5steps how to make your exports profitable

Alliance experts

AeWe are active on all five continents in major

economic regions or hubs around the globe.

We live there, work there, know the culture and

speak the language. We help you with defining your

export strategy, conduct practical market research

and find the right agents, distributors or joint

venture partners for you. We assist your company

in negotiations and have the capabilities and

experience to act as your local representative.

We focus on growing your international business

operations profitably.

Alliance experts is a

global network of

business development

specialists. We help

companies enter new

markets profitably. 51. Start with a strategy2. Conduct market research3. Find local partners4. Plan & agree5. Establish your presence Our approach

Content

Alliance experts

1What are your company’s strengths, and what offering could be suitable for markets abroad? Which countries do

you want to go to, what is the demand, and do you expect much competition? Should you want to set up your own

office there, or do you prefer to work through an agent or distributor, or online?

The answers to these questions are the main points of your internationalisation strategy. The costs for market entry

depend heavily on the choices you make here. Working with a local partner will bring down your costs, but you still

need to make substantial investments before any revenue comes in.

Do the expected returns make up for these investments? What number of orders or market share can you expect?

How is the market growth? Some simple market data can already give you much more insights and help you to

make better choices.

Alliance experts moves your international strategy into the

right direction. We bring in structure, country data, budget

examples and help you to decide which country would be

most suitable for your product or service. We would also

give you an honest assessment if your company or the

market is not ready yet. Should everything look promising,

we will be there to accelerate your plans.

Start with a strategy Alliance experts

2Do you want to know whether your product or service would be a success internationally? Which markets to enter first,

how big is the potential, which product range will do well and at what price? These insights cannot be derived from

statistics or the internet.

Market research prevents you from investing heavily in a market that would not have turned out to be receptive at all.

This research may cost up to 10% of your total investment in the market, but it increases the chance of success by

at least 10% and may prevent you from investing in a market that doesn’t recognize the benefits of your product or

service.

Conduct market researchOur local specialists help you to get a first impression

of the chances of a product or service in the selected

country based on a number of calls and interviews with

relevant players. We back this up with quantitative data

and determine whether there are niches that you can

fill and identify the distribution channels you can use.

Do you want to get a feel for the market and what

your chances are? Then join one of the trade missions

Alliance experts frequently organizes.

Alliance experts

3Choosing the right partners is essential, but how to find these? This can pose a considerable challenge,

especially internationally with all the different rules and local customs.

This process starts with drawing up an effective profile of your own company: what do you have to offer, and

what are you looking for? Should your product or service fit a niche, then a company active in the same niche

may be useful to work with. If you produce a product that is a commodity, a company with a broad distribution

network may be better. Your elaborated profile will form the basis for establishing initial contacts, which can

best be done by a local intermediary.

Find local partnersThanks to our international network Alliance experts is

able to find the right agents, distributors or joint venture

partners for you. Whether it’s Europe, Asia, Australia,

Africa or the Americas, our specialists will help you with

finding the right partners in their regions. We strictly

serve as a consultant and won’t take a position in the

distribution chain.

Alliance experts

4After your partner selection you can jointly detail your market entry plan. What actions will each party take and how

do you share the costs and the returns? How do you deal with risks, and who ‘owns’ the customer? What about IP

licensing and compliance? This is the time to get support for negotiating agreement.

Another step is to adjust your product or service to the local market. Perhaps you will need translations, alternative

labelling, other quantities. Shipping goods will require knowledge of incoterms and custom regulations. Local

certification may also be required.

Making the sales process as simple as possible for your local partner is key to a successful market entry. Training,

providing the right materials, ensuring an easy order entry and delivery process and quick follow up is a prerequisite

to doing any marketing campaign at all.

Plan & agreeAlliance experts assists with the planning process.

We know what is important in each country to reach

your customers. For every type of collaboration, we

have extensive questionnaires with all the operational

aspects you need to consider. We help you overcome

cultural differences in negotiations, with product

adaptations and during trainings.

Alliance experts

5Every market entry is an investment that can range from 20,000 US dollar up to over a million. With potential costs

like this you should ensure that the revenue comes in quickly. That means you should not be afraid to roll out rapidly,

otherwise others might seize the market opportunity. The quicker you establish your position in the market, the

better the Return on Investment of your plans may be.

Your local presence is of the utmost importance. Your customers should be able to see that you are a ‘real’ company

and easily accessible. Your local partners should be monitored and you should be able to answer their questions

quickly and in the same time zone.

Partner management requires continuous evaluation. Only if you make sure to get feedback on any issues your

partners may have with their sales efforts, can you effectively work towards new solutions.

Establish presenceOur specialists are based in the region. They can look

after your interests, monitor market opportunities and

act when chances are there. We can support you with

a local telephone number and a postal address, which

will lower the threshold for potential clients in the region

to contact you. If the business grows, we can act as

your local company director until it makes sense to hire

or station someone permanently. We can also help to

arrange your local presence online.

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What are the key values in your company? Once you have formulated these, it will make it easier for you to select the

right business partners, even in different countries and cultures.

This is also how the Alliance experts network has developed. With a clear set of values in mind we grew our network

of experienced business development and market entry specialists around the world. All our people have lived and

worked in at least two different countries and know how to bridge cultural differences. We strive to be the trusted

advisors on the ground and want to be a partner in your expansion abroad.

Our approach

Our key values are:

• Cooperative: we work with you and have a personalized and clear approach.

• Appealing: it is pleasant to work with us and to use our materials and methodologies.

• Creative: we combine various ways of thinking to arrive at a new solution.

• Result-oriented: our efforts must have a clear added value for our clients and should help you improve your

financial performance.

• Integrity: we are extremely careful with confidential information and will handle conflicting interests in an open

and transparent manner.

Alliance experts helps you enter new markets profitably.

Active on five continents with people of different

backgrounds, we combine our knowledge and experience

for the benefit of our clients. We know what is important

to smaller and mid-sized companies. We invite you to

get to know us personally and to see how we can work

together to expand your international footprint.

Alliance experts

Alliance experts

Alliance experts is a global network of

business development specialists. We help

companies enter new markets profitably.

www.allianceexperts.com