Guide to Exporting

How to Start an Export Business by Meir Liraz

This is a practical guide featuring all the guidelines and tools you need to plan and start an export based business. The book is packed with guides, worksheets and checklists that make it easy to apply all that knowledge to your business. There is profit to be made in export. The international market is much larger than the local market. Growth rates in many overseas markets far outpace domestic market growth. And meeting and beating competitors abroad can help companies keep the edge they need at home.

Here's what’s in the book:

~ How to plan and start an export based business; complete, step by step instructions on how to start and succeed in a new export business. You get specifically designed instructions for each of these essential phases: researching your market, developing a marketing plan, creating a profit and loss projection, and more. This is must-know must-do information; ignore it and you stand a good chance to fail.

~ How to sell overseas; tried and tested international trading ideas to help you stay pointed toward profit.

~ How to develop winning marketing strategies for your export business.

~ How to forecast your sales and expenses; easy to grasp explanations that you can apply immediately to make sure your business will be on the right track. Plus, common mistakes you should avoid.

~ How to finance your export transactions - tips and strategies to make your business pay off big.

~ Effective export strategy ideas that bring immediate results; what are the secrets behind the successful export businesses? discover the  techniques proven to turn your export activities into a money machine.

~ All these and much much more.

My name is Meir Liraz and I'm the author of this book. According to Dun & Bradstreet, 90% of all business failures analyzed can be traced to poor management. This is backed up by my own experience. In my 31 years as a business coach and consultant to small businesses, I've seen practically dozens of small business owners go under and lose their businesses -- not because they weren't talented or smart enough -- but because they were trying to re-invent the wheel rather than rely on proven, tested methods that work. And that is where this book can help, it will teach you how to avoid the common traps and mistakes and do everything right the first time.

Sample Content:

This guide will walk you step by step through all the essential phases of starting a successful export based business There is profit to be made in export. The international market is much larger than the local market. Growth rates in many overseas markets far outpace domestic market growth. And meeting and beating innovative competitors abroad can help companies keep the edge they need at home.

There are also real costs and risks associated with export data. It is up to each company to weigh the necessary commitment against the potential benefit.

Do you need export data?: Ten important recommendations for successful exporting should be kept in mind:

Obtain qualified export counseling and develop a master international marketing plan before starting an export business. The plan should clearly define goals, objectives, and problems encountered.

Secure a commitment from top management to overcome the initial difficulties and financial requirements of exporting. Although the early delays and costs involved in exporting may seem difficult to justify in comparison with established domestic sales, the exporter should take a long-range view of this process and carefully monitor international marketing efforts.

Take sufficient care in selecting overseas distributors. The complications involved in overseas communications and transportation require international distributors to act more independently than their domestic counterparts.

Establish a basis for profitable operations and orderly growth. Although no overseas inquiry should be ignored, the firm that acts mainly in response to unsolicited trade leads is trusting success to the element of chance.

Devote continuing attention to export business when the local market booms. Too many companies turn to exporting when business falls off in the domestic market. When domestic business starts to boom again, they neglect their export trade or relegate it to a secondary position.

Treat international distributors on an equal basis with domestic counterparts. Companies often carry out institutional advertising campaigns, special discount offers, sales incentive programs, special credit term programs, warranty offers, and so on in the domestic market but fail to make similar offers to their international distributors.

Do not assume that a given market technique and product will automatically be successful in all countries. What works in Japan may fall flat in Saudi Arabia. Each market has to be treated separately to ensure maximum success.

Be willing to modify products to meet regulations or cultural preferences of other countries. Local safety and security codes as well as import restrictions cannot be ignored by foreign distributors.

Print service, sale, and warranty messages in locally understood languages. Although a distributor's top management may speak English, it is unlikely that all sales and service personnel have this capability.

Provide readily available servicing for the product. A product without the necessary service support can acquire a bad reputation quickly.