Tech Valley Global Business Network Panelists, including Martin Gordinier, Gurley Precision Instruments, and Rob Wagner, US Paper Counters.
Notes from Tech Valley Global Business Network Event
April 19, 2012
Panelists:
Martin Gordinier, COO, Gurley Precision Instruments
Diane Boice Yorck, Director of International Sales, American Bio Medica Corporation
Scott Hannay, International Account Manager, Hannay Reels
Keving Vining, President, Vine Street Marketing
Rob Wagner, Sales Manager, US Paper Counters
Sponsor: Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna
Tech Valley Global Business Network Panelists, including Rob Wagner, US Paper Counters, Diane Boice Yorck, American Bio Medica, Kevin Vining, Vine Street Marketing, and Scott Hannay, Hanny Reels
- The biggest difference between doing business in the US and abroad is the importance of relationships and a personal touch. Before you can really start doing business, you have to first sell yourself, then sell your company. Most business is done over dinner and drinks. If you are warmly welcomed the next morning, you know you have done well.
- You need support for your management; selling abroad takes time.
- Everyone had great things to say about the Export NY training program, and about Gerald Shaye at Empire State Development. Both have made a big difference making participants successful.
- Vet potential partners very carefully. Learn everything you can about them. They should have a web site, be willing to tell you about existing customers and sales, and be forthright, not cagey. Qualify them by asking about related products, experience, distribution channels, markets, sales team.
- Every country is unique, and you should honor that. They have different regulations, packaging specifications, patents, language and buying patterns.
- For each country you need a sales and marketing strategic plan for advertising and for understanding and working with the regulatory environment. You want to understand what you are getting into. How and where do people buy? What is the cost to enter the market? What is your capacity to service the growth this will bring? What are the costs to deal with growth?
- A strong partner will help you navigate the regulatory hurdles.
- Hire people with a second language so customers will have someone to talk to in their language.
- Study geography; on the phone, Google Maps is your friend. Scott Hannay gave an example of a call from a town in the middle of the Gobi desert.
- Learn logistics, and take charge of logistics, don’t leave them to the customer. If something goes wrong, it is always your responsibility to fix it.
- Students should intern with an international company.
(I interned with British Steel after my junior year in college; it was a enlightening experience seeing how different a British office works after working two semesters at IBM.) - Be able to make small talk in several languages, and be fluent in one (other than English).
- Always play it straight.
- The panelists have close to no bad debt from international sales. With the long sales cycle, once a sale is made, people are serious.
- You want a partner in any country where you are doing business.
- If your distributor does country-specific marketing material for you, make sure you proof it. Examples were given of misrepresentation and wrong figures.
- Use pictures and numbers in marketing material; they translate fairly universally.
- It is important to have a web site with material by country with that country’s distributor contact information, and in that country’s language.
- Look for partners who see potential for your product.
- Go to trade shows; they are a good place to find dealers; they will flock to your booth.
- International sales have saved at least two of the panelists’ companies from having to lay off people in the recent economic downturn.
- Margins are lower overseas because your costs are higher. You may be able to make this up on volume, like American Bio Medica.
