Export Business, Risky Business

Prospects are nervous these days.  Nervous about the economy, nervous about their jobs, nervous about anything new, nervous about failure, nervous about you.   They may like your product, they may even like you, they may understand the value of your solution but it’s still a risk to them (especially if you are a small company trying to do business with a large organisation).   And as decision-time grows closer for your prospects their minds turn away from solution/product “fit” and move onto price and risk, especially risk. 

   

 How many customers do you have?  What experience do you have in my industry? What does your balance sheet look like?  Tell me about your roadmap.  How many experienced implementation/support staff do you have?  How much value will this new solution really bring me? 

And this risk is only magnified if you are exporting:

How will you support me locally?  Do you have the same respect for timelines as we do?  Will your product roadmap suit my market/ culture/customers?  How easy is it to do business with you?

Ideally, you will address these questions as early as possible in the sales process but be ready at this decision point to minimise the risk of doing business with you and re-emphasise some of your earlier answers.  How can you enable your prospects to make a small risk-free decision for you?

Put them in touch with other customers in their industry sector or locally in their country/region.  Allow them to implement and pay for your product in stages.  Do a trial.  Organise a financing package.   Arrange support for them in their language.

In an export situation, consider getting a local partner (country or region) to deliver support.  This has a big impact on your prospect’s perception of risk and shows that you are committed to their country.   However, at a minimum, ensure you have the right language skills across the right time zones to provide support.     Provide credible proof statements on your commitment to delivery dates and service levels – working against you, Ireland is perceived as having more of a casual attitude towards timekeeping than some of our European neighbours. 

Re-emphasise the value your solution brings to their company and be sure to present this from the perspective of multiple departments (as your sales cycle nears a conclusion many departmental directors may be influencing the final decision particularly in countries where a consensual decision is critical e.g. Denmark or Sweden). 

Finally, be pleased that they are asking you these questions.  If you are not being asked the “risk questions” then they are not seriously considering doing business with you.

Geraldine Fusciardi

http://www.strategy-structure-sales.com/

Leading NI economist tells us to get on our planes and export!

Well, you don’t have to own the plane to do this but exporting is exactly what we need to do to rebuild our economy.  Now, this is not news to me – I’ve been preaching this message for a long time.  But let’s give the weight of mightier minds than mine to the message.

 At a recent breakfast meeting, organised by the Sales Institute of Ireland, Dr. Esmond Birnie, Chief Economist at PWC NI waxed lyrical about adapting to the “new normal” of the legacy of the financial crisis, dealing with structural adjustments and low growth in the developed economies and creating opportunities from the rise of Asia and, in particular, the BRIC countries.    And with the public sector contracting and NI’s over-dependence on it for both jobs and trade, selling locally is becoming harder and harder.

 So the basic message is that the private sector needs to export more to these new growing markets (NI companies currently export only 3% of their products and services to BRIC economies).   So get on a plane, find a well-connected taxi driver and cruise for business.  Or alternatively, engage with local experts who’ll do some research to find the right markets, partners and channels for your business.  And even help you close those first critical deals.

One final option is to stay at home, make no decisions for now and hope for “good times to return again”.  But please remember that hope is not a strategy.

Geraldine Fusciardi

www.strategy-structure-sales.com