Selling abroad: tips for doing it right without wasting time and money

Anyone who has a business knows that exporting their products abroad is now of vital importance. So what tips are helpful for you to know about selling abroad? Read our guide to internationalization and find out what you should not underestimate before going international.

How to Sell Abroad

In today's market, the internationalization of companies is an almost indispensable process. This process inevitably passes through the territory in which one is going to work and means establishing business relations with other companies, institutions or even just with end consumers.

Therefore, it is clear that in a global market, a company must open up to new foreign markets, taking into account its own peculiarities, its own assets, and the economic, political, and legislative differences of the new scenarios. So long story short the questions are: how to sell your products abroad successfully? In general, what to sell abroad, and how to look for customers abroad?

Before starting to trade abroad

Before starting to trade abroad it is good to ask yourself some questions, the answers to which can be complex and varied:

• In which foreign market can you sell your products?
• Which communication channels can be used to enter a foreign market?
• Is the company ready to take this step?

Therefore, the first thing to do is an initial screening to identify and assess the most attractive countries, considering the physical, social, economic, cultural, and political environment. For example, it is essential to assess the demographic aspect in order to understand what to sell abroad (a country with a very elderly population, for example, will not be the ideal target for a company specializing in children's products), but also an assessment of the political, bureaucratic and social situation is essential.

Equally important for a correct assessment of the countries to which one wants to export and sell one's products is the economic situation, particularly the per capita income, the growth rate, the distribution of wealth in the population, the perceived well-being, etc. Finally, considering the country's culture is crucial to understanding how to succeed in selling one's products abroad.

After this first phase of analysis, a more in-depth assessment can be carried out to identify any barriers that may create difficulties in selling abroad. For example, customs tariffs, expensive licences and strict import quotas may make it less advantageous to internalize in certain countries. Nonetheless even the language must be taken into account, even though for that aspect you can rely on trusted services provided by companies like us at Hero Translate.

The next step is to assess the potential market, to understand the actual demand for a given product or service: historical data or predictive models can then be used and market research carried out.

Many of the data required to understand how to sell your products abroad can be found online, or through specific agencies that offer advice on internationalization.

How to look for customers abroad

Entering a foreign market is a long process, consisting of several stages. After assessing the choice of the country, a strategy must be put in place to make oneself known to foreign customers. But remember that the sector and the target audience always influence the actions to be taken. Still, the most important aspect is the creation of a sales network while at the same time internationalizing your products and the user’s experience.

For some types of companies, being without a network in the area will be very problematic for achieving the business objectives: it is, therefore, essential to attend, for example, trade fairs, where you can get in contact with other companies and professionals, and promote your company in trade magazines. A website in English (and in the local language) is an essential prerogative of any strategy. The language and culture of a country are crucial when trying to sell abroad. Our advice is to rely on serious professionals who can make the difference: Hero Translate provides the resources and expertise to support businesses in entering foreign markets. Our translation services are tailored to the international market you are targeting and allow you to communicate with your target audience, offline and online.

Difference between internationalization and selling abroad

Selling abroad and internationalizing your company are not the same thing. In the first case, the road to export is opened up: you look for the most suitable countries to sell a product abroad, understand the greatest demand and make agreements with local professionals and distributors. In this case, the company can either use up its surplus stock or increase production with the certainty of having already sold the goods without overexposing itself in terms of resources and capital investment.

On the other hand, the road to internationalization leads the company to physically enter a new market by relocating production, opening technical and commercial offices on site, and so on. This is undoubtedly a more complex path, requiring major investments and long-term results.

Conclusions

Now that you know the tactics for selling abroad, you can dive deeper into understanding the best markets for your business or service. Whatever your choice is, we at Hero Translate are your trustworthy partner who will get you to the next level in as many countries as you want!

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