose a sophisticated & reputable Restaurant in town where there is a provision for Wi- Fi as the meeting is professional & you can carry on with the work while partying.

Good Luck for the Meeting. Have Fun . Cheers !

 

[Postmanpat55]

Since it is a business meeting, I would say keep it formal and professional.

 

[Wordfruit]

I'm not an expert in cultural differences in interactions, but there's so much that crosses cultures, that I think usually all the common-or-garden considerations (genuine smiling, etc) will make up for any other things you might not be sure of.

 

[Tina Lee]

An ideal idea for a successful client meeting is to take your client to a good Drink & Dine Restaurant. Be careful while choosing a venue as it will put a great impact on your meeting. Better choose a sophisticated & reputable Restaurant in town where there is a provision for Wi- Fi as the meeting is professional & you can carry on with the work while partying.

Good Luck for the Meeting. Have Fun . Cheers !

I know lots of businiss were done successfully during dinner. This is a chinese custom and also a very usful way to conduct business.

 

[Tina Lee]

Since it is a business meeting, I would say keep it formal and professional.

Yes, list the points to discuss...

 

[Tina Lee]

I'm not an expert in cultural differences in interactions, but there's so much that crosses cultures, that I think usually all the common-or-garden considerations (genuine smiling, etc) will make up for any other things you might not be sure of.

Hmmm, i always smile during meeting and pay attenention to what others say. I am a good listener..

 

[Tina Lee]

Just be professional and clear about your points.

Time is precious and limited for customer about every meeting. Making preparation about the points to discuss is very important.

 

[td2011]

I agree with most on this one, your safest bet is to keep it simple and polite. I'd keep off the booze unless they suggest a drink, they may want a drink to relax.