How to find a foreign business partner

   





© Linus Lohoff

Friendship of Nations: how to find a foreign business partner Developing your business, you often have to interact not only with compatriots, but also with foreign suppliers, investors and business partners. Managers of successful Russian companies shared their experience — where to look and how to build relationships.Alexander Khlopushina, co-founder of EnjoyMe Almost from the beginning our goal was to become a major wholesale supplier of designer gifts, accessories and home goods. Since we are based in London, the first suppliers EnjoyMe was the only English company. At some point we started to work with a major carrier, I understood the intricacies of customs clearance and began to develop our wholesale sales. Suppliers were a small design Studio and some pretty big local companies: Luckies, Black+Blum, Suck UK Thabto. In the following year added a couple of good European brands of medium size. To agree was easy — at that time we did not conclude exclusive contracts and just doing things you love.

I once saw a Nest of bowls from Joseph Joseph and fell in love with the brand at first sight. Then I decided that these products should appear in our store, and wrote them a letter. In response, I received a questionnaire and was a little surprised, to get the usual not so simple, the company should be sure that their product is sold in a decent place. Our EnjoyMe, unfortunately, didn't fit, but we did not give up. For three months we made the site (www.famouskitchen.ru especially for kitchen accessories and again contacted Joseph Joseph. They were amazed that someone had created a website only to sell products to their brand, and allowed us to make the first order as a simple wholesale buyer. Their representatives came to Moscow, and we needed to show EnjoyMe in the best light. For this we only had 10 days — we had meetings with all potentially interesting chain stores and large customers, ran a series of successful negotiations. This helped in further development, but Joseph Joseph chose another distributor, a major company working with the kitchenware more than 10 years. This is the first small defeat forced us to make a great leap forward.

We started to work with retailers, using the brand name, but supplied them with fewer products suppliers, honing the skills of working with major clients and building your company with a full-fledged Department of wholesale sales. A year passed, we grew stronger, and suddenly a call came from Joseph Joseph — a chosen distributor has not met expectations. Then we were asked to meet again. The company impressed with the way we grew up and we moved on to talks about exclusive distribution for the year. For this right fought a few more companies from the market, but by some happy coincidence, chose us. The brand became a ticket to big business. After we kept Joseph Joseph year, and then second, we got other major companies. When we have proven that cope with the Russian market, to agree easier.

Alexander Platonov, founder and CEO of "Passion fruit" Here are some tips:

If you need any particular company, you need to identify the key individuals responsible for making decisions in this business. Look for them on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. most of the foreign managers anyway lead activity from social networks. Safolova them, watch what they twitt who followed, like their posts, comment, ask questions to the posts. If you're original, then they will notice you and you will be able to gently get close to them. If a person has 5000 followers, hundred likes and fifty comments on every post, consider who and whose posts are most retweetet or sherit this man. You can always find a way to reach someone who is a leader of opinion for the man. And already through it to get acquainted with those who you need.

Try to meet directly with someone from star foreign entrepreneurs. It might seem impossible, but not so long ago, Richard Branson offered to the entrepreneur with the best idea to capacity the project before him in person on his own island, and then free to participate in the largest exhibition in the United States — CES.

Another way to find a partner to do so that you wrote a well-known news resource of the United States, which reads the one you want. For example, the editor of TechCrunch Mike butcher happy to write about Russian startups. He even made a great version of the letter would like to see.

After selling the business in Russia, I had two opposite problems. On the one hand, I wanted to invest some of their money in any foreign project from the real sector of the economy. On the other, wanted to attract foreign investment into your new online project. Joint investments may reduce the risk of each of the partners, well, I just wanted to attract Western money — a different approach and standards. I had to learn, to stretch her, to improve English, to train pitch about the project. However, as is often the case, the investor was in a circle of friends. I just went to his American friends, which knew on Facebook, on conferences and personal contacts, told about the interesting project, and friends asked to help find investment. Instead, one of the friends offered to join the project. As a result, I received not just investment but a great partner. I myself invested in a construction project in San Francisco — also on the advice of friends. However, I did get a lawyer and conducted a mini-investigation. Looked was around these people a conflict or trial, as they were the crisis years of 2008-2009. Because in the US, all information is open, you can lift all things to all companies which are potential partners, and then sit down and study them.

Veronica Tarab, Deputy General Director of "CRIC" We helped the case. When we decided to go outside of Russia, there was a feeling (based on trying to pre-sale) that we are interested not Old world or Eastern Europe, but the neighborhood on the other side, where the more dynamic markets. We already had experience with Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, wanted to go further. Anyone not specifically looking for. One of our managers left the provider of specialized IT solutions for the company, which bought in Turkey customer of the CRIC. This provider discussed with us some of their joint business, and he introduced us to an it company that also worked with this client and were looking for opportunities for more rapid development. It was a Turkish system integrator of the NGN, the company with five years of experience. We have studied the market (market demand outsourcing of computing its dynamics and specifics in Turkey), the possibilities and characteristics of Turkish companies (Finance, personnel, clients, vendors). Communicated with its key vendors and customers, understand the needs of their clients in Turkey and abroad, made a business plan for the construction of data centers and entered into a partnership. Inna Alexeeva, the co-founder and CEO of PR partnerВ some point we saw that our clients have requests for PR support abroad. In addition, many of our employees have been talking about wanting to do an internship in another country, as is done in large network agencies. Since the market is very competitive, we needed to keep the bar — we began to look for a partner abroad. We opened a global rating of The Holmes Report, which shows the largest PR agencies in the world — with them we have started. Then we had 25 people, and the turnover was just under $2 million Most of us do not answer we wrote a hundred letters, and the responses came in 20 pieces, mostly with the refusal, which said that the companies already have partners in Russia. Then we began to write to the international Association of PR agencies. The situation was about the same — lots of failures, but the response still was. We went to a meeting with the Global Alliance and IPRN. Completed the survey, provided recommendations to clients and employees and financial statements for the last two years. When we joined the IPRN, the Global Alliance found out and refused us, although initially it was not stated that it is impossible to be in two associations at once. It was frustrating because we spent a lot of time and money.

At the same time, we realized that the partner we need. Then we went the other way — began to write in the blogs of the heads of foreign agencies. So we contacted Andres Witterman, Vice President of global communications Agency LEWIS PR and tried to establish a dialogue. For example, he wrote a post about the fact that the market is growing. We said, "Great, the market is growing, and we know that LEWIS PR is not working in Russia. We want to offer you to work with us. What do you say?". In the end everything worked out. We are giving them to their customers, and they give us their — now is the third year of our work together. We also send our employees to training. They were already in France, Australia, Germany, UK. We are glad that method worked blog. Since then, I actively communicate with the heads of PR-agencies worldwide — mainly through social networks.

Source: theoryandpractice.ru