Question from client (10/29)
by Jacob Heinrichs October 30th, 2008I am currently selling my mobile phones in the US through electronics retailers. I want to sell in Europe and the Pac-Rim next year. How do I start the process?
I am currently selling my mobile phones in the US through electronics retailers. I want to sell in Europe and the Pac-Rim next year. How do I start the process?
November 10th, 2008 at 2:51 am
To begin, You must decide how much time you have using your existing staff rather than using an expert with international experience to drive this project. Unless you also have the same previous experience the return from hiring an expert far outways attempting to launch on your own.
The following is a general approach to preparing for a launch. To begin, review your existing channels. Are your U.S. retail customers targeting the same markets? Do your current agreements have exclusives to these markets? Are they selling through the web? Are there legal import/export restrictions to any targeted countries? Now analyze the landscape of Europe and the Pac-Rim resellers to gain market intelligence before you launch. Do a simple web search of providers using Europe and the Pac-Rim as the locations. What are the results? Then do similar searches using the country names. List the top ten of the major stakeholders. Separate the manufacturers from the resellers. Now compare your prices and functionality of your cell-phones to the results. What are your projected gross margins? Can you live with these prices? Who are your competitors? What sites are comparable to your current U.S. providers? Now you must make yourself valuable to these resellers? What comptetitive advantages do they have carrying your phones? List them. Test them with your U.S. staff. Now your ready to launch.
Again, the immediate and long-term ROI hiring an expert far outways attempting on your own. I would be happy to schedule a meeting to discuss further.