Globalization in Sales
Today, in times of globalization, many companies are forced to internationalize in order to secure their viability. When a company deems this step as meaningful, the planning begins. Motivated decisions are then made as to which markets they would like to strengthen their presence in over the next five to seven years and from which markets they may even consider withdrawing. Occasionally, this is also determined by the customers. So far, so good! However, often in this planning phase, the complexity of such a step is underestimated. Important questions are not considered or not consistently enough: For example, are truly neutral standards being applied that provide insights into the respective market attractiveness and the company's own competitive strength in the markets? This is crucially important: Only then is an objective evaluation possible as to where the company should ideally prioritize its engagement. Further fundamental questions arise: Through which channels should customers be served? Should a direct or an indirect distribution channel be chosen? In the direct approach, should the company rely on field sales representatives or key account managers? In the indirect approach, should the company work with distributors or perhaps with sales agents? If we look at the collaboration with distributors as an example, a whole range of questions arises that need to be clarified and incorporated into a globalization strategy: For example, in a selected country, should the company rely solely on one distributor or would it be more sensible to work with multiple distributors to spread the risk, even if it means taking on significantly more work? How can the selection of distributors be carried out in a neutral and fact-based manner to choose the right candidate(s)? Who trains the distributors and who provides ongoing support? Does the company assist the distributor in certain sales tasks such as acquiring new customers or managing key account customers, or does it leave everything entirely to the partner? Who writes or reviews proposals and/or approves them? Is there a unified system through which all distributors worldwide report to the headquarters? And how can differences in performance be evaluated in a way that enables learning from the best and developing the other distributors to become more successful? You can see that even with this one aspect, a considerable level of detail is quickly reached. However, many companies fail to achieve this level of differentiation in advance. Admittedly, it may be hardly possible to establish a perfect system right from the start in international business. It will always be necessary to continuously work on optimization and make fine adjustments. But a lack of detail in the preparation stage significantly complicates and slows down the implementation process or may even lead to failure in the worst case scenario. Approaching the topic of "globalization" on a global scale, internationalization is definitely doomed to fail!
