Localize to Sell Into Global Markets - Show #118

Stefan Repin is the founder of LuckBoosters, a company helping B2B companies with complex and long sales cycles grow demand and close more customers through full-cycle marketing and sales practices. He’s worked all over the world, growing companies by adapting sales techniques to meet specific industry needs while respecting local culture. 

Stefan helped one client, a Belgian software developer, enter the South African market. The company’s software consolidates data gathered by drones, information critical to the mining, agriculture, and oil and gas industries rife within the country. Stefan advised the company to build relationships with key opinion leaders to help with introductions. To develop the new relationships, prospects were invited to participate in a company podcast. Twenty agreed, receiving a brochure and a customized toy plane as a personal thank you.  

At the same time, Stefan knew that mail delivery and Internet service were inconsistent throughout the country, so he worked with the software company to send three copies of the same material to ensure that potential buyers received the information sent to them. Similarly, the company made available an offline version of its software. 

Stefan advised the company to be more direct – and more persistent – in its outreach than it would have been in Europe because it’s how business is done, locally. Relationship-building took time, but in the end paid off for the company. 

Another client, Platforce, conducted outreach into Southeast Asia via webinars. Stefan knew that local buyers wouldn’t respond to Internet or email invitations, so advised the company to call each prospect with a personal invitation. In the end, webinars combined with dinner and a custom presentation worked to build trust and sales.  

Stefan sees increased sales whenever a company supports a local representative and translates company brochures and related information. Many clients have limited budgets for localization so he asks his client companies to translate marketing material after securing at least five prospects, followed by website translation after just one sale. Building a landing page or microsite based on translated marketing material maximizes the investment. 

“Trust” is the recurring theme throughout, he adds – translated, localized content builds and nurtures local relationships. 

 

Links:  

Website: https://www.luckboosters.com/  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefan-repin-b2boperations/?originalSubdomain=ie  

 

Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ 

Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com