Gateway to North American Market … What’s in it?

Even if you believe that you have a great business model, you still have to find a cost-effective way to market and sell your offer/products and services in the US. Wouldn’t you agree?

Let me tell you a true story. This is what an actual entrepreneur said: “I know the US market and how to approach it. My strategy is quite simple and I do not want to waste time and money on a business plan; I want to focus on selling. I need to find distributors and someone to call on prospects. I heard about some internship program, so I am going to hire a young talent and put her/him in a Business Center to sell my products.”

In other words, the entrepreneur wants to use under-experienced, under-skilled resources for prospecting. Although the training sounds great for the young talent, the model is quite unfair if the focus is on results.

Prospecting is costly because, in essence, the success rate is quite low. Getting the chance to talk or meet with the right prospect at the right level is part of your cost of sales, and the cost of sales is high in many markets. When you prospect, your first chance is quite often the last one.  Consequently, carpet bombing is not only expensive, but it can damage your brand forever.

Before you begin distributing, you need to identify how, where, and to whom you intend to sell the service. You also need to assess the competition and figure out how much money you need to start the business and keep it running until it is established.

The information we gather in the market feasibility enables us to:

  • List in detail all the things we need to make the business work;
  • Identify logistical and other business-related problems and solutions.

Beyond that first quick step, our gateway “a la carte” might help you decrease costs, mitigate risks and accelerate development. This business platform might be useful in your Business Development Activities (Legal, Marketing, Office, Finance, Logistic, Operations, Invoicing, Recruitment, etc.), Sales & Trading Support, and Implementation Support (JV, Acquisition, Strategic Alliance, Representation).

“You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going because you might not get there.” – Yogi Berra (Yogi was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.)

Is the timing right to enter the US market?

According to Gregory L. Miller, Chief Economist of the SunTrust Bank, Inc., the US economy will grow by 3.5% in 2012 with unemployment rates decreasing to 6%, while the European zone will hit a recession. With such predictions you must be considering to enter the US Market either by acquisition or with a JV, a pilot or a partner?

In any case the first logical step is to kick off a market feasibility study. Now, if you have not done so yet, why didn’t you?

The market feasibility will determine the viability of the Biz with an emphasis on the identification of potential problems and will answer one key question:  Will the business be profitable and should I go ahead?

Before you even start writing the business plan, you need to identify how, where, and to whom you intend to sell your service or product. You want to assess the competition and figure out how much money is needed to start your business and keep it running until it has found traction. Wouldn’t you agree?

The information you gather and present in your feasibility study will help you to:

  • List in detail all the things to make the business work
  • Identify logistical and other business-related problems (technical feasibility, legal) and their solutions
  • Develop marketing strategies to convince investors, banks or even shareholders that your business is worth investing in
  • Serve as a solid foundation for the development of your business plan and the search for the right partners

Even if you believe that you have a great business proposition, a cost-effective way to ‘market and sell’ the offer (combination of products and services) onto the US market still has to be found.

Be the outcome ‘launch’ or ‘abort’, the investment in a solid market feasibility study is never a waste of time or money when deciding to enter such a highly competitive market.