How to Land Jobs With Non-English-Speaking Customers

In this global economy, you’re likely to encounter customers who don’t speak English. While this may be intimidating at first, there are plenty of ways to communicate with non-English-speaking customers. With some help and a bit of practice, you can learn how to land jobs with non-English-speaking customers.

Be Patient

One of the most important things when talking with a non-English speaking customer is to be patient. It can be frustrating when you have a language barrier, and they are likely just as frustrated as you are. However, if you show this frustration, they’re not going to want to work with you. Be patient and persistent in communication; you will reach an understanding eventually.

Communicate with Emotion

Emotion is a universal language. Whether or not you speak another person’s language, you can tell what emotion they’re feeling. You can show emotion through facial expressions and tone of voice.

Facial expressions are also an excellent way to communicate. When you use a facial expression, you also show emotion in your eyes. You can communicate expressions such as excitement and enthusiasm through your eyes, but practice using the rest of your face as well. This will make expressing emotion with your eyes easier and give you practice for the future.

Tone of voice complements facial expression also. If you’re excited or enthusiastic, your tone of voice will communicate that as well. Even if your customer is having a hard time understanding you, they will be able to tell your emotion by your tone of voice.

This also works in the reverse scenario. If your customer is confused or unsure, you will be able to see it in their facial expression and hear it in their tone of voice. Be sure to pay attention to these nonverbal cues when communicating with them.

Learn Basic Phrases

If you’re going to be working with non-English-speaking customers, it would serve you well to learn basic phrases in other languages to communicate with them better. According to Babbel, Spanish and Chinese are the most common languages spoken in the U.S. after English. Try to learn some basic phrases that come up in your customer meetings in one or both of these languages to prepare for non-English-speaking customers.

Show, Don’t Tell

If verbal communication isn’t working as well as you had hoped, try using visuals. Show them pictures of your work, or, better yet, take them to a show room if possible. Like emotions, visuals are universal and this will give them a clearer picture of what you’re trying to explain to them.

Provide Resources

When you’re figuring out how to land jobs with non-English-speaking customers, or just customers in general, you can never go wrong with providing resources for them. One resource you can provide for them is financing when you partner with HFS Financial. HFS Financial makes connecting customers with the right loan easy; all they have to do is fill out our 60-second application. Get started today by calling 1-800-254-9560. “You Dream It, We Finance It.”