TALES FROM THE ROAD 37 – International Trade & Changing Technology

Where would we be without them? The Internet, mobile phones, laptops, Skype…the list is endless.

When I was selling machinery into the USA from 1992, I was provided with a company AT&T card, whose 16 digit number I had to punch into a payphone before then punching in a further 14 digits for the international telephone number. At that time, I was still using Telex for some markets, and fax machines were really coming into their own. Now I never fax. All this started me thinking, so here’s a chronology of how new technologies have changed the way I work. I’m sure at least some of it will sound familiar!

1992: The alternative to the AT&T card was the grossly expensive hotel landline. Most of my calls back to the UK were on a reverse charge basis. At that time there were still paper messages too – the message slipped under the door of your hotel room or there to collect from reception. There is still something nice about receiving a handwritten note.

1994: I had my first car phone installed, but was warned that it was only for domestic outgoing calls. The company Chairman was the one exception to this rule which meant that he could service his overseas accounts in South East Asia more easily than I could service mine in North America, West and Southern Africa, and the Indian subcontinent. Unfair! At the time I was working with our designers and a South African customer to design a door production line by fax, and the detail of our respective sketches and drawings needed regular explanation. This was also the age of the combined communication device, providing phone, fax, copier and scanner in the same unit.

1995: In spite of continuing painfully slow dial up connections, the Internet became a more regular feature of my working life, when I realised its potential as a research tool. CDs replaced floppy disks for storing data and computer backing up. I could now send technical and marketing files on CD to my USA customers, so that they could print our promotional leaflets locally. 

1997: My first ever mobile phone. I had started my job as Export Sales Manager for a carpet tile company, where they were the norm, and it made me realise I had been working back in the Ark for too long! It was also my first exposure to mass email. This more forward thinking company had a web presence too and was already planning further versions of its website. I was in my office one day shortly after starting there, when I was bombarded with a barrage of simultaneous communication from a number of different devices: several emails came through as a fax began to transmit, and I had calls on my mobile phone and landline as one of my colleagues dropped in for a chat. Welcome to the Internet age!  

1999: The installation of my first genuine hands-free phone was invaluable for those long car journeys around Europe, and I finally got the point of texting! My company laptop was always with me, and I was able to write up visit reports on planes, trains and automobiles without having to send them to the typing pool. Empowering salespeople to tap out their own reports caused the loss of secretarial jobs.

2004: My first introduction Skype was one of those ‘why on earth haven’t I used this before?’ moments. It has saved a huge amount in communications cost over the years, and my first regular free calls were to Brazil, India, and the USA. Skype didn’t replace more conventional communication methods, but it has added an extra dimension for international business. 

2005: Skype video demonstrated how technology can be used to retain and strengthen international customer relationships. Video can never replace a face to face meeting but even with the limitations of 2-D, it adds value in that you can see facial expressions, distractions and some body language during a call. I also learned the real value of Skype chat in confirming key points of a conversation, and in copying & pasting chat into Word documents for later reference.

2006: The year I was finally persuaded by friends to use social media! I did not see then what I now realise about the importance of social media in international communication. I was regularly using Linkedin by this time, but the Twitter light bulb took a few more years to turn itself on. It was also the year where I realised the implications of phone cameras for international exhibitors

2008: I extended the use of Skype in arranging a 2+ hour conference call with 18 associates from 12 different countries. Barring the occasional signal failure, causing the loss of connection for one of the delegates half way through, it was a highly cost-effective exchange of views and action points.

2010: Although I think that multi-user video conferencing still has a way to go, mainly due to inconsistent or insufficient signal, my first foray into this area helped to develop the relationship between one of my customers and a newly appointed distributor in Australia.

2011: I had a new car phone fitted that included a number of new features including the talking text! It’s a great innovation to be able to hear texts as you drive, but preferably not in a Japanese-English voice, and I won’t go into the arguments I now regularly have with my hands free voice dialling system about who I had in fact intended to call - the car always seems to win anyway!

So whether you are a Luddite or a Geek, you need to be prepared for what is next. It isn’t so much about using the latest technological tool, more about optimising the mix of tools that is there. Technology has had a staggering impact on the way we conduct international business.