Export

Exportia Lab: Selling your tech to Europe without travelling

One of the reasons why we have been able to thrive within the last months is because we rapidly adapted our way of selling by effectively using web conferencing platforms. As a business we cannot afford to wait for a potential COVID end date. We had to change the sales process so our customers are able to continue developing their business and sales activities in Europe.

Interview with Michael Corfield, Omnitanker

Michael is currently the Head of Sales of Omni Tanker. And the reason I wanted to interview him was because he has a very interesting and solid experience in export around the world. I thought it would be worth sharing a bit about his journey with our exporters community.  Enjoy the read and you can also listen to the interview here. The interview has been slightly edited to ease the read.

The 6 reasons why there has never been a better time to export for Australian companies

There has never been a better time for small and medium-sized agile Australian businesses to export. I know this is not what you would expect to hear in the middle of a global pandemic! Since March 2020, I have been ‘stood’ down. From monthly commuting between Sydney-Frankfurt, I have switched exclusively to international Zooming. And I have to say, it has happened very smoothly and very successfully. My team and I have transitioned towards an online lead generation and sales process. The pandemic’s impact on international business has been unexpectedly amazing. I have come to the realisation that small businesses, that are smart and agile, are best positioned to make the most of these challenging times.

Now is the time to formalise your objectives and your plan for the European market for 2021!

It is December and time for you to finalise your  2021 goals/objectives  and plans for the European market. The EU business year is from 1 January to 31 December. By early December EU business people are busy completing business for 2020 and formulating planning for 2021.Sales people will concentrate on completing as much business as possible before the end of the year, making sure they reach their sales targets. Your distributors or sales channel partners will also be busy in this mode. Department managers are finalising their plans for 2021, sales managers are finalising their sales targets and purchasing managers are now finalising key budget allocations for 2021. 

In order to thrive, why now is the opportune time to change the way you sell to international markets in a B2B environment

Before COVID-19 hit, I used to commute between Australia and Europe on a monthly basis. That was one of my core activities visiting  European clients and having face to face meetings with their sales teams on behalf of my Australian customers. When COVID-19 hit I had to stop travelling abroad or risk being stuck overseas far from Australia and my family. 

Christelle Wins the 2020 Smart WFM Australian Business Book Awards

Congratulations to our very own Managing Director, Christelle Damiens for winning the Australian Business Book Awards 2020 on Communications and Sales category and for being a finalist in the Entrepreneurship and Small Business category for her Amazon Bestseller Book "The 4 steps to generate your first million euros in sales"!