This is the first of our guest blogs and has been submitted by one of our members, Fred Parker, of Northamptonshire based MentorEx. Fred is an experienced businessman who offers a mentoring service for firms wishing to use exports as a growth driver to expand their business.

 

Developing a presence in your export market

 

One of the most popular ways of increasing international sales is via a presence in the territory you are intending to export to. By presence I mean your representation in the target country.

 

He or she, and for the purposes of this blog I will use he, is the key to your success as an exporter of your goods or services. Your “in country “ representative is one of the most important members of your team whether he is:

 

·         A representative member of your staff

·         An Agent who works on commission

·         A Distributor who holds stock in the territory and sells to his/your clients

 

There are lots of variations, but an agent is the most usual and is the most likely to be your chosen in country representative. The commission he gets when he makes a successful sale is his livelihood. In addition he uses that commission to travel in territory, attend and be present at trade shows and exhibitions. He will be responsible for the design and sometimes the printing of brochures in the local language and generally, and most importantly, look after your customers.

 

A good agent is “gold brick” he needs to be looked after, visited and encouraged, kept up to date with changes that affect him and his customers, brought back to the UK for product launches, sales conferences and the like. It’s not cheap but it is so worth it!

 

Agency arrangements can get very personal. Things like meeting him at the airport; if his children are at school in England make sure arrangements link in with half term and their safe transit back home for the holidays. There can be any number of things you may be asked to help with, the illustrations above should be treated as a for instance. Make your valued agent your friend and the relationship will always work to your great advantage.

 

A good agent will be:

 

·         Known in the industry

·         Of good standing with government departments and the banks

·         Have good functional premises in a good commercial area of a major business city

·         Mobile to get around his territory

·         Computer literate

·         Solvent!

·         Have a excellent up to date knowledge of the product and services he is offering  and lastly,

·         Not to be handling formally, or informally, any competing services or products

 

The way he does business in his country will not be the same as the way we conduct our business here in the UK, or would even countenance, but if you have established trust then assume he knows what he is doing and let him get on with it.

 

The rules are stay close, encourage and look after him, support him, trust him and above all visit him in his territory.

So where do you start your search to find your perfect agent in the territory you intend to export to?

 

You could consider exhibiting at trade fairs in the territory and place notices on the stand in the local language to advertise that you are looking to appoint a local representative.

 

Alternatively, you could join a trade mission, an outward mission from the UK supported by UKTI.

 

Before visiting the territory it is possible to commission an Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) through UKTI. This will put you directly in touch with UKTI staff based in UK Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates across the world but be prepared to pay a fee to cover the work done. An OMIS is likely to include a mix of pre-visit research and support during an overseas visit. This could include the identification of potential agents matching your criteria, warming them up and setting up key appointments on your behalf.

 

A word of caution, appointing an agent is simple, but if you make a bad choice, unwinding the arrangement can be a very expensive process. So, take your time and check carefully before you finally commit!

 

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of emita.