Once your tech company has achieved initial success in your home market, it's time to start planning for International growth. If you are strong in your home turf, you can further invest in user experience research and software development to expand your product into new verticals, but you soon face barriers of saturation, competition and complexity. So, why not look at selling your already successful product abroad?

Going international is not as difficult as it seems at first glance if you articulate your international strategy around outsourcing major business processes to local international partners in foreign markets. When international business development requires a local presence — often — you don’t necessarily have to establish a local subsidiary with all the costs and risks that such a major commitment represents. Instead of hiring permanent local employees, you can engage part-time or full-time, well-qualified sales representatives, starting immediately on a small basis and grow. The common sense approach is to start with sales representatives or business development representatives (BDRs) who can rapidly identify business opportunities, evaluate local competition, catch RFPs in the early phase and manage marketing programs, promotions and local events, demos, field evaluations and so on. Of course that's not just one role, but a varied mix of consultants, depending on your immediate need.

International business development through sales outsourcing and other critical business development processes

‍Sales Outsourcing Europe (also called ‘Sales Insourcing’ because of how the sales representatives merge with your team) is your on-demand sales agency in Europe. It brings you the benefits of in-country sales representatives who fully understand the local culture and language, business scene and key players, idiosyncrasies and other factors, and who act as your bona fide agents (e.g. business cards, email address, LinkedIn profiles, etc). On demand. Specialized sales outsourcing agencies such as Sales Force Europe can offer you sales representatives with suitable experience in all major European countries — and has the international strategic partnerships in place for the rest of your global expansion.

Most of our sales agents are former executives of major corporations with a solid background and a deep knowledge of international business. Usually with over ten years selling tech in their local European market. They know how to work independently and take appropriate initiatives to develop business while executing the strategies you define. And always integrating right into your company's tools and processes. We understand that metrics matter.

Companies that offer complex products or services may also need, in addition to sales representatives, local partner organizations able to perform technical tasks including installation, maintenance, support and other specialized jobs. We've got sales engineers for that. In the high-tech sector, such organizations are local System Integrators, Service Providers, Distributors, Value-Added Resellers or similar companies that bring the following advantages. If you are selling an end consumer product, whether in stores or online, you also need local relationships in place for channel sales.

The advantages of a local sales outsourcing agency

The advantages of a local sales outsourcing agency are manifold, including:

• Increase your acceptance abroad through the window of a trusted local player.
• Help you understand the local culture, and how your benefits translate through that local lens.
• Get the down-low on your local competition.
• Decrease the burden on your home team who don't necessarily have to hunt leads or provide support at off-hours.
• Get on the ground quicker — four weeks versus six months — than traditional recruitment models.
• Allow you to expand faster by leveraging local tech buyer networks.
• Localize your message with language, benefits and local customers.
• Remain flexible to local market response with a single contract that lets you move around.

Your local sales representatives can help you identify, qualify, attract, enroll and manage any strategic business development partners, and, of course, to define and translate your unique value proposition to potential partners. You need partners to help productize and localize your offering so that it can be transferred with minimum efforts. This doesn’t concern only the products themselves, but also all processes associated with these products, such as presentations, demonstrations, samples/demo units, sales and marketing methods, installation, integration, services and support. Your internationalization program must also define the respective roles and responsibilities, the corresponding financial agreements, and the necessary technical and administrative procedures.

A complete International Partner Program allows you to present serious win-win value propositions and to show a true commitment to give full support to your new international markets. All once you've tested and proven the new international markets and verticals. The reward will be the creation of a productive long-term relationship with customers and the development of solid international foundations. Then you can launch to other European countries and repeat everything you've learned.

But don't be confused. Going global and outsourcing sales or marketing isn't a hands-off activity. Even with the most trusted sales agents, you need to be able to reflect back on where you've been. Really understand the metrics and method of your success at home. Only then can you begin to work with a sales agency on your international sales strategy and how that translates to new markets and verticals.

So what's holding you back in 2022? Why aren't you looking to leverage sales outsourcing to reach new European markets this year? We can help! 

This popular post was originally from January 2013, but we are giving it a regular update to make sure it gives you the full view of Sales Outsourcing in Europe.