For many Canadian companies, getting started in Canada is good, but to be truly successful, you need to take your products to International markets.
Historically, the US has been the favourite destination of Canadian entrepreneurs, and that makes complete sense. Similar social and cultural values, legal protections, and language all make that easy. Given the current trade uncertainty, though, international markets like Europe and parts of Asia may take a greater share of that focus. The note, though, on both of these is that, either way, it will take time and investment to build a beachhead. Distance is further, language can be different, and affluence and GDP per capita can often be lower. This is not a game for those with short runways. I would also say that any B2B sales effort is the same in that the process takes time—and it takes even more time when you cannot just pop down the road to see someone in person.
So, for firms looking to expand to these markets, hiring fractional sales assistance to get the flywheel spinning is often a very cost-effective way to manage costs, exposure risks, and growth. It provides a cash-flow-friendly way to:
Understand the market pressures and business pain – What are the pain points of businesses in that particular market, and how does your product help to alleviate those? Are priorities the same? Is messaging the same, or does it have to be tweaked?
Figure out positioning – Where do you sit in the market, and what competitors are there? How does your value proposition stack up? Do you need to make modifications or enlist partners?
Pricing – New market, new currency: how does that affect your business? How much to export or bring product into the country? What is the path to a sale in that market? Ultimately, what does the pricing landscape look like, and how do you position for success?
In our experience over the last 20 years, where most firms fail is that they do not stick in the game long enough to build that beachhead. Trying for six months is not sufficient to see if you are going to gain traction. Sales—and particularly B2B sales—is a trust game; you have to be persistent and consistent in order to build those trusted relationships. You need to be willing to crawl first with clients (for example, a small pilot) and then start to walk and run into full product deployments.
If you don’t have the resources for a multi-year approach to this, then save your money and invest in other areas that can drive a better return.
If you are in need of B2B sales assistance for international markets, we would love to speak to you. We have been selling to the US, Europe, and Asia for the past two decades and would welcome the chance to see how we can help you. For more actionable B2B sales and marketing insights delivered straight to your inbox, feel free to sign up for our quarterly newsletter.
