Business Ideas

Archive for September, 2010

International Business Negotiations – Dont Waste Your Time Negotiating With The Wrong Person

Don’t fall into the first cross cultural
communication minefield of not thoroughly identifying the right person
you need to negotiate with.

International business negotiations
are not easy to navigate. Sometimes even the simplest of assumptions
right at the beginning can lead you astray.

It’s true wasting
your time negotiating with the wrong person does not happen often. But
when it does it can lead to a fiasco. You waste a lot of your time and
increase your foreign lead costs. But you might even jeopardise your
future business relationship.

Do not automatically assume you
know whether you are speaking with the right person or not especially
if this is your first international business negotiation or if you are
dealing with a culture extremely different from yours on several
levels. You don’t want to everyone around you to see you on a wild
goose chase.

Cultural differences can complicate simple communication. It is not always obvious to understand how a foreign company’s management is structured.

• You might assume it is similar to what you are familiar with.
• A key word might have been translated poorly.
• A job junction simply might not have an accurate translation into your language.

And in some cross cultural communication it can take both parties some time in understanding who should be speaking to who.

• You
  might be perceived as not being the right company representative to
  meet with the appropriate person in your prospects company.
• Politeness is easily misinterpreted in any cross cultural
  communication and in business environments the correct way of doing
  things varies from culture to culture.

This is one
of the advantages of teamwork in international sales. Two people see
more than one person. Often one person is specifically assigned to
picking up cross cultural communication signals.

Remember to verify whether you are indeed negotiating with the right person early in your communications.

Some
people may take offense if asked outright. Most people will even accept
a straightforward question if it is early in your communication. But
there are always more polite ways of verifying. And you can include a
short followup cross verification in any of your correspondence in
writing shortly afterwards.

Good cross cultural communication
skills are all about clarity and trust. Establishing the right
negotiation partner is the first part of the international sales
process.

Are you committed to speeding up your international sales cycles?

Learn how to combine crosscultural marketing tools and international sales strategies for faster sales.

Join us on the International Sales Road Map

Would you like to develop your international business?
Are you a beginner at international sales and marketing?
Read the Beginners Guide Discover Your International Business

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Cindy King
CrossCultural Marketer International Sales Specialist

Over 25 years field experience in aligning cultural offers for international sales.

International content strategy
Custom publishing in English to build international markets B2B international lead generation

40km south of Paris France GMT1
Cell: 33 6 98 91 86 11
Follow me on Twitter
Get International Clients

International Business Development – 7 Initial Market Research Ideas

You want to get more international clients but don’t know where to start? Here is a simple plan for small businesses or businesses who are highly motivated to expand internationally but want to do it on a very small budget. This method also has the advantage of going one step at a time giving you and your team the time to learn to adapt your products and sales procedures to different cultures.

Start with one targeting one country. If this is the first time you are expanding your business abroad one country at a time is best. If you cannot decide which country to target first come up with a short list of countries and go through the steps below for each country.

At this stage it is a very good idea to break this research into part internet research and part phone call research. Do not bypass the phone research. Fifteen minutes a day over Skype can give you much valuable information. You might even develop your first overseas business relationships.

Most importantly it will help you begin to evaluate the best way to position your products for best international sales results.

Here are some ideas to help you choose which country you would like to expand your business into.

1. Research your own client and prospect data base.

Go back as far as you can to identify any foreign clients and look for any trends.

Are there any similarities?

Can you determine a specific country or area?

Can you organize a client survey to get more information?

2. Have a brief look online at where you competitors are overseas.

Check out the same information for other companies related to your industry which might not be competitors. You might share a similar target audience.

Is there a country in particular where your competitors are located?

Can you identify a country where you competitors appear to be trying to get into?

Can you see any trends or angles to position your products?

3. Check which Internet Search Engines are the leaders in target country.

Search for keywords in those countries use the advanced search options

This will give you a better idea of who your real competitors are in the target country.

Can you see any trends or angles to position your products?

4. Research industry data

Look for differences in industry standards and regulations on the foreign country

Can you identify a foreign country with many companies in the same industry linked to companies within your industry in your country?

Can you see any trends or angles to position your products

5. Research press articles major publications.

Look for publications in your country and in the foreign country. Use the free online instant translation tools to get a good idea of what is in the news.

Can you identify the current key players?

Try to get an uptodate feel for your industry in the foreign country targeted

Knowledge of recent events will give you something to talk about during your networking by phone.

6. Call any international clients you may have.

Ask them why they bought from you were they happy why they chose your company and try to get as much background information as possible about the foreign competition.

7. Keep online research to a minimum.

Simply get the names of the players and any major trends. Then move to the telephone. Start networking on the phone and continue.

Telephone networking will help you adapt your mindset to bring your company to international markets

Telephone conversation can provide you with more background information faster than you can get over the internet

Be sure to aim to speak to people with real insider knowledge of your industry in your foreign country. And look for various sources from different angles to get a broad view.

After a week or so you should be feeling a direction towards one particular county. Continue your networking a little longer.

After a month or two or even a few weeks if you methodically did your research through networking you should feel comfortable in strategizing how you can sell one of your products in one specific foreign country.

You have to recognize that you will need to jump in without all of the information you would want. But you need to feel comfortable and have enough positive feedback to move forward.

This is the half of the second part of 8 Steps To Develop Your International Business. If you would like to get this full report it is yours free when you sign up for the Get International Clients newsletter.

Are you committed to speeding up your international sales cycles?

Learn how to combine crosscultural marketing tools and international sales strategies for faster sales.

Join us on the International Sales Road Map

Would you like to develop your international business?
Are you a beginner at international sales and marketing?
Read the Beginners Guide Discover Your International Business

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Cindy King
CrossCultural Marketer International Sales Specialist

Over 25 years field experience in aligning cultural offers for international sales.

International content strategy
Custom publishing in English to build international markets B2B international lead generation

40km south of Paris France GMT1
Cell: 33 6 98 91 86 11
Follow me on Twitter
Get International Clients

Indonesia Passes New Mining Law

Indonesia passes new mining law

MINING in Indonesia is expected to become more difficult for foreign companies after the countrys government passed a controversial new mining law overnight.

News reports out of Jakarta say the mining bill was passed last night after three years of deliberations.

Under the new law the current Indonesian contract of work system has been overturned in favour of a system that will give fiveyear exploration licenses to companies.

These licenses can be transferred into mining rights but critics of the scheme say it will deter foreign companies from investing in Indonesia.

Dow Jones Newswires reported the Indonesian Mining Association had criticised the law saying it would drive away foreign companies.

The associations executive director Priyo Pribadi Soemarno said the law seemed particularly unwise given the global financial crisis.

“This decision says ‘no more investment we don’t need more investment he said.

Criticism of the law stems from its inability to offer longterm security to investors.

Additionally the law stipulates that smelting and processing facilities need to be located in Indonesia but this investment could be difficult to achieve without more secure longterm contracts.

The new law will also require miners to seek permits from local governments as well as the central government and obtain new licenses for each stage of exploration and development according to news reports from Jakarta.

Additionally the draft of the law had higher royalty payments of around 10 Dow Jones reported.

Mining companies were also concerned they would have to renegotiate current contracts of work.

Projects under development in Indonesia include OZ Minerals Martabe gold mine which may be up for sale as the company seeks to pay down A1 billion debt.

BHP Billiton was looking at a large nickel development in the country but scrapped the plan however the major miner still has coal assets at the Maruwai project.

Rio Tinto meanwhile is active in Indonesia as a joint venture partner at the Grasberg coppergold mine and is also looking to develop a nickel project in Sulawesi.

Newcrest Mining meanwhile operates the Gosowong gold mine in Indonesia.

Australialisted Straits Resources owns a 47 stake in Indonesia coal miner Straits Asia Resources which owns two producing open cut coal mines Sebuku in South East Kalimantan and Jembayan in East Kalimantan Indonesia.

Another coal play Handini Resources recently listed in Australia with an operating thermal coal mine in Sumatra while Indo Mines is developing an iron sands project in Yogjakarta.

Australian juniors involved in exploration in the country include Robust Resources and Prosperity Resources.

About the writer:  http://www.cnmining.org/news/?id=809