Do You Have An International Market?

November 4, 2008 by User Image cindy

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Readers often ask me for my opinion on whether they have an international market or not.

The short answer is that no matter what anyone thinks, you are the only one that can find the answer that question.

Here are a few guidelines to help you:

Elimination

First eliminate the obvious restrictions on international trade.

Lethal products have restrictions

But do not automatically exclude international sales.

It is usually not viable to sell fresh baked bread to foreign country, but a bakery would easily sell information products to international clients

This step requires a minimum level of common sense and some basic research.

Research Possibilities

Next, research some possibilities.This is a wide sweeping exercise.

What do you have to sell?

International sales implies international clients. And this means that you have something to sell to them.

What would other people in other countries be willing to buy from you?

This is a tricky question, because you may not know what expertise or products you have that interest people in other countries.

When in doubt:

Get on the phone and ask questions
Research
Test your idea

Test Your Idea

The best way for you to know whether you have an international market is to carry out a small test. Rub elbows with your foreign clients.

The type of test you run depends on your business.

Ideally you need to get direct feedback from your international clients on your products.

If this is not possible you may decide to approach professionals that import similar products and get feedback at this level.

The Actions You Take Will Give You The Answer

There are many examples where people succeed in selling products into foreign markets, and there are also examples where people fail. This is understandably why people are cautious.

The truth is that only your actions will tell you whether you nave an international market. As you take action there are a few variables:

Your product
The country you are selling to
Your timing

And there are also many other variables within each of these.

Test your idea on a small scale, and you will learn how to manoeuvre these variables in selling to international markets, whether you start off with an excellent product match or not.

More From Cindy

Interested in reading more on my personal opinions and experiences with cultural communication and international sales?

My Blog On Copywriting For International Markets - CindyKing.biz

CindyKing.biz on cross-cultural communication

Read the whole story

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.

Need Help?

Need instructions?

Instructions on how to use Your International Sales Road Map

Need to see where this fits in?

A complete list of current Core Business Guides & Sub Guides for Your International Sales Road Map.

Still confused? Review your answers in the first Core Business Guide

Core Business Guide 1 - Discover Your International Business

Simply click on one of the 8 different color coded boxes immediately below to access other core business guides.

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Tags: international business, international market, international product

Are You An International Exporter?

October 7, 2008 by User Image cindy

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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 :

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.

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Tags: export marketing, export sales, exporters, importers, international business

Why Should You Want International Clients?

September 26, 2008 by User Image cindy

2 Comments

Quick answers to…

Your Frequently Asked Questions

This is part of a series to answer the questions readers leave on my blog and business directory.

If you have a question you would like to have answered, related to international business development, cross-cultural marketing or international sales communication, simply leave a comment here below and I will get back to you.

Today’s question is:

Why should you want international clients?

This was an interesting question that came up several times recently.

There are those who are totally driven by the idea of creating a worldwide company. And then there are others who need reasons.

I’ll only give you one observation here.

It often appears to me that companies only really appreciate the value of international clients when the going gets very tough in their domestic markets.

This is something I have experienced first hand on several occasions, within different companies. The classic scenario I have noted is:

International sales were needed to make a product range profitable. Until then international sales were considered icing on the cake.

A product unexpectedly lost money on domestic sales and it was the international sales profits that saved the day.

This gave everyone time to respond and make better decisions.

But there is one big hitch…

International sales can only really save you from a bad domestic economy if you have the international sales structure and international business intelligence already in place.

Most people think of the prestigious aspect to be able to identify themselves with an international company.

But the real value is in learning how your products are used and appreciated in other cultures. This knowledge and skill also helps you to get better at what you do best back home.

Different cultures will always have a different take on your products and services. If you fully understand this for all of the different countries you sell to, you can actually improve your own sales pitch, your sales processes and strategies in all of the countries you sell to.

It’s not only the extra clients and money you can get for your business. It’s also about what the extra markets out there can teach you about your business.

And yes, once you have acquired these stronger business skills, you are more capable of identifying additional international business opportunities you would not see otherwise.

International business spreads your risk out across a broader base and it helps you improve your business skills for your domestic market.

Need More Inspiration?

Guide 6 - Analyze Your International Viability

• Do you want to know your chances of success?• Do you want to know how to improve your chances of international success?

Read about how to create a viability analysis to keep your international business on track for success.