My American Partner

Chapter 1 Initial Preparations Section 1: Be Mentally Prepared On your way to open the window of opportunity there are two aspects you must maintain to its highest level: - High Self Esteem - The spirit of the entrepreneur Section 2: Read about the US Knowing about America will give you a great deal of advantages and strength on your way to the partnership journey. Being ignorant about the basic facts which drive the American society, its history, geography, and the essence of its culture will put you in embarrassing situations and expose you under a negative light. Ignorance of these points will ultimately characterize you as a person with a background that is hard to be reached. Section 3: Learn about the Local Being a vast nation, each of its fifty states maintains its own unique identity. You will find this more so in the large states, like California, New York, Texas, which have distinct differences state to state and city to city. It is important for you to be well informed about the specific nature in which the business appointment is going to take place. Section 4: Target the Market The American market is fast and diversified. However the infrastructure can be characterized in 4 major identities: - The Manufacturer - The Distributor - The Wholesaler - The Dealer Chapter 2: How to Find Prospective Buyers “Nothing is gut without” As stated before, you can sell any product in the US but you cannot sell it to everyone. To find a prospective buyer who will respond to your business partnership offer—the one who will appreciate your product and personality—is one of the hardest missions. Section 1: Where to Start In our era of electronic communication, the internet provides the ultimate source to go by. Browsing thru the unlimited pages of information will lead you to overcome the geographical barrier and enable you to draw very specific information about any industry at any city and town of the US. Section 2: How to Approach Prior to the actual cold-call to the prospective counterpart you need to prepare. First designate 2 hours without any distraction from any outside surroundings. Pre-arrange to ignore incoming calls, eating drinking, or conversations with other people. Concentrate on the words you are going to use as an introduction. Be ready to answer any question with the appropriate answer and have the conclusion sentence in front of you. A sincere approach is recommended in any contact. Know your typical buyer: As in most cases the buyer or purchase officer who is not the owner is an individual in his late 40’s. Although lacking a formal education, he maintains a basic understanding in merchandise-cost evaluation. The element of Timing The Gate Keeper Before reaching to the extension of the prospective counter part you will have to pass through the gate keeper: the receptionist or the secretary or both. Chapter 3: Trip Preparation Once an official business meeting has been obtained with the officer with authority, two issues should immediately be addressed: the itinerary and the hotel reservation. Although traveling to the US on a business trip which includes air ticket, a good hotel, meals, and ground transportation can be very expensive, maintaining the meeting face to face with the prospective counter part is essential to development of you business. Section 1: What to take with You The most important item to take with you on a business trip are samples of your product or service literature. Those items should be packed in a separate suitcase at the smallest size possible. Section 2: Clothing Besides the importance of the appropriate clothing which dictates and adjusts by the weather you are about to confront with, the right attire plays a significant part of the business meeting. Section 3: Arriving a day in advance Providing that your meeting destination is in the middle of the states—there is most likely a couple of stops, which comprises a full journey of 30 hours or above from your house to the hotel. By that time you are completely washed out. Section 4: To the Meeting Groom yourself in the morning and get yourself excited. Assuming you have checked the night before find out the reliable estimation about how long it will take you to drive to your meeting. Section 5:At the meeting The next thirty to sixty minutes will determine your success or failure to find an established business partner. Relate to the upcoming encounter with the companies buyer as the one and only opportunity to sell your product. After all the preparations that have been done, you are on the stage to give the very best show. Section 6: Buyer Response As you proceed with the product presentation, during those important yet scarce moments—pay attention to the person who is supposed to listen to you. Follow his body movement, notice if his eyes are focusing on your face in a way that tells you that he is concentrating on your words. Section 7: The presentation Remember, you have 20-30 minutes to gain a partner. Present yourself with patience in a direct approach and don’t overtime it. Right after the warm-up small talk, put your merchandise/samples on the table. If you are well prepared it should be a smooth move and not time consuming. Section 10: Gear toward the Meeting Round-up When you realize that your counter-part has no further questions and you have most of the information you are looking for. It is time to pack and ready to leave. However, you have the right to ask for a common favor. To ask for the counter-part to refer you to one or two of his associates who operate in the quite un-interfering territory. A referral can turn out to be a great direct source for another buyer without any further effort on your side.