*I’ve never really believed that good sales is about convincing someone to buy what you want to sell*

Especially when you work across different markets.

If I’m speaking with a distributor or retailer in a new country, some of my first questions are usually:

How is the market performing? What sold well last season? What price points are moving? Where will the product be sold? Who is actually buying it? What is sitting on shelves — and what is disappearing from them?

Because the person sitting across from me probably knows their local market better than I ever will.

I may manage several countries, visit stores, study the numbers, follow trends and understand the category. But there is a difference between knowing a market and living that market every day.

I think international sales requires enough confidence to bring ideas to the table, but also enough humility to listen.

My job is not necessarily to tell a customer what they should buy.

It’s to combine what they know about their market with what I know about the product, the category and other markets — and find the opportunity somewhere in between.

And sometimes that opportunity isn’t even in the obvious sales channel.

The toy industry is a great example.

Today, toys aren’t only for children. Collectibles, licensed products and design-led items can live in specialty stores, kiosks, bookstores, lifestyle spaces, themed cafés or places we might not traditionally consider “toy retail.”

That’s where I think sales gets interesting.

Listen first. Understand the market. Then get creative about where the product belongs.

Because I would rather sell a customer something that moves quickly and makes them come back than convince them once to buy something they’ll eventually have to discount just to get it out of their warehouse.

The first order is good. - The second one tells you whether you actually did your job well -

Curious: for those working across different markets, how much do you rely on local partners when deciding what will actually sell?