How to sell overseas
International Marketing: How to Sell Products Internationally (Export)
[Music]
International marketing how to sell
products internationally
there is profit to be made in export the
international market is much larger than
the local market growth rates in many
overseas markets far outpace domestic
market growth
meeting and beating innovative
competitors abroad can help companies
keep the edge they need at home in this
video you'll discover ten extremely
powerful tips to successfully sell you
products or services overseas starting
now
one know your target market
select your market country based on the
need you perceive for your product in
that market
to know your competition
find out who your competitors here in
the USA are and where they export to who
are their distributors or sales outlets
in your target country
find out who potential local competitors
are in that country and where their
products originate from
find out pricing information
three should you go into that market
now that you have this basic information
you need to decide if it will be worth
to your effort to proceed with this
country usually the decision to market
in a new country has far-reaching
effects on the following product
development pricing financial and
staffing
do you need to conform to special laws
and standards iso 9000 metric etc
does your product come under export
restrictions strategic high tech
products
does your product require specially
trained technical support do you need to
translate documentation warning
translations need to be done into the
translators native language he or she
must be familiar with your industry
for distributor vs. own sales reps
should you market your product yourself
or through a distribution network
using your own sales reps means they are
your employees and therefore you have
control over their sales efforts it also
gives you presence in that country
the downside is that it is expensive you
pay them whether you sell anything or
not
unless you are there physically you
don't really have control over their
activities and there is a ramp up time
since most likely they don't hit the
ground running
distributors in contrast are established
companies with their own presence
infrastructure and hopefully success
they are already staffed and have a
market established and they may have
already a pipeline prospects for your
product the downside is that they
usually represent many other products as
well
five how to
a distributor
the US Embassy in that country can help
locate distributor candidates for you
there is a fee associated with that
check with the Department of Commerce do
see
you can also check online trader Eck
Therese for the region and local trade
publications for ads from distributors
you may want to ask another company
which is similar products to yours not
competitive and find out who they are
using in that country
after you contact potential distributors
find out who they are representing how
many products how many sales reps they
have what their annual volume is what
they feel the market for your product
might be
when you have interviewed several
potential distributors on the phone or
email spend the money and visit the
country and meet them personally
you will also get a first-hand feel for
the market that is very important you
may want the same distributor represent
you in several countries the distributor
may have several countries because the
markets may be small Hong Kong Singapore
Thailand Malaysia etc
six agreements
it is of utmost importance that you
execute a distributorship agreement or
sales rep agreement which has been
reviewed by an attorney with
international contract experience
it should contain aside from the
boilerplate clauses length of term
information to what degree the
distributor has the right to disclose
information pricing policies discount
policies technical support policy
training customer training who pays for
documentation Commission's or royalties
and sales quotas if a distributor wants
and gets exclusive geographic rights
then quota requirements are a must
if a distributor does not make quota for
a specified number of times he can lose
for distributorship or the exclusive
status
seven support
you have to consider what kind of
support your distributor or sales rep
will get if it is an easy product then
probably very little technical support
is required high tech products like
hardware and software require skilled
technical support not only from you to
the distributor but also from the
distributor to the customer
eight potential for your products
establish what the potential market for
your product is you may have to do some
research through local channels
what is the life for your product is it
something consumers will purchase on a
long-term continual basis or is it a
seasonal product or fad
is it a capital purchase which requires
regular maintenance long term is there
residual income from maintenance support
value-added services
ix cost of marketing overseas
when putting together the marketing plan
cost of marketing overseas is a major
consideration
if you decide to market in one country
how much more expensive would it be to
market to a number of countries in the
same region cost factors are travel and
related expenses regional and local
trade shows local training documentation
translations added technical and other
support adaptation to local standards
and laws
ten long-term commitment
when a decision is made to sell a
product in foreign markets it is a
long-term commitment the first 12 to 18
months are difficult to best and most
likely will not show a profit the
company and the product must build
customer confidence only a long-term
commitment will provide this
when making a marketing plan it should
contain sales and cost figures for at
least five years which are updated
annually and reviewed quarterly if
approached properly a comprehensive
business plan is essential
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