Every project worth doing must start with a plan. The plan we recommend is one that will allow you to control your expenses and measure your results throughout. But, there is a cost involved, and you need to plan on a longer payback period to get business flowing internationally than you may be used to. In our experience with the larger ticket enterprise software marketplace, it takes at least 6 months to establish a viable channel, and another 6 months to establish a reliable revenue stream. That number can vary based on the market recognition of the product, pricing and other factors, but in general some patience is required.
The first step is to get some help. If you are like most companies at this stage in their development, you already have a stressed-out VP of Sales who may be trying to also handle marketing and possibly even product development! The last thing you need is the false economy of piling yet another task on this person (who of course wouldn't be in that position if he or she were not willing to take it on!) and give him yet another opportunity to fail. Do yourself a favor - find someone experienced in international business and either hire them or use them as an outside resource.
Once your international manager or business development consultant is on the case, he will help you with the rest of the plan. Broadly, the steps are:
- Choose your primary target market
- Choose a secondary target market
- Take a trip to meet prospective partners
- Select the best partner(s) for the market(s) you want to mine first
- Review your back office procedures, and assure you are ready to handle international orders.
- Establish a support process
- As part of the process, train your partner(s)
- Make joint sales calls
- Begin a localization process
- Define an appropriate PR campaign
- Market, market, market & support, support support!
- Collect your rewards
There are obviously lots of small details within each of these broad categories, but following the plan will position you for success in the international market!