Internationalization

• Is your product established in the US market and you now want to sell overseas (Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America)?

• Are you based and established outside the US and now want to enter the US market?

With 96% of global consumers and 70% of the worldwide buying power outside the United States, exports are imperative for many businesses. And especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, it is a daunting task to tackle all the hurdles and navigate the tricky waters of doing business in far-away places.

According to the Missouri Department of Economic Development only 1% of US businesses export, though the encouraging news is that two-thirds of exporters have fewer than 20 employees. 

In most cases, companies exporting for the first time lack the necessary skills and know-how.  The list of considerations is long: taxes, duties, regulations, language, culture, customs, markets, currency, payment terms, IP, licenses, to name a few. Locally in many metropolitan areas, as well as nationwide, there are organizations, associations, and businesses available to fill the knowledge gap: e.g. SCORE, SBDCs, WTCs, Export.gov, FedEx.

One crucial step, however, often remains unaddressed: How to sell. Understanding the legal and regulatory framework, how to deliver your product, and how to get paid is very important. It all falls flat, though, if an enterprise lacks the right sales resources to actually close deals overseas.

There are options available:

• Hire a local person or team.

• Contract with an agent or distributor.

• Put a successful domestic contributor in charge of exports.

All come with serious risks and downsides. Without the export experience, the CEO or owner of an SME does not even know what to look for in a local partner. Applying domestic knowledge and perceived common sense may just lead to failure.

Hiring a fractional Export Sales Leader mitigates and minimizes those risks.

And there is most certainly someone available who has done what the enterprise is looking to accomplish, and who has been on the ground in the target country.

Contracting this experience on a fractional basis is a low risk and low-cost path to exporting full steam.

The US is the world's largest economy by nominal GDP and net wealth, and the second-largest by purchasing power parity. It also has the world's eighth-highest nominal per capita GDP in 2018. The US has the most technologically powerful economy in the world and its firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances; especially in computers, pharmaceuticals, and medical, aerospace, finance and military equipment.

Definitely a market with potential for companies from around the world.

In most cases, companies importing into the US for the first time lack the necessary skills and know-how.  The list of considerations is long: taxes, duties, regulations, culture, customs, markets, payment terms, IP, licenses, to name a few.

One crucial step, however, often remains unaddressed: How to sell. Understanding the legal and regulatory framework, how to deliver your product, and how to get paid is very important. It all falls flat, though, if an enterprise lacks the right sales resources to actually close deals overseas.

There are options available:

• Hire a local person or team.

• Contract with an agent or distributor.

• Put a successful domestic contributor in charge of exports.

All come with serious risks and downsides. Without the export experience, the CEO or owner of an SME does not even know what to look for in a local partner. Applying domestic knowledge and perceived common sense may just lead to failure.

Hiring a fractional Export Sales Leader mitigates and minimizes those risks.

And there is most certainly someone available who has done what the enterprise is looking to accomplish, and is on the ground in the US.

Contracting this experience on a fractional basis is a low risk and low-cost path to exporting full steam.

Vendux is a matchmaker between available Sales Leaders and organizations with a gap. Vendux focuses on interim, fractional, and full-time placement in commercial leadership roles throughout North America.

Our Sales Leaders collectively possess a broad set of skills and bring those capabilities to their next assignment.