Overpromising Businessmen in China (Part 1)

Today, there is a fast-spreading recognition around the globe that China, in spite of the financial crisis, enjoys an extraordinary economic growth, and has officially taken over Japan as the world’s second largest economy on February 15th, 2011. A recent report by the International Monetary Fund states that if GDPs of the US and China are compared based on PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) instead of exchange rates, China is due to surpass the US as soon as 2016! But ten years ago, the US economy was three times larger than China’s. What an economic shake-up!



The surging Chinese market has definitely become a magnet for businessmen overseas who never let go of any opportunity of making money or striking it big. Yet anyone who has tried to navigate around China will know it can be a minefield, and many of them have all felt the painfulness of the language barrier as well as culture shock not long after dipping their toes into the Chinese market. Among all the frustrating stumbling blocks is overpromising, a common failing of Chinese businessmen.



Overview of Overpromising

Everyone who has ever worked in the West learns very early about the value of underpromising and overdelivering, especially if he wants to get ahead of competitors, keep clients happy, and make a name for himself. However, this idea never finds its place in China. As a matter of fact, the contrary of this idea – overpromising and underdelivering – is visibly prevalent.



Forms of Overpromising

Any behavior that indicates "to promise more than is intended to be delivered" can be deemed as overpromising. Here, I would like to briefly talk about two typical forms used by Chinese businessmen – rhetoric and affirmative.



Instead of specific examples and figures, Chinese businessmen try to inpress foreign clients by using rhetoric. When talking about prices, they promise the most favorable quotations; when talking about production capacity, they promise the shortest delivery time; and when talking about products, they promise the best quality. Chinese businessmen never hesitate to promise anything to their clients, and always with an "-est".



Besides the empty rhetoric, Chinese businessmen tend to deny all the potential risks. Open and subjective questions like "do you think it is possible to do this and that?" would probably generate a positive reply, because no Chinese businessmen would like to turn down businesses merely due to some impossibilities. "Whatever you ask, they simply say yes, but with no idea on whether they can deliver or not," says David Dayton, a senior business consultant who has been working in China for two decades.



If a foreign businessman meets either of the above mentioned situations, be vigilant!



Consequences of Overpromising

As overpromising is to business what a cancer is to human bodies. It triggers annoying contingencies in the very beginning, such as an unreasonable price rise, delivery delay, and quality compromise, just to name a few. If not handled properly and timely, these problems can deteriorate into business crisis.



Before consulting InterBund, an American suitcase manufactuerer was a victim of overpromising. During his first business visit to China, he met a Chinese manufacturer who promised him the sun and the moon. Unaware of the difference in business culture, he decided to do business with this manufacturer who, he believed, was very capable. Six months later, not a single promise was delivered by his Chinese supplier, and this poor American missed the best timing to launch his product.



This is just one of the many cases of overpromising, and I believe there are many foreign businessmen who have the same experience and wish they could have detected overpromising in the very beginning. In our next article, we will talk about avoiding these pitfalls.



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