Step 3: Lead Generation

At the end of the Market Validation step, the next step is Lead Generation. Basically once you know which European country to focus on and have short-listed a few distribution partners in this country, it’s time to conduct a Lead Generation campaign!

The goal of Step 3: Lead Generation is to generate a pipeline of leads, trials, demos. Whenever we can we love to secure a first sales and a channel partner. In the Market Validation phase, you have validated the interest of potential sales channels or distributors. They seem to be interested. You also possibly have initial leads with potential customers. Then in the Lead Generation step it’s time to accelerate things and get you to your first sales.

In an Exportia Lead Generation project, we operate what we call a PUSH and a PULL. This will be achieved with two actions that must happen simultaneously:

1. We will need to create leads; this is what we call a ‘PUSH’
2. We trigger the interest of and secure your distribution channels; this is what we call a ‘PULL’.

These two actions are interlinked. You will secure and motivate your first distributor by bringing leads to the table. You will be able to turn leads into sales thanks to your European channel partner or distributor who will make the transaction happen for you; they are your channel to the market.

In some instances, we use European Trade Show to kickstart your European Lead Generation Campaigns and accelerate results.

Your objectives for the Lead-Generation phase are the following:

• • • to sign a test, or a trial, or to close your first sale;
    • find your anchor client;
    • sign up your first distributor.

A Lead Generation campaign in close cooperation with your potential distribution partners, will avoid you making the typical mistake that new entrants into the European market make: they just sign-up distributors and wait! We get it at Exportia, it’s hard to generate leads if you don’t have the local European skills to generate leads in Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, or whichever European country, for language or time zone reasons. The issue is that European distributors are busy with products that already generate revenue for them. To get them started with your product, you need to show them how they can make money with your product. You basically need to show them how! Otherwise, it will take them a very long time to start selling. This is exactly what the In-country European-based Exportia team can do for you.

Contact us today for a discovery call about Lead Generation in Europe.