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Business people dream of having a “global” company, having a sales force scattered around the world, knocking on doors and delivering orders to the factory. Dreams are just that, dreams and at times it is necessary to wake up and smell the “local” roses.

Companies that invest in international sales, when their domestic market is not performing as well as it could be, have become lost in their vision of being a “global” company. It is always much easier to sell and service your home market and hence more profitable, than looking for the proverbial greener pastures.

In many cases the problem is one of perceived opportunity. A foreign dealer, distributor, manufacturer’s agent presents themselves to the company and tells them that they can sell the company’s products in their market. Maybe they can, but the question is how much support will they require to provide the company a realistic return on their investment.

The company’s investment is in:

• Time & Effort (These items are usually ignored, but in my opinion they are the most crucial items. The question I usually ask is, “if you spent the same amount of time and effort, focussing on your domestic market what would be the result?”).
• Travel
• The foreign company will require training
• Can the foreign company “close” an order without a factory representative?
• Trade shows
• Sample products
• Selling terms
• Foreign exchange
• Communications (phone, fax, courier)
• Possible translation costs (brochures, literature, manuals)
• Local approvals

If a company is focussed on trying to obtain business from a foreign market and during that time frame the domestic market is suffering from lack of attention, the company is making a very bad strategic decision.

The foreign market will most likely not go away. When the domestic market is secure, that is the time to invest in going “global”.

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