“Today it is no longer a problem to produce goods. Try to sell! "
Sergey Galitsky, multibillionaire.
Indeed, competition in many areas is very high today, and finding clients, at times, becomes a rather difficult problem.
So how do you find and attract clients for your business? How to increase sales at the lowest cost? There are actually several ways to increase sales.
Some organizations invest heavily in advertising. Others create entire marketing departments within themselves. Still others use third-party client search services.
The latter approach is gaining popularity due to its relative simplicity and economy.
What are these services that promise to provide a whole stream of ready clients for business?
After surfing the Internet, I found many companies offering such services. In this article I would like to compare a few of the most significant of them.
Call Center "Hot Lines" is one of the leaders in the field of telemarketing.
Advertising agency "Grandion" - one of the best services search for clients.
Peak Media Agency is one of the leaders in the field of marketing communications.
So let's go ...
1. For what business they promise to bring clients
"HOT LINES" and "GRANDION" position themselves as universal services, that is, they are capable of bringing customers for any business.
Any business means any age, any field of activity, any organizational form, any scale, etc.
2. What tools are used
The Hot Lines call center is one of the leaders in telemarketing in Russia. Accordingly, the main instrument of the company is the telephone line. "Call-Mail-Call" is the main method of finding clients.
PIK MEDIA is a service that attracts clients using the Internet. The main tools here are contextual, media, targeting advertising, website development, Direct mail, etc.
Having studied the site of "GRANDION" you understand that the motto of the service is the phrase "All methods are good in war." The service does not announce exactly what methods of attracting customers in each specific case it will use.
This can be telemarketing, online advertising, media advertising, promotions, and even rumor marketing.
3. Cost of services
There is no detailed price list for advertising services on the HOT LINES website.
PIK MEDIA announces a rather tempting figure - 5000 rubles. Even with such investments, the service claims, there will be applications from potential customers.
Payment for GRANDIONA services is made in two parts. The first part - 3500 rubles - is a subscription service.
4. How long has been on the market
Call center "HOT LINES" has been providing its services since 2001.
GRANDION appeared a year later. Since 2002, it has existed as a private service for a certain range of clients. Since 2010, the company has been providing effective advertising services for a wide range of customers.
5. Portfolio
Here the undoubted leader is the "HOT LINES". Among their clients, I counted about 30 rather serious customers, including the Moscow City Hall, Pfizer Corporation and DIVO TV Digital Television.
PIK MEDIA and GRANDION also have a good portfolio. Among the clients of "Peak Media", for example, the group of companies "Autograph" and the construction portal "Stroy Life".
And GRANDION, for example, serves such a well-known company as BrokerCreditService.
6. What is guaranteed
HOT LINES is a call center. Searching for clients is just one of the areas of their activity. Actually, there is only one page on their website dedicated to finding clients.
I liked the fact that the service takes money only for effective calls. It turns out that their guarantee is payment only after the fact, which pleases. After all, I do not want to throw money down the drain.
The PIK MEDIA agency is already more focused on finding clients. Although among other services you can find "Website Development", "Copywriting", "Direct Mail", etc. But in general they are aimed at advertising and attracting customers.
"GRANDION" is a service that is entirely aimed at attracting customers. Actually, the subject of the contract and the guarantee is not advertising, not the creation and promotion of a site, not calling the client base, but the clients themselves.
Here is such a review. I hope he helped you navigate the variety of modern customer search services. It's up to you which one to choose for your business. Good luck!
It's no secret that creative workers are valued much more in Western countries and Europe. It is enough to read the stories of freelancers who have dealt with foreign customers and you will immediately understand that working with them is not only pleasant, but also much more profitable.
Of course, many domestic specialists have problems with the language barrier, but if you are more or less fluent in English, then you should try your luck on one of the foreign exchanges. Of course, there are such powerful resources as Upwork, Freelancer.com and others, but you must admit that not everyone is able to compete with highly qualified specialists or dumping Indians. Meanwhile, I really want to work with foreigners.
We decided to offer you a small list of resources where you can find remote work in the state of some foreign company. And although most of the offers are office vacancies, there are often great ads for freelancers among them.
WHERE TO SEARCH FOR FOREIGN CLIENTS?
Coroflot
One of the oldest sites that was launched back in 1997. Created in due time by designers, the resource still works for creative people, helping them find work in companies of various directions and geolocation. Here you can find interesting job offers, divided into categories for easier search. In addition, you can subscribe to the daily newsletter and receive information about new vacancies on your email address.
Authentic Jobs
The site is not new, but it does not belong to the oldest resources with work. Nonetheless, the list of clients who have ever used Authentic Jobs is credible. Judge for yourself - Mercedes-Benz, Apple, Booking.com, Tesla and a dozen other equally famous companies. Mostly there are full-time job advertisements, but there are also freelance jobs. So, for example, a remote digital designer is offered a job for $ 300 for an 8-hour day. A favorable offer, I think so.
Behance
Many of you know this site as a great place to publish your work and create a portfolio, but also here you are given the opportunity to find foreign clients in a special section set aside under the job advertisement board. As with the two previous services, the majority of clients are looking for office workers, but some amazing freelance jobs can be found. Mostly required graphic designers and developers with three or more years of experience, so newbies shouldn't try to look for work on Behance.
Krop
A lot of work for designers with flexible terms. Employers are ready to offer a vacancy for both a remote and an office worker. Everything will depend on your qualifications and work experience. There are many offers for those who wish to find a stable job paying $ 20- $ 30 per hour, but there are also short-term projects from a week to two months.
If your goal is to enter the foreign market, then we hope that our list will help you at least a little with this!
Any successful entrepreneur sooner or later is faced with the need to expand the business, which will provide an opportunity to increase income. This always requires significant funding. But there are methods that can reduce the cost of attracting new customers and produce great results at the same time. Especially interesting is the idea of \u200b\u200bbringing the activity to a qualitatively new level - the search for buyers abroad.
How to organize a search for clients abroad
The need to expand the sales market abroad requires significant costs. Therefore, you need to approach this issue responsibly and consider various methods of promoting goods and finding potential customers. In order to find buyers abroad, for example in China, you can use several methods:
- go abroad and organize a presentation of the goods and services of your company, which will entail quite large cash costs and time expenditures
- take part in an international exhibition, but, as a rule, the cost of such events is quite high
- contact a company whose managers are engaged in the promotion of goods and services abroad
- order a service for finding new customers abroad, for example, in China on the Yudu platform, indicating the desired price for attracting leads
Advantages of lead generation over other methods of promoting goods and services
Attracting new customers is the key to the successful development of any business. Every manager of a trading organization knows how important it is to approach this issue professionally, especially when it is necessary to find buyers abroad. Here, high-quality promotion of goods and services to a new sales market and properly organized lead generation come to the fore.
Why ordering lead generation services is interesting:
- low cost compared to self-promotion of goods and services
- opportunity to find buyers abroad
- influx of new customers
If you decide to find clients from China and want to do it inexpensively and with high quality, the easiest and fastest way is to place an order for lead generation services on the YouDo platform. What do you get with this:
- quick selection of the order executor
- high-quality lead generation and search for potential customers
- the ability to quickly and inexpensively find buyers in China
- selection of a performer based on his rating and recommendations
If you do not have a large amount of time, the appropriate skills to attract buyers, or just want to entrust the solution of this task to professionals, then you should pay attention to the YouDo service.
Having decided to order in the Yuda system a service for finding and attracting potential customers abroad, you will quickly receive offers from performers who are ready to professionally provide a service for generating leads. Also on the YouDo website you can find prices for the provision of services you are interested in.
What kind of work small Ukrainian companies are making their way in different industries, "Personal Account" asked entrepreneurs who crossed geographical and political boundaries in the quality of products and services
Their experience perfectly demonstrates the global trends of apolitical consumer interests and “nationality” of money. You can only understand how global business is becoming every day in practice. Or, while remaining a theoretician who does not dare even undertake a small business of his own, talk about the problems that novice businessmen have to face everywhere.
Then, when we are not expected
Ukrainians have long been accustomed to admire foreign service and quality, giving preference to foreign brands in literally everything. Even on your dining table, you can find two or three products from a non-Ukrainian manufacturer. Simply because it is brighter, more reliable, etc. It would seem that in this case it is possible to offer neighbors who have “greener grass”? How to present your product or service where everything has been working harmoniously for a long time according to established rules and according to completely different principles that we are used to?
Organizing his own business, Sergei Kogivchak, Director of Unitrans LS Ltd, already had experience in a foreign logistics company. And although at first the new company was glad to any client, but nevertheless the beginning entrepreneur asked the foreign vector of development right away. “Firstly, it is payment in foreign currency for the services provided,” says Sergey, “which allows you to avoid losses when the hryvnia exchange rate falls, as it was in 2014. Secondly, with all due respect to Ukrainian business, the principles of doing business, agreements, price negotiation and mutual responsibility in European countries are at a higher level, in such conditions it is more pleasant and easier to work. Thirdly, foreigners are not used to changing partners because of the $ 10 difference and long-term reliable work is important for them. I understood that by working now, we are preparing the groundwork for the future. "
The task of entering a completely competitive market dominated by large global companies is not an easy one. “We had to compete mainly with other Ukrainian companies,” says Sergey. - A foreign customer chooses a partner in Ukraine with whom he will carry out transportation. The criteria for choosing a partner, of course, like everyone else: price, terms, reliability, level of service. And if we manage to satisfy the customer as much as possible, as a rule, we continue to work in the future on an ongoing basis. " As a Ukrainian company, one often has to deal with problems of various scales, ranging from the poor quality and level of services of contractors, including government agencies, to difficulties in currency regulation - sometimes it is easier to do the job than to get paid for it (currency control requirements, etc.) ...
This year, our hero's company has a goal - to increase the number of non-resident customers from 16% to 20%. To attract foreign clients, you have to work actively. The main ways to expand the client base: registration in industry and niche catalogs and sites; participation in exhibitions, forums and conferences abroad; regular visits to existing and potential partners; membership in international organizations and associations of freight forwarders; an English-language version of the site is required; and, of course, the employees have a sufficient level of foreign language (English must have). Dating and personal contacts are very important.
“Logistics https://blitz-logistics.kz/ has always been, is and will be an integral part of the business, so I think that it will always be interesting in one form or another. On the other hand, global tendencies towards automation of work, towards minimization of costs lead to the fact that the profitability of each individual job is steadily decreasing, therefore the company's profit is formed by the number of works and the volume of transported goods. It is very difficult for a new enterprise to work in such conditions, ”Sergei Kogivchak is convinced.
The days when "apartment expeditions" worked with a computer and a printer are over. Now the market is divided among themselves by large players with foreign capital and offices around the world, or companies with a good background, independent partners in each country and an active position.
Where we don't add up our own worth
One has only to start a conversation about the fact that Ukrainian minds are so erudite that all gates abroad are open to them, as you will surely hear in response some example from the IT industry.
Artem Karyavka began his way in the IT business as a student, earning his first money at the age of 16. The project with the idea of \u200b\u200bour hero LivaRava started ten years ago, and already in 2012 it began to bring in substantial income. This platform allows you to create corporate knowledge bases, save and manage information, build CMS, CRM, ERP systems. The company launches third-party projects with its own brands on all devices popular today, developing individual solutions for specific practical tasks of partners (customers).
Since then, a company of several people has grown into a large team of dozens of professionals, where there are specialists from different countries - Ukraine, France, Germany. Most work on a contract basis. “Everyone works in the project that he likes and brings the necessary income,” says Artem, “but in general in the IT business, any person, his talent, skills, knowledge and experience is the greatest value, like diamonds, each is unique in its own way” ...
Now the company is actively moving into the US market, looking for partners in marketing, PR, sales. “During our work, we managed to implement many successful projects with companies from the Netherlands, Germany, France, Sweden, the USA and, of course, Ukraine,” says Artem Karyavka. - The only thing that stops work is the market decline, which can even lead to bankruptcy of partner companies. Sometimes we lose to powerful competitors - companies in which large capital is invested. "
It also happens that a company sometimes has to refuse customers due to workload or lack of specialists. Interestingly, in the B2B sector, you don't have to put in a marketing effort to attract new customers. It turns out that completely different mechanisms work in this niche and there are many who want to cooperate. “Our advertising is a reputation, and personal acquaintances and recommendations usually bring success,” says Artem. He has already been abroad many times, since he is convinced that it is impossible to build a successful business without business travel. “The scenario in which you can sit in one place, and people will come to Ukraine with money, is extremely optimistic,” Artem is convinced.
Ukrainian IT companies, according to Artem Karyavka, are not unique. “On the contrary, the sooner we realize that we are competing in the global market, the better,” he confirms. - We are no better or more unique than others in our genetics, knowledge, skills and talents. Although, if you constantly develop, increase your efficiency and creativity, this will certainly allow you to take its rightful place in the world market. The best strategy is to constantly improve yourself and strive for super-professionalism, such people and companies are appreciated anywhere in the world. "
In the West, they really pay more than here in Ukraine, both for the development of new products and for the banal creation of a website and its support on the Internet. This attracts almost everyone, without exception: both small companies and individually working IT specialists.
The company for the development of mobile native and cross-platform applications, created more than two years ago by Valentin Trizno, currently employs only seven specialists. “We were looking for work everywhere,” says Valentin, “but finding a serious customer in Ukraine is very difficult, and almost 98% of the entire market works for a foreign partner”. A product created in the high-level JAVA language is more expensively valued (and, accordingly, specialists are expensive), while a Ukrainian customer is looking for a more budgetary option, more often orders simply to create a website, albeit using template solutions, rather than complex projects.
The task of entering a completely competitive market dominated by large global companies is not an easy one
The company's portfolio already includes multimedia projects for customers from Kazakhstan, Canada, Germany, Poland, Russia, and the USA. Success in a rather competitive environment brings, according to Valentin, a turnkey solution, which includes development: from design to backend, and specifically hybrid applications: "This significantly reduces the cost of the project, which is a priority in developing business applications." Another competitive advantage that allows you to find a customer directly (and, accordingly, to earn money not on the contractor's commission) is expertise: up to the development of a business strategy by using multimedia solutions (applications, websites, etc.). Now, as Valentin says, "it is very important to show yourself at the intersection of technologies, business strategies, processes, from development to project support." During the work, the services of our hero's company have grown fivefold. "By offering a low price, it is impossible to earn enough to hire good specialists," Valentin is sure, "which means that it will be impossible to stay in a fairly mobile market." For a small fee, countrymen customers expect huge results, making excessive demands, without setting a clear functional task (due to their own low competence), and many IT companies simply do not work with customers from the CIS countries. Whereas foreign customers highly value expertise and are willing to pay for competence. "They live in a more stable economic system," says Valentin, "and they understand that it is important to create a good quality product, and then the investment will return." Unlike Ukrainians, who live today and according to the principle “to be like others”, foreign customers have a strategy, plan income, and therefore can set a clear task and come to the desired result.
There is a huge amount of technologies, and it is unrealistic to gather specialists in each of them in one company. Therefore, competition in the IT market is rather arbitrary, it is rather cooperation and partnership. Large companies incur large overheads and costs, so it is unprofitable for them to work with a number of orders. Small companies, like our heroes, are more flexible and can make money on small orders (which can be received from large companies as contractors). It is more profitable to unite with other companies in projects than to advance independently. And for this it is important to have time to monitor information and communicate in various communities. “Foreign companies will not specifically hire Ukrainian developers - this is unrealistic,” says Valentin. "There is a lot of competition in the market and even expensive advertising will be ineffective." In addition, unscrupulous competitors (usually from Eastern countries) have to be taken into account. Valentin notes that in the market everyone values \u200b\u200btheir own reputation and tries to respect someone else's - this is the only way to hope for cooperation and partnership, and not confrontation.
Intensively developing technologies require no less speed from specialists and companies. In order not to be left without work, it is important to constantly study rapidly changing programming languages, master foreign languages, monitor market trends and be creative, because each task is individual, and each client expects an original, unique solution. “We have a high level of self-education,” says Valentin, “and a conscientious attitude to work, if we compare with other market participants (for example, Indians are ready to work for $ 5 per hour, not always meeting the requirements, while Ukrainians earn $ 20-40 per hour, and specialists in the USA - $ 100-120). With a fairly good technical base, Ukrainian developers offer a very attractive price and know how to create a high-quality product, which promises good prospects. "
With what you are ready to brag
Many Ukrainian entrepreneurs see their goods abroad in the long term. And many remain with this dream. “One way or another, everything starts in Ukraine,” comments Anton Matiyash, head of the Kiev branch of the Business People's Club. “Although I have come across enough examples when a business was started with an expectation solely abroad and on the Ukrainian market the goods or services of such companies are not represented, for example, the production of clothes or IT outsourcing”.
To enter the foreign market, as the expert notes, it is important to have, first of all, a high-quality product that meets the certificates of the state where it is supposed to be sold, well-established logistics, the presence of a legal entity with registration in the required country. The latter is very important for consumers from the United States, attention to this "little detail" is explained by the ability to resolve controversial issues in a legal manner. And it goes without saying that business processes must be fine-tuned to ensure that there are sufficient quantities of goods to meet demand.
"In fact, everything is there"
How Ukrainian medium and small business can enter the foreign market and what difficulties await it there, says Sergey Prokhorov, representative of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists in Ukraine
Is it fair to say that interest in Ukraine is based on profitable cheap labor, while Ukrainian goods and services are not of interest to foreign consumers?
- There is no ethnic division in business. For some reason we decided that if we have a product and with it we come to Germany or Lithuania waving a flag, then we should be accepted. Initially, focusing on your nationality, you can immediately lose the customer. It is rather correct to say whether this or that private entrepreneur will be able to sell his product abroad.
It is better to come to a foreign customer without a flag, and immediately talk about your service or product. Adequate people don't care where you are from. Those companies that are supported by our consulting abroad are presented as Ukrainian. Presenting each of them abroad, we show each specific product, say, wallpaper of such and such quality, from such and such raw materials, produced on such and such equipment - is it interesting or not?
In fact, goods labeled made in Ukraine have long been represented abroad: these are food products of well-known brands, and industrial goods. I can give real examples when shoes marked in small print made in Ukraine were bought in Switzerland. Large companies sell goods under their own Ukrainian brand. There are companies that create a separate brand for export, and some produce their products under someone else's brand (supermarket chains, for example).
Do foreign entrepreneurs have any prejudices against Ukrainian companies?
- Of course, because of the recent events in Ukraine, foreigners have some concerns about our companies. For example, Lithuanians who are friendly towards us, having seen the news of the hostilities, ask how we managed to fly to Lithuania, thinking that we have a war and transport infrastructure destroyed. Therefore, it is more important to focus not on the fact that this is Ukraine, but on the quality of your product or service. If the customer is from Europe, try to pack the goods according to the European model, that is, Europeanize as much as possible. This is not a rule, but I would do just that to avoid unwanted risks.
In what areas of business can Ukrainians be the most competitive?
“To achieve successful sales, our manufacturers need to put in a lot of effort. Sometimes it comes easy. But often a small enterprise, for example, producing jam, whose capacity is barely enough to supply several shops, suddenly tries to enter foreign markets, having heard that the price there is higher. But this opinion is based only on the fact that a person only went abroad several times and bought one jar of jam. Or maybe this product was top-class, while other varieties are much lower. Another option is when they are trying to bring to the foreign market something that, it would seem, is not there. In fact, everything is there. But if you offer some interesting conditions for the implementation of your product or a more interesting packaging design - who knows. Need to try.
There are successful examples when the production of children's clothing in Ukraine sells its products to Lithuania (via the Internet), and already Lithuanians create their own online stores where they offer this product.
Quite a lot of foreigners build their business in Ukraine, and the product is sold abroad. There are many such examples in the agricultural sector. But it is unrealistic for Ukrainian farmers to sell their product there directly. At the global level, it is quite difficult to get away from the services of traders.
The demand for design is growing now. The salaries of good engineers are equally high here and there. The difference in payment between us and in Germany, for example, may be, besides, life there is more expensive, but there is no difference with Poland or the Baltic states. But the design process is faster with us. Our engineers have a broader outlook, the intellectual component is better, and accordingly, it is possible to manufacture something faster and easier.
Construction companies have a perspective abroad, but not individual master builders. For example, our companies built houses in Dubai. High-quality building materials are also in demand, but not as a product in itself, but rather with the service of performing work. Thus, our construction companiesusing domestic materials can increase their earnings.
And, of course, the services of translators have always been and remain in demand.
And what prejudices of Ukrainians prevent them from moving to international markets?
- Representing the International Confederation of Lithuanian Industrialists in Ukraine, for three years of work, I saw a lot of requests for various goods from Ukraine (from sunflower oil to raw materials), which stopped almost immediately for one simple reason. Our entrepreneurs, having heard the word “Lithuania”, immediately added another zero to the cost of the goods, believing that the European customer is richer. Although in Lithuania before the fall of the hryvnia, goods were cheaper than in Kiev. In addition, by raising prices for their export product, many do not take into account the cost of logistics and customs duties.
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Stages of export development
1. Market selection
What criteria does your company use to select a target market? When we ask this question, the answers are very different:
- Have already worked with local partners or have been on business trips to a certain country, there is an understanding of how business is conducted there.
- A large number of requests from a specific country.
- The assumption that this particular market is promising.
All these rationales are understandable. Depending on the specifics of the business, when choosing a market, you must rely on 2 main strategies:
- If you are a manufacturer of goods or services, you can collect statistics through desk research using TN VED product codes, making inquiries on sources such as trademap.org, Eurostat Statistical Office of the European Union, United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database, World Trade Organization Trade Profiles , FITA and an international directory of trade and professional associations.
- If you have innovative products, then collecting information should be carried out using a different strategy - from the first hand of your potential partners or customers. You can collect a list of research institutes in the target country and contact them for any interest in collaborating.
2. Determination of the target audience
For some companies, a direct sales strategy works, for others it is easier to go through the indirect export strategy, finding 1-2 potential partners. If, for example, take, say, for developers of mobile offers or software, you can search for direct customers by sending commercial offers to companies directly, or find potential partners to get into the pool of their subcontractors. When there are projects that are relevant to you, they will call you and offer to set your price.
If, for example, you are a furniture manufacturer, then you should think about how best to enter the market: look for large distributors, in this case the sales cycle will most likely be longer than going to small Internet or retail stores with an invitation to cooperation. From practice, in the latter case, price proposals will play an important role. It will be very important to clearly highlight your competitive advantage. Another option that few people know about is participation in tenders in the EU. You may not win the tender the first few times, but this is a good chance to get highlighted.
3. Areas and ways of finding information
You can use both paid and free platforms to find information in a new market. The latter, for example, include LinedIn, Xing, Viadeo, Switchboard Yellow Pages, Europages, or Kompass (a business directory containing information on over two million companies in 70 countries).
4. Distribution of the scope of search in the company
You can search on your own or involve specialists. At the same time, specialists can manually make a selection of potential partners through the above resources or purchase contacts from paid databases for further study. For example, if you buy a database of more than a thousand potential partners in the art materials segment (look for suppliers in the EU countries), you should roughly understand that up to 20-25% of contacts will not always be targeted, and the first stage in the development of the database by your outsourced employees will be qualification and further updating. From our experience, as a rule, it follows that the sample on the paid base is about 1235 contacts falling under the segment, of which 239 are manually qualified as potential, 39 are selected as the highest priority, of which 7 have the maximum number of products on demand. After elaboration, it turns out that 6 companies buy products from the 7th, which is the main supplier on the market. Bingo!
5. Search strategies
In any undertaking, the main thing is strategy. By developing business both in the domestic and foreign markets, you can use 2 main strategies: you are looking for or you are found. We have already examined where you can look for business contacts abroad on your own or with the help of specialists, let's see how you can attract the attention of foreign partners to your project.
- Firstly, these are profiles and groups in professional and social networks on foreign language ( , .
