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

www.strategy-structure-sales.com