Review Your Product For More International Sales
November 3, 2008 by 
cindy
So you already have a few international clients and you would like to get more?
Here is a list of brainstorming questions to help you review your product and how it is perceived in your international markets.
Product Format
- Can you change the format in which you deliver the benefits of your product?
- Can you take something away from your product?
- Can you add something to your product?
- Can you make your product bigger?
- Can you make your product smaller?
Product Creation
- Does your product have a market in your target country?
- Do you know what your product will solve for your international market?
- Do you know how your international market wants to get your product?
- Can you create your products faster?
- Can you create your products slower?
Product Quality
- Can you compete with yourself and improve the quality of your product?
- Can you improve the image of your product?
- Can you differentiate your product from your international competition?
- Do you know how your international market perceives the quality of your product?
- Do you know what your international market wants in terms of product quality?
Product Delivery
- Can you improve the package?
- Can you find a new way to transmit your expertise?
- Can you change your delivery process?
- Can you deliver your product in different ways?
- Do you know how your international market wants your product delivered?
Product Market
- Can you identify the best markets for your product?
- Can you change what your international market believes about your product?
- Can you influence how your international market uses your product?
- Can you get rid of all of your clients’ fears about your product?
- Do you know how your international market uses your product?
Pricing
- Can you do it more expensively?
- Can you do it more cheaply?
- Can you finance the purchase of your product?
- Can you create a stronger price gap between your other products?
- Can you create a stronger price gap between your competition?
Customer Service
- Can you provide more customer service?
- Are you providing appropriate customer service to your international market?
- Are you reviewing your customer service support to provide feedback on market research?
- Are you using your customer service for more market research?
- Do you know how your international market perceives your customer service?
These brainstorming questions are simply a starting point. Set aside some time to review them and brainstorm your own questions. Your own market feedback should provide you with an additional source of questions.
Use your ideas to test your international market on ways to improve your product for more international sales.
More From Cindy
Interested in reading more on my personal opinions and experiences with cultural communication and international sales?
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This is part of the Get International Clients Business Guide 8 Improve Your International Business Development Plan This is where you can find out how to improve your international business development |
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Need instructions?
Need to see where this fits in?
Still confused? Review your answers in the first Core Business Guide
Simply click on one of the 8 different color coded boxes immediately below to access other core business guides.
| 2.9 |
Preparation For International Sales
October 29, 2008 by cindy
Are there any changes you need to make before you start to sell to international markets.
If you are currently selling to a market you are familiar with, you will need to make some adjustments when you first start selling to international clients.
Schedule More “Listening” Time
You see, the sales pitch that works for your market at home, will probably not work well abroad. And if even if it does, you will need to increase the “listening” time prior to giving your sales pitch.
Before you can sell to your new international clients you need to listen to them. And cross-cultural communication barriers may make this step a little slow at first.
But without this extra “listening” time, you could make a few international sales and think that your marketing is fine for this new market, when in fact, it is not all that great.
What does this mean? You need to talk to your international clients. Get to know them. Find out what their problems are. And, why these are problems.
Brainstorm The Benefits Of Your Product
Does this mean you should forget about your sales pitch?
No. But there one exercise you should do before you call your international clients.
Brainstorm a list of all of the benefits of your product.
- Start with the features. List all of them.
- For each feature, put at least one benefit
- For each benefit, try to come up with a deeper benefit
- Identify who these benefits may appeal to
- Identify any triggers or personality traits for these people
- Keep this information with you
Find All Types Of Benefits
What types of benefits should you note? All of them:
- Technical
- Financial
- Process related
- General appeal
- Specific to the environment, or in any other way
This is, in fact, the first step to creating your international sales cheat sheet.
Update Your Information
Keep this list of benefits near you whenever you communicate with your new international market.
- As you make your phone calls with your international prospects and clients.
- When you write to them
- When they provide feedback in any form
And the next step is important:
- Ask questions, communicate in a way to stimulate feedback on your questions.
As you ask questions, you will build up your international market intelligence to help you craft the best sales communication for your new international audience.
What type of questions to ask? Questions that will help you understand your international clients better, such as:
- What are you interested in?
- Why is this important to you?
- Are you more interested in the money you can save, or in increased productivity?
You should focus on asking questions to get to know your international clients, and not automatically fall into your standard sales pitch.
And remember to listen to everything your international clients tell you. Even the smallest bit of information can in fact lead to you understanding a major trigger for more international sales in that market. But you may miss it, unless you make an effort to understand everything.
Start Your International Sales Cheat Sheet
Review your list of benefits with the information you get back from your international clients. And adjust your communication to respond to each markets specific needs, concerns and problems.
After a few phone calls for example, you should have the beginning of your International Sales Cheat Sheet. This is a short guideline that gives you the best responses to key sales questions for each foreign market.
An International Sales Cheat Sheet is a valuable tool for all companies. It helps you to identify the international markets available for your business.
More From Cindy
Interested in reading more on my personal opinions and experiences on how to connect with international markets?
My Blog On Copywriting For International Markets - CindyKing.biz
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Read The Whole Story
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This is part of the Core Business Guide 6 Run Your International Sales Strategy Be sure to check out the other elements you need to run your international sales strategy |
Need Help?
Need instructions?
Need to see where this fits in?
Still confused? Review your answers in the first Core Business Guide
Simply click on one of the 8 different color coded boxes immediately below to access other core business guides.
| 2.9 |
Brainstorming Questions For International Product Development
August 28, 2008 by cindy
Do you need to establish how a baseline for your international product? Understanding clearly how you currently operate will help you to identify possible changes you may need to make once you get feedback from your foreign markets.
Here is a list of brainstorming questions to help you with your international product development.
Brainstorm these questions in-house as a team effort.
- What makes your product better to manufacture?
- What is easy about manufacturing your product?
- What does your market think about your product?
- What are the physical benefits of your product?
- How can you improve your product?
- How reliable is your product?
- Is there anything less reliable in your product?
- Is your product easy to maintain?
- How will you service your product for foreign customers?
- How will you respond to international complaints?
- Are customers happy with your product?
- Are prospects interested in your product?
- How can you create good publicity for your product?
- What is the best way to market your product?
- What is the key selling point for your product in a specific foreign market?
- How does your primary selling point differ in your international markets?
There are no good and bad answers to any of these questions.
In fact, it does not even matter if you do not have all the answers to these questions.
What is important is to keep these questions in mind. You will need to answer them as you progress through the process of your international business development or the 8 steps of the International Sales Road Map.
Answers to these questions are the basic information you need during the process of choosing, reviewing, and adapting your product for international markets.
You may think of more specific questions to ask about your particular product or service. Add these on to this list and review them again regularly.
Answer these questions as best you can now.
Have a look at them again when you have completed all 8 steps.
- Do you see any other questions your business needs to add to this list?
- Are there any changes to your answers with what you now know about your international markets?
Read the whole story
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This is part of the Get International Clients Business Guide 1 Discover Your International Business Be sure to check out the other useful tips to discover your international business. |
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