One of the most effective ways to grow your business globally is to connect with the people who are making the purchasing, manufacturing or supply chain distribution decisions in your international markets. But when you don’t have an existing network or contacts in the market, identifying just who the right decision makers and partnerships are for your business — and getting a meeting with them — can be challenging.
So, you’re doing well in the United States and now you are looking for your next big opportunity. Mexico and/or Western Europe seem like the logical targets. You know gaining access to decision makers in either region will be critical, but making connections seems far more daunting than in the States. Distance, language and market knowledge can all seem like barriers.
What do you do?
One strategy to gain a foothold further abroad is to try to simply repeat your successes from when you broke into U.S. markets. Trade shows and events are certainly a valid option, especially if you go in prepared by doing your homework like identifying prospects you wish to target, and planning face-to-face meetings in advance. You could also try leveraging existing relationships with customers and suppliers that may have a presence in your new market.
Old strategies may need rethinking, though, as there may be differences in common business practices. For instance, in some industries and regions you simply cannot do business without hiring a local agent. I’ve seen this in the South American mining industry, for example. In most cases, if you are setting up a sales office abroad, it is absolutely critical to hire people who know the local industry and have contacts in that market. If you are manufacturing, you may find it challenging to attract local workers if you do not also have local talent in leadership positions.
You may be wondering if it’s worth investing the time and money — both of which may be in short supply — to travel to a potential market yourself. The short answer is yes. Unlike with U.S. customers, you can’t develop these relationships from behind a desk. You need to be there on the ground to understand your new market and establish a face-to-face relationship with those you are doing business with.
Another strategy is ‘piggybacking’ on another company that is already operating in the target market. Although it is difficult to find the perfect fit, this strategy has worked well for many smaller companies. If you can find a willing partner, one that sees your presence in the market as a potential opportunity rather than a threat, you can leverage their experience, overall business and market development strategies. Getting them to fully share valuable contacts and operational information is a bit of a tough ask — it requires great deal of trust.
Leveraging expert resources and partners like ECN, TCS and EDC can help you connect more effectively with global decision-makers.
Enterprise Canada Network is a valuable source of virtual opportunities, helping you easily identify and connect to new global business, technology and research partners. It’s core match-making service helps you, among other things, search for opportunities that align to your company’s capabilities and connect to qualified leads. ECN is sort of a 24/7 one-stop shop, in that you also have access to available trade and export support programs and publications, and a comprehensive list of relevant trade events.
EDC and the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) can also be invaluable. We tend to work closely together to help open doors for Canadian companies abroad. In fact, I often have weekly, even daily conversations with TCS teams. We often organize outbound trade missions together that may align with your target market and industry, which can certainly go a long way towards connecting with decision-makers.
Typically, Trade Commissioners have more of a critical role in the early stages of entering a new marketplace. TCS teams have their eyes and ears on the ground, cultivating a large network of contacts across all industries. In addition to helping you find customers, they can help you set up operations by connecting you with local lawyers, agents, associations and chambers of commerce.
EDC often comes in at a later stage, when you have narrowed your focus to specific opportunities in-market.
If you have identified specific companies, and decision-makers within those companies, we will try to open those specific doors for you. Or you can leverage relationships already developed through our pull financing program (see explanation below) program and other initiatives to gather procurement information and contacts from foreign companies.
This is where the newly establish role of Global Trade Director comes in, myself included. We currently have five directors focused on the auto, mining, oil & gas, information communication technologies (ICT) and power sectors. We have developed pull financing relationships with 80+ companies outside of Canada with the goal of creating partnership and trade opportunities for Canadian companies.
As an example, I work directly with large foreign companies in the auto sector. They are typically massive purchasing groups with many players. It takes time to discern how they are structured, how they operate, and who the right person is to talk to in various circumstances. In this way, my role is very much to connect you directly with decision-makers that Canadian companies might otherwise not have access to. And the relationship works both ways, as these foreign companies have the opportunity to be matched with Canadian companies perfectly suited to meet their needs.
Even if you end up sticking to tried and true methods, it makes sense to explore new strategies and use all of the resources at your disposal to open doors further abroad.
