Relationship building

About eight out of ten big deals in China start with a personal referral—yet many global teams still treat relationships as a “nice to have,” not a core strategy. In this episode, we drop into three meetings across continents and unpack why the same handshake can mean very different things.

In global business, *how* you build trust often matters more than *what* you’re selling. A U.S. sales leader might focus on polishing the pitch deck; a Japanese counterpart may spend the same week arranging introductions, dinners, and small-group meetings. The result? The second approach can compound into a pipeline that closes more reliably, even if it moves slower at first.

Research suggests that firms which localize their relationship strategy—adjusting communication style, pacing, and formality—see double‑digit lifts in conversion. One tech company entering Mexico, for example, restructured its process so first meetings ran 40% longer and reserved the opening segment for non‑business conversation. Within a year, their regional close rate rose from 18% to 27%.