Sales & Marketing Management - July/August 2008 - (Page 32)

TECHNOLOGY TRAINING INCENTIVES TRAVEL/MEETINGS Don’t become a target Make use of these proven strategies to stay safe abroad travelers is a daily occurrence. In fact, a recent survey of foreign travelers conducted by AOL revealed that 22% of Americans reported being a victim of crime while traveling internationally. In short, there’s plenty you need to be aware of before you take your next business trip abroad. Not only is the potential of a terrorist act abroad far more probable than at home, but for a number of reasons, crime against foreign travelers has actually gone up dramatically in the years since 9/11: s Foreign police agencies in most countries have been forced into devoting the majority of their resources to anti-terrorism, rather than crime prevention. s Increasingly, street criminals carry firearms. s Crime in developing countries has worsened as the rich get richer and poor get poorer. s Density in urban areas has caused crime to mushroom in most countries. As we all know, even in the midst of a sluggish economy, opportunities abroad depend on the demand for specific goods and services. Therefore, despite the threat of international crime and terrorism, global companies will continue to send sales executives abroad. It’s imperative that these same companies establish an overseas security program, the five basic elements of which are: 1. An internal briefing program (be it classroombased or online via the corporate Intranet) that shows travelers how to reduce their personal risk abroad, as well as to make them aware of the threats they will face in the countries the company operates in. 2. International medical treatment and evacuation coverage, in acknowledgement of the fact U.S.-based PPOs and HMOs are almost never accepted in foreign countries and emergency medical care may need to be paid for in advance. 3. Use of a centralized travel provider, whose function is to monitor and track the location of travelers anywhere in the world. This is critical in the event of terrorist threats, incidents or natural disasters, or in the event of a death in the traveler’s family. 4. A corporate crisis management plan that applies to the business on a global level, so that security incidents affecting the company and its staff can be handled promptly and ensure business continuity. 5. An internal or outsourced capability with a repwww.salesandmarketing.com www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com L istock photo; composite illustration by Beth Meyers ast year, an account executive for a major Fortune 100 company traveled to Barcelona on a business trip. Being relatively new to foreign travel, the executive had just claimed his luggage in the customs area of the airport and proceeded into the arrival section of the airport, where he stopped to exchange some dollars for euros. Unfortunately, while preoccupied with changing out his money and presenting his passport, he reached down to pick up his briefcase … only to discover it wasn’t there. Panic suddenly consumed the traveler, as he realized he had become a victim of one of Spain’s lesser-known art forms: larceny. The result was a sabotaged trip that entailed hours dealing with the police, missed meetings, lost proprietary information on his laptop, a trip to the embassy, loss of a Blackberry (which hadn’t been backed up in weeks) and no means of communicating with home. Unfortunately, crime against American business CORRECTION: In the May/June Travel section, a quote from Susan Gurley was misattributed to Suzanne Fletcher and vice versa. The correct version of the story is posted on www.managesmarter.com. We apologize for the error. 32 SALES &MARKETING MANAGEMENT JULY/AUGUST 2008 http://www.managesmarter.com http://www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sales & Marketing Management - July/August 2008

Sales & Marketing Management - July/August 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Brian Tracy University Smart Sales Sales Strategy Smart Marketing Marketing Strategy Smart Management Management Strategy The Mother Lode of All Market Data Returns Embracing the Future Training Technology Incentives/Motivation Don't Become a Target Abroad Book Excerpt On the Road The Way I See It

Sales & Marketing Management - July/August 2008

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