The beginners guide to exporting – Exporting can be complex

The beginners guide to exporting is intended for businesses who currently don’t export or only export a small percentage of their turnover to a limited number of countries.

Exporting is a complex and daunting prospect to many business people who have not done it before, especially small and medium sized enterprises as they rely on their own efforts and expertise as opposed to being able to hire experienced professionals for exporting functions.

I would identify five key areas in beginning to build export sales effectively:

• Finding customers and clients for your products and services
• Getting the goods to their final destination
• Dealing with the paperwork
• Dealing with the language, cultural and business differences
• Getting paid

So why bother to export given these obstacles? Exporting successfully will exponentially increase the potential of your businesses for sales and profits. It also enables you to build an international business structure rather than just domestic opening up new options for tax management and logistics optimization.

So the beginners guide to exporting is intended to be a blue print for SME’s to open up opportunities in sales, profits and company structure.

The beginners guide to exporting – Finding customers or clients

Finding customers or clients is much, much harder for international markets than for domestic markets. The main factors to consider here are:

• Identifying the countries to target
• Pricing
• Positioning
• Marketing
• Sales
• Monitoring sales

This is a complex area and so I need to go into more detail, the best way to do this is to refer to some previous articles I have written that cover these areas in a way so as to answer all your questions.

Read this article to learn more about identifying the best markets for your products or services:

HOW TO IDENTIFY THE BEST EXPORT MARKETS https://blackcat360.com/how-to-identify-the-best-export-markets/

Read this article for tips and ideas on building export sales:

EXPORT SALES – NEW TIPS & IDEAS https://blackcat360.com/export-sales/

Read this article to learn more about export marketing and marketing methodology, for example is it best to use export sales agents or build your own sales & marketing campaigns:

EXPORT MARKETING CAMPAIGNS – 5 KEY FACTORS FOR SUCCESS https://blackcat360.com/export-marketing-campaigns/

Read this article for an analysis of the most effective marketing techniques to use when targeting international sales:

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING, BUILDING EXPORT SALES https://blackcat360.com/international-marketing-building-export-sales/

The beginners guide to exporting – Delivering the goods or services & sorting the paperwork

In this section I will concentrate on those exporting physical goods rather than services. It you export services, this bit is easy! With no physical goods to move the main thing you will need to consider is if you need to charge VAT, etc, so your accountant should be able to tell you everything you need to know.

If you want to sell goods then the beginners guide to exporting is more complex. If you are a small and medium sized enterprise then the beginners guide to exporting would recommend hiring relevant professionals to get your exports where they need to be and with the relevant paperwork. Yes this will eat into your margins but you will have the benefit that it is far more likely that your deals with conclude without problem, you save time trying to learn the ropes of exporting and your build your reputation as a quality exporter.

You will need a reputable international freight company and possibly a clearing agent in the country you export too but most likely the freight company can take care of this for you. There are many quality freight companies on our website here, just use the search function.

As your export sales build and you learn more yourselves, using an in house team becomes viable and economical.

The beginners guide to exporting – Language and cultural differences

Google translate really has evolved to provide an excellent quality of free online translation, I use it regularly to translate from English to several other languages include some very difficult and distinct languages such as Georgian. So Google translate can be you main employee here. Using written communication also means that you have a record of all business dealings with you client or customer.

Of course if the deal is sufficiently big and the opportunity substantial enough one or more face to face meetings may be both needed and a good investment. In such circumstance make sure that you hire the interpreter if one is needed and don’t leave this to your client. Check out in advance if an interpreter is going to be required, be very clear on this.

Cultural difference are usually simply a learning curve but do some online research about the country that you are dealing with if it is a country and culture that you don’t know. The internet contains a wealth of knowledge now and being pre warned can head problems off at the pass. Our blogs/latest news contains articles about numerous countries that will help you understand what to expect in certain countries.

The beginners guide to exporting – Getting paid

There are five options for getting paid for your goods and services when exporting:

• Consignment
• Open account
• Collections
• Letter of credit
• Cash in advance

The link below is to an excellent article which explains clearly and simply these 5 available options. There is also a risk assessment chart to help you decide which one is best for you.

https://www.shippingsolutions.com/blog/10-terms-you-need-to-know-to-help-you-get-paid-for-exports

If you are exporting for the first time of course it is important to select one of the two risk averse options, payment in advance or letter of credit. When exporting I usually pursue letter of credit as the best option as it provides both parties with a level of security, especially if supported by a written legal contract. Speak to your bank about letters of credit.

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The beginners guide to exporting