Are You An International Exporter?

Do you sell products to international clients?

There is a difference in:

• Selling the products and services your company makes to your direct clients, business-to-business or consumers.
• Selling other peoples products and services to either resellers or direct clients.

Readers are sometimes confused on where they need to look for foreign buyers.  This confusion leads many international sellers to ask me to sell their products for them.  They mistake me for an international sales agent or importer.

I help people define their international sales strategy, find the offer they need to see to a specific foreign market, and I also write content with these objective.

Sales agents and importers actually bring in the wares.

They come into play one step after what I do.

What Exactly Do You Do?

It is important to take the time to read Step 1 of the International Sales Road Map and identify your international business platform and your specific needs:

• Discover Your International Business

Please read this business guide and these 2 articles in particular :

• 5 Traditional Marketing Steps To Become An International Business
• 7 Traditional Paths To International Business Development

If you are still not clear about what type of international business you have and how to find the right partners for your business online, then sign up for the Get International Clients newsletter.

This weekly newsletter is an Action Guide for the International Sales Road Map.  In the first 8 weeks through the first cycle of 8 steps you will go through a series of questions.

Answering these questions will get you to position your international business and find where you fit.

You need to clearly identify your business activity.  This will help you to identify:

• Others in your area of business
• The information you need
• And the right words to use in your Google search

Exporters

• Do you call yourself a “seller”?
• Do you sell products?

Then you are an exporter.

Exporters can be:

• Companies that specialize solely in selling products from other companies to foreign clients.  They have no domestic business.
• Businesses with a domestic activity opening up to foreign clients.  This can be the first step to develop international markets.

How To Find International Buyers

Exporters need to find lists of people interested in buying or importing.

Just like exporters, importers can be:

• Companies that specialize solely in buying products from abroad to sell to others.
• Businesses with a domestic activity opening up to foreign clients.  This can be the first step to develop international markets.

To find the best match to sell your products you need to know who you will sell to.

As you research your international buyers or importers you need to look for your best opportunities.

Will your buyers be

• Importers?
• Companies who need your product?

Your answer to this question will determine who you need to approach.

An easy option is also to hire an international agent.  This person can do all of the work for you.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both options, which I will cover later.

And remember, you still need to do some marketing.  Don’t expect resellers and agents to carry full responsibility for your product’s marketing.

Towards International Business

As your export business grows, you understand and learn more about your international markets. Despite this, many exporters remain exporters.  They never develop an international business.

There are other factors involved. but…

The reason behind this can be choice, or a lack of specific international market intelligence.

Here is an example of a logical progression from an exporter to an international business.

• You export directly to businesses who use your products.
• You will probably learn enough about your particular market to move into the next phase of international business.
• This is where begin to develop one country at a time and begin International Marketing.

This is how some exporter businesses move into becoming international businesses.

• They carry out international marketing, one specific country at a time.
• They gather market intelligence through carrying out their business.
• They use this market intelligence to adapt your sales process and products to different markets.

To develop your export business fully you need to use the appropriate business model and marketing.

And also…

To develop your export business into an international business you need to apply the right business models and marketing strategies.

Read The Whole Story

This is part of the Get International Clients Business Guide 7 Run With Your International Sales Strategy Find out more on selling to international clients.

Cultural Differences In Standard Work Schedules

When conducting international business you need to be aware of cultural differences in how business is carried out in other countries.

One of the first things you should not overlook is that some cultures have a different definition for their standard work week.

Unfortunately, it is not that simple.  The differences in standard work weeks are varied.

There are two advantages to reading further:

• You can easily annoy prospective clients by not respecting their standard work schedules.
• You can get more value out of adjusting the time, or day, or even the week you choose to communicate with your foreign clients.

Different Days Of The Week

Some countries do not have the same work week.  Monday through Friday is common in English speaking countries.

In Muslim-majority countries the legal work week in the Middle East is not the same as many other countries.

• It is Saturday through Wednesday in Algeria and Saudi Arabia, so their weekend is Thursday and Friday.
• It is Saturday through Thursday in Iran so their weekend is Friday (however, many government offices and private companies are closed on Thursdays)
• It is Sunday through Thursday in Egypt, Syria, United Arab Emirates so their weekend is Friday Saturday

Shorter Work Week

Fridays are not always a good time to schedule international telephone conferences.  In some countries employees traditionally work an hour or a half day less on Fridays.  The time difference between participants can create bad feelings, or low attendance.

The American state of Utah , state employees started following a “TGIT” experiment earlier this year. As in: “Thank God It’s Thursday.”

In a yearlong experiment aimed at reducing the state’s energy costs and commuters’ gasoline expenses, Utah is about to become the first state to switch to a four-day workweek for thousands of government employees.

They will put in 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday, and have Fridays off, freeing them to golf, shop, spend time with the kids or do anything else that strikes their fancy. They will get paid the same as before.

Government Employees And Local Customs

The example above is about state employees.

In many countries government employees work slightly different work weeks compared to people in the business sectors.  And the professional categories of “government employees” is not the same in every country.

Some countries have very strict laws about working on the weekend, where everything is closed.

Lighter Work Months

And don’t forget cultural differences on when people traditionally take their annual vacations.  In France many people take their annual vacation in August.

In a not so distant past, business in Paris was considered as coming to a total standstill in August every year.  Although this is not 100% true across all industries today, you still need to factor this in. And driving in Paris in August is still different than the rest of the year.

And there are also countries where the work schedule is influenced by religious events over several weeks in a year.

Develop Your Basic International Skills

Of course the list above can be useful.

But do not rely solely on this list, or any other list you may find, when planning your calendars. It is always best to ask the people concerned yourself.

In fact, the key to this article is something else.

It is important to develop your international awareness to different lifestyles and different business environments.

Imagine if you want to develop your client relationships with someone whose weekend is different than yours.

• How would he feel if you called him on his weekend?
• How would he feel if you called him during his work week, but it was your weekend?

You can symbolically meet your client on his ground, by going out of your way to call him on his day at work and your day off.

Many delays happen in international business development simply because business are unaware of the local work week schedule.

Imagine if you need something important from someone minutes before the end of his work week or the beginning of his month long vacation?

• Is it a good idea to schedule an important cold call on September 1st to someone who has probably been out of the office most of August or who is trying to catch up with colleagues for the first time in a month?

As you become familiar with different work habits you will begin to acquire basic international business skills.

Respect for differences in standard work schedules is one of the first steps. This respect also leads to maintaining an open mind and the flexibility to deal with different business environments.

Get International Clients Sunday Blog Carnival #22

Welcome to the 5 October, 2008 edition of the Get International Clients Sunday Blog Carnival.

Internet Marketing

Kathleen Gage presents If everybody is your market then nobody is your market posted at Street Smarts Marketing & Promotions.

Kristopher Saim presents 2008 Promo Magazine Marketing Trend Report posted at Alternative Marketing 101

Karthik presents Do You Know What You Want posted at  Marketing in a branded world !! saying “How does focus group discussions help ? They help in extracting cues.To identify the gap between their needs and the currently available product. It does not necessarily translate to what exactly they need in a product.”

Martin Russell presents Really Getting A Buyer’s Point Of View posted at Word of Mouth Marketing… saying “Do you really ‘get’ your customer’s needs?”

Muhammad Siyab presents The Art of Negotiation - How To Get A Higher Price For Your Ads posted at Putting Blogs First saying “Chances are you have advertising spots on your blog, don’t you? Even more chances are that you also have a advertise-here page at the ready, for potential advertisers. You name the price, the sponsor agrees, they pay you, and deal over. Typical, right?”

Chris Garrett presents Authority Blogger Forum News, Guest Posts and Win Cool Prizes posted at ChrisG saying “Authority Blogger Forum has been quietly growing, with the emphasis on “quietly” for a while, so I wanted to update you with some cool news. The first big news is for anyone who would like to attract guest posters to their blog, or who wants to find blogs to guest post on.”

Rebecca Leaman presents Case Study: Calgary Meals on Wheels Takes Campaign Online posted at Wild Apricot’s non-profit technology blog saying “Many of us are familiar with the Meals on Wheels concept — to deliver nutritious and affordable meals to people in need: seniors, convalescents, and people living with disabilities. What many don’t realize, however, says Leann Hackman-Carty of Calgary Meals on Wheels, is that her agency also gives “significant help” to students and homeless people.”

Internet Marketing

John Haydon presents  The Number One SEO Tip: “Don’t Listen To SEO Tips!” posted at CorporateDollar.org saying “Is it a big surprise that a Google search for “search engine optimization” (exact phrase in quotes) returns about 32,700,000 results? Not to me. For every legitimate firm who does SEO the right way, there are hundreds looking to make a fast buck from those who don’t know better.”

SEO Kid presents Basic Elements of a Marketing Plan posted at Global Currency Solution saying “Before doing a project there is a great need of a plan before you convert it into action. After coming up with a decision, it’s also important to come up with plan on how you’re going to market it. A marketing plan will assist you to assimilate your total marketing effort. It will also create a systematic approach on developing your products and services, to provide more quality service to your customers.”

Brian Terry presents 5 Hot Tips For A Big Selling Squeeze Page posted at Big Selling Website Design.

Tips

Sid Savara presents Can Virtual Assistants Make You More Productive? An Experiment, and a TimeSvr Review posted at SidSavara.com saying “I decided to try an experiment with a virtual assistant, to see if I could effectively outsource parts of my digital life.  I also compared my solo virtual assistant to a professionally managed, concierge style virtual assistant team.”

Alec Satin presents How to Say Goodbye When a Workmate Leaves . posted at Making Project Management Better. saying “Here are some thoughts on what to do when you stay and someone else leaves.”

Remi Vespa presents How SMBs Approach IT outsourcing posted at About Offshoring saying “A vast majority of SMBs are either contemplating offshoring part of their IT, or have already done so, often to India or China.”

Hart Singer present Toodledo - Getting to Know You - My New Online “To Do” List posted at 1-800 Hart saying “I’m consciously trying to “move into the cloud” as much as reasonably possible, and figuring out better and more useful ways to utilize GMAIL to my needs … it’s been quite empowering to me to be able to jump to computer to computer and not only access my emails, but the history of my emails.”

Domestika presents Halloween Treat Buckets posted at so you wannabee a Domestik Goddess?

Mova present  Tips and trick buying batik dress in solo Indonesia posted at Business Solo saying “Batik is one of trade mark from Solo or Surakarta city Indonesia. In here you can buy batik in many places. The most famous place is pasar klewer or klewer market.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Get International Clients using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: get international clients, blog carnival.

Week 40 In Review

Want to know what else I have been up to this week?

Here is a list of the thoughts, ideas, requests and articles I published this past week.

On Get International Clients

As usual, the Sunday Blog Carnival starts off this week:

• Get International Clients Sunday Blog Carnival #21

Guide 2 - Plan Your International Road Map

• How Do You Create An International Marketing Blog?
• How To Get Your Computer To Read Foreign Characters

Guide 7 - Run Your International Sales Strategy

• What Is The Biggest Barrier In Cross-Cultural Negotiations?
• Phone Negotiations
• When International Phone Negotiations Go Bad

On Cindy King .biz

This is where I share more of my personal opinions, experiences and frustrations… on anything cross-cultural and on international business.

Uniquely Cindy

The weekend’s links to marketing articles and book review:

• International Marketer Review Blog Carnival #19

Cross-Cultural Communication

• The Cross-Cultural Classroom
• How To Get Your Computer To Read Foreign Alphabets

International Business Development

• Market Research For International Business Development

International Content Creation

• Culture-Free Communication
• English For International Appeal
• Focus On Your Cultural Communication

… and what have you been up to this week?

Let me know if you have come across anything interesting on the vaste subject of international business development on the web.

When International Phone Negotiations Go Bad

Cross-cultural communication blunders happen. They are part of doing international business. Fortunately it is easy to improve cross-cultural communication skills through practice.

And one of the first skills you will probably get to practice first is your international phone negotiation skills.

When a cross-cultural communication blunder happens, phones are often faster to reach for than an airplane.

Emails have their place.  But if you are handling a cross-cultural communication crisis don’t start with an email.  It is usually also best to avoid the one line email to schedule a phone call.

You just pick up the phone.

But, if you need to navigate through a crisis situation…

…and, even if it appears to small from your point of view…

Here are a few things you need to think through first, before you actually pick up that phone.

Prepare This Next Call

Get all the information you can on what happened.

Find out everything your company has communicated to your international prospect or client.

Everything.

You need to see what your international prospect went through.  You need to understand his point of view.  Why is there a problem or an issue? …from his point of view.

Set The Parameters

Then, just like you would do before any negotiation, you need to set the parameters for your call.

What You Want

• What do you want to get out of the call?
• what are your minimum requirements?
• What is your ideal outcome?
• What can you accept?

What They Want

• What does your prospect want?
• What does he really want?
• You need to find the key to your continued relationship.

The Real Reason Why You Are Blocked

• Is there one?
• Is there a real reason why your communication got blocked in the first place?
• Is there more than just cross-cultural communication difficulties?
• What could any communication difficulties be covering up?

Choose Your Speaker

Now, give a few minutes thought.

• Can the original player call back?
• Should he?
• Should someone else be called in to call back?

With experience and good team work you will find the right answers to these questions.

If the situation is very difficult the person you choose to have call back can both make or break the outcome of this call.

Now Call Back

Do not let too much time go by between the communication incident and your calling back.

Yes, some people need to cool down.

But in cross-cultural communication it is not always a good idea to let someone simmer in miscommunication.

Yes, you will need to call on all of your communication skills here.

Remember clarity and consistency?

Keep these two things in mind.  Be sure your communication throughout this call is always clear and consistent.

This is why you need to remain concentrated and focused on your conversation.

Here are some extra tips to keep in mind when calling back:

Smooth Navigation

You do need to address the incident that caused the crisis in the first place.  But you must quickly identify the reason behind the barrier.

Once you identify the reason for the communication crisis, you need to address it while moving forward.

Remember the parameters you outlined in your preparation?

Well you need to lay out these parameters as soon as you can during your call.

Give your prospect a reason to continue to build a relationship with you.

Most people will recognize their own part if there is an element of cross-cultural miscommunication.  Even if they may not admit to it.

Identify options

During your call you need to be mentally agile.

This is because during the call itself you will have to evaluate the best options for you and lead in that direction:

• Can this crisis be resolved in 2 or 3 more steps by phone and email by yourself or other team players?
• Does this crisis need a face-to-face meeting
• Who are the best players?

Nurture Good Relationships

One word about whether you should or should not call the same person involved in the original miscommunication.  Some people think they can resolve problems by contacting a person above.  For example, your boss calling his boss.  Wait a moment.  This can be too much, too soon.

The only situation where this might be an option, at this stage, is if the two people involved already have a personal relationship.  And if your company had such connections before, why didn’t you use them first?

In my experience it is always best to call the person involved if you think their may be an issue somewhere, and when you know there is one.

• Cultures react differently
• Your big crisis could be something minor on the other side.
• Your minor issue may be something huge the other side.

If you want to create good business relationships between two companies, it is best to cultivate good feelings throughout all relationships.

A simple phone call usually nurtures relationships.

This is part of the…

Cross-Cultural Negotiation Business Guide

Cross-Cultural Negotiation Guide • Would you like an easy guide to keep you away from the big first time blunders? You will find this and more, here.

Guide 7 - Run With Your International Sales Strategy • Do you need help setting up your international sales strategy? • Do you want to know what to say to your foreign prospects to get the sale? Read about how to create your international sales strategy.

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