How to look for clients abroad. Assistance in finding partners abroad. Is it safe to link your bank account

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 LOOK 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 to 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 to your email address.

Authentic Jobs

The site is not new, but it does not belong to the oldest resources with work. However, the list of clients who have ever used Authentic Jobs is credible. Judge for yourself - Mercedes-Benz, Apple, Booking.com, Tesla and a dozen more 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 for the job announcement board. As with the two previous services, most of the customers are looking for office staff but some awesome freelance jobs can be found. Mostly required graphic designers and developers with 3+ 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 remote and office workers. Everything will depend on your qualifications and work experience. There are many offers for those who wish to find a stable job with pay $ 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!

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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 we get are very different:

Have already worked with local partners or 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 of these rationales are understandable. Depending on the specifics of the business, when choosing a market, it is necessary to 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 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 done 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 an 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 by companies directly, or find potential partners in order 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 entering the market. small internet or Retail Stores with an invitation to cooperation. From practice, in the latter case important role will play price offer... 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 more than 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 select potential partners through the above resources or purchase contacts from paid databases for further development. For example, if you purchase a database of more than a thousand potential partners in the segment art materials(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 step in the development of the database by your outsourced employees will be its 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 independently or with the help of specialists look for business contacts abroad, 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 in a foreign language (,.

How marketing agency break into the market and find foreign customers? What about millennials when old marketing gimmicks don't work? What is banner blindness? What is more important when hiring employees - experience or burning eyes? Participation in exhibitions - a waste of time or a must-have? Tempting marketing market China - Why Fear? How to behave at foreign exhibitions in order to "skim the cream"?

Snezhanna Kulinskaya, Development Director of Qmobi, a mobile marketing agency, whose clients include such giants as AliExpress, Badoo, Yandex and MegaFon, shares her experience, advice and business hacks.

Tell us how the agency started, how did it present itself on the market, what is the company's mission?

The agency started with a small media buying team. 3-4 people bought mobile traffic for owners of mobile applications. It was a service company that provided services. After a while, the guys came to the idea that they needed to create a brand, develop it, and attend conferences. Then the name Qmobi appeared, under which the company continues to develop.

What is the specificity of your company? How is mobile marketing different from live marketing?

What helped your company to enter the market and find foreign clients?

The main thing is the team. At the start, you need to hire only highly motivated and, if possible, "universal" people who do not shy away from performing completely different tasks, work with their heads and hands, connect all resources, look for answers to questions. Such a person can talk to a customer on the phone, look at the code in the front-end, and participate in a pricing brainstorming session. At the start, you need people with experience, and only then you can take people with burning eyes and finish teaching them.

How did you get your first clients? When did you start targeting foreign markets?

Orientation to foreign markets existed even when the company was just conceived. Russian mobile is a small piece of the world. Large clients with huge marketing budgets are located abroad, but they are ready to buy Russian users for their product. We provide them with services and foreign markets, and in Russian. Qmobi's first clients were both from Russia and abroad. We hired a team with experience, and the employees already had their own pool of clients. Today our main clients are Russia and China.

How do our clients differ from Chinese ones?

There is a colossal difference in business processes. The Russian mentality is closer to the European one. Discussion of projects proceeds according to the principle “chairs in the morning, money in the evening”. First, the terms of delivery, terms, price are discussed. If everyone is happy with everything, we signed a contract and start working. For the Chinese, the reconciliation process is structured differently, it takes longer, and personal contacts are important. The start is possible only after a live meeting. Cold selling doesn't work - the Chinese need to see that you are a living person who can be trusted.

Do you have clients from other countries? What is their specificity?

Yes, from Europe and America. It's a little hard for them to get started with Russian company... If the company is completely foreign, there are no Russian managers as points of contact, then Russia looks like a “big scary bear” for them. They may be afraid of procedural things, problems with banks, crises, fear that the payment will not arrive, or you will simply disappear. However, after a successful experience, and especially after a live meeting, the contact grows together.

In addition, the Russian IT market has high quality services and products.

How do you look for overseas clients?

Our sales are built in several stages. There are cold sales, sample cold calls, and first emails. Then, with a 90% probability, we go to a foreign event, to an exhibition, forum or conference, and there we already make appointments with companies. The sale and the conclusion of the contract takes place at a live meeting. This is how we get overseas clients - from live events. Participation in them shows the company to be reputable and successful. If you are constantly seen at international events, then they are perceived as an expert. We started going to exhibitions two years ago, and since then there has been a huge increase in profits.

Are you traveling already prepared, with a list of warm contacts?

Yes, conferences publish lists of participants in advance, or there is a list of last year's participants available. You already represent the pool of companies, who will be there. We use LinkedIn as one of the main communication channels with foreign clients, we make an appointment in advance. Also, most large conferences have the functionality of making appointments at the event itself. You can send inquiries to companies of interest, receive answers, appoint a meeting place and discuss cooperation.

How many Chinese events do you attend?

On an annual basis - no, but in terms of profitability they differ significantly. In Europe, a huge number of events are held in mobile - individual game conferences, events general plan, which demonstrates both HB B2B and B2C applications. But according to the results that we bring, while China is working out the hardest. In Europe, the number of agencies per client is off the charts, and clients are spammed with offers. They communicate carefully, reject. When you come to a Chinese event, there are not too many companies there. The event is not cheap, so not everyone can afford to participate. And the Chinese perceive people who are able to travel as far as experts, they communicate with them in a different way.

How reliable is a Chinese customer?

There is a communication risk. Very easy to destroy good relationship with the Chinese, if you behave incorrectly in personal interaction. It is necessary to take into account the peculiarity of business culture, speech interaction. The Chinese do not say "no" directly, replacing it with the phrases "let's discuss this tomorrow", "let's come back to this later." It is important to predict, literally read the eyes and ask suggestive questions... “Do you need a recommendation from our Chinese clients? Needed Additional Information? How can I help you?" In terms of payments, the Chinese are reliable, but they delay payments - I think everyone knows this. The contract stipulates payment in 30 days, but in fact it occurs after 60, or even 90. Europe and the United States are different in this regard: for them a word written on paper is a law.

What other nuances are there when looking for clients abroad?

You must have a foreign legal entity and an account in a foreign bank. Everything should be in order with the documents. Americans, Germans and others will never contact those who do not pay taxes, do not have certification documents, etc.

Do your payments go through a Russian or foreign legal entity? How easy is it? In what currency?

And so and so. Calculations are always in dollars.

Is your relationship with the client a one-off or a long-term one?

90% of our clients are regular ones. There is a win with winners strategy, which is very relevant for service companies. If you provide services to companies for which everything is already working, "the locomotive is on its way," just service this "locomotive" in a timely manner and with high quality, then you will be fine too.

What's in your line of services?

Full scope of mobile marketing services: mobile app promotion and analytics of this promotion. What traffic we received, how long users stay in the application, what actions they take, what can be improved in the application to increase user activity.

Are foreign users different from Russian ones?

Of course, the price for the acquisition of both is different. The most paying users in B2C are English-speaking countries, Japan, France, Germany. And only then comes Russia and the developing countries. Russian users prefer the free to play model, when they are given a try for free, or a trial period is given, or the application is completely free, and separate functionality can be purchased.

What's more difficult to promote: B2B apps or B2C apps?

In China, are there more applications in English or Chinese?

In China, successful businesses are copied very successfully and, in a good sense of the word, are aggressively trying to gnaw off a piece of the new market for themselves. We saw a cool business model, copied it, localized it, multiplied it, immediately hired a staff of programmers, slightly altered it, adapted it for the Asian market. If they see that it works, they make money on it - they immediately hire a team and translate it into English.

Are there language-related difficulties in your work?

Yes, there is a firewall in China that closes chinese internet from the whole world. They have their own search engines, their own services, social networks - everything is in Chinese. Perhaps that is why they do not have an urgent need to learn English. It's hard to interact with them. In the summer we went to a huge game exhibition in China, and 70 percent of the booths - no one speaks English. You ask: "Do you speak English?" Answer: "A little". But in fact, it's not even little. Because of the language barrier, cold sales are difficult. How to break through the secretary's barrier if the secretary does not understand you? Therefore, we recommend having a specialist who speaks Chinese when entering the Chinese market.

How to prepare for your trip to China?

Most of the Chinese events are large-scale, there will be many pavilions, one person physically will not have time to process them, so you need to take several people with you. People at the stands get very tired, because an incredible number of people come up to them, so we would recommend doing all the important things on the first day. If the exhibition runs for 2-3 days, then there is a risk that on the second day after 15:00 you will not find anyone. People get very tired and fold their stands. In addition, you need to take a person who speaks Chinese with you, because without him, even your movement around the city will be difficult. Taxi drivers do not speak English - the same as ours. Check in at the hotel, buy a SIM card - you need Chinese for this. Important meetings you need to appoint in advance, and not try to find someone only at the stands. Office meetings work well in China. Since you are already getting this far, then schedule another 2-3 days after the event for personal meetings.

Is it better to bring a translator from Russia or look for it on the spot?

We hire our own person from Russia who understands the topic of mobile marketing. And for everyday needs such as calling a taxi, you can use the services of a local translator provided by the organizing company.

Is there your agent in the Chinese market, or do you work with clients remotely?

We work remotely and we have a representative office in Thailand. Thais can fly to China - it is closer and more convenient for them.

What should be the stand - necessarily large and noticeable?

Of course, a big beautiful booth works better. What is the point of taking a tiny stand in the corner of the hall if the huge pavilion simply does not reach you? If you claim to be cool international company then book a cool booth. If this event is target for you, and you understand that there will be many clients, so you are bringing a good staff who knows how to work at international exhibitions, then it is better to spend money on passable place... Conferences pay off if the right people go to them.

Which exhibitions pay off well?

In China - ChinaJoy, in other regions - CasualConnect, Mobile World. Recently, the White Nights conference has been developing, which is organized by the St. Petersburg company Nevosoft. The last conference was held in Moscow at the international level. Now you can go there not only for the sake of clients, but also for the sake of the content part - there is something to listen to.

Foreign companies ordering marketing promotion in their market are looking for a "native" company or are they ready to consider a foreign one?

Depends on the region. Companies in the US and Europe don't care who they work with. They care about the price, the level of service and the order in the documents. For the Chinese, due to the language barrier and the level of trust, it is preferable to work with compatriots. Because as soon as a Chinese company thought of ordering a service, another Chinese company immediately appeared, ready to provide it.

In what language do you draw up contracts with the Chinese side?

In English.

What business hack could you share with someone who wants to learn from you?

If you feel like you're ready to showcase your product, go and get live customer feedback. You will not hear better from anyone about your product or service than from end consumers... At international events, one can hear industry trends, learn new things and understand that before that he "cooked" in his own pot, and not in the realities of the market. If you work with certain regions, it is better to have your own representative there so that he is constantly on the market and can drive up for live interaction.

What kind of work small Ukrainian companies are making their way in different industries, "Personal Account" asked entrepreneurs who have overcome 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. To understand how global business is becoming every day is possible only in practice. Or, while remaining a theoretician who does not dare to 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 admiring 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?

By organizing own business Sergey 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 is to reach completely competitive market with the dominance of large world companies - not easy. “We had to compete mainly with other Ukrainian companies,” says Serhiy. - A foreign customer chooses a partner in Ukraine with whom he will carry out transportation. The criteria for choosing a partner are, 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 believe that it will always be interesting in one form or another. On the other hand, global trends towards automation of work, towards minimization of costs lead to the fact that the profitability of each individual work 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 the 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 our 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 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 for contractual 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 are 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 have 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 the work is the fall of the market, which can even lead to the 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 need 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 without business travel it is impossible to build successful business... “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 superprofessionalism, 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 it is very difficult to find a serious customer in Ukraine, and almost 98% of the entire market works for a foreign partner”. More expensive is a product created in the high-level JAVA language (accordingly, the specialists are expensive), while the Ukrainian customer is looking for a more budgetary option, more often orders simply the creation of 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 made for customers from Kazakhstan, Canada, Germany, Poland, Russia, and the USA. Success in pretty 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 the development of business applications." One more competitive advantage that allows you to find a customer directly (and, accordingly, to earn money not on the contractor's commission), - expertise: up to the development of a business strategy through the use of multimedia solutions (applications, websites, etc.). Now, as Valentin says, “it is very important to show oneself 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 low price, it is impossible to earn enough to hire good specialists, - Valentin is sure, - which means that it will be impossible to stay on the 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 the investments will return afterwards." 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 also 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, it is necessary to take into account unscrupulous competitors (as a rule, from eastern countries). Valentin notes that in the market everyone values their 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 learn 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, when compared 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 registered 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 force, but are Ukrainian goods and services of no 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 more correct to say here 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 do not 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, due to recent events in Ukraine, foreigners have some concerns about our companies. For example, Lithuanians who are friendly towards us, having seen the news about the hostilities, ask how we managed to fly to Lithuania, thinking that we have a war and the transport infrastructure has been 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 it this way 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 a few 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 sale of your product or a more interesting packaging design - who knows. Need to try.

There is successful examples when the production of children's clothing in Ukraine sells its products to Lithuania (via the Internet), and already the 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. Salaries at good engineers what is there, what is there equally high. 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 prospect 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 companies using 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 advancing on 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 the raw product), which stopped almost immediately for one simple reason. Our entrepreneurs, hearing 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.

“Today it is no longer a problem to produce goods. Try to sell! "
Sergey Galitsky, multibillionaire.

Indeed, the 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 from minimal cost? There are actually several ways to increase sales.

Some organizations are investing heavily in advertising. Others create entire marketing departments within themselves. Still others use third-party customer search services.

The latter approach is becoming more widespread due to its relative simplicity and cost effectiveness.

What are these services that promise to provide a whole stream of ready-made 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" is 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 do they promise to bring clients

HOT LINES and GRANDION position themselves as universal services, that is, they are capable of bringing clients 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" - this is the main method of finding clients.

PIK MEDIA is a service that attracts customers 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, and advertising in the media, and promotions, and even marketing rumors.

3. Cost of services

The HOT LINES website does not have a detailed price list for advertising services.

PIK MEDIA announces a rather tempting figure - 5,000 rubles. Even with such investments, the service claims, there will be applications from potential customers.

Payment for the services of "GRANDIONA" 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 fairly serious customers, including the Moscow Mayor's Office, Pfizer Corporation and Digital television"DIVO TV".

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.

PIK MEDIA agency is already more focused on finding clients. Although among other services they offer 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 completely and completely 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 customer base, but the customers 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!

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