Import Export Business Tips

Free eBook Excerpt

"42 Rules of Cold Calling Executives"

Understand the dynamics of a cold call and how you can manage those to get results.

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This eBook excerpt includes:

Introduction
Rule #2
Rule #3
Rule #4
About the Author
Prepared by Superstar Press; Sponsored by Super Star Press.

Geographic Eligibility: Selected International Countries

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Get your FREE Excerpt at:
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American Business Lists are available by SIC code, by state,
by city or by just about any parameter you need for the
success of your direct marketing campaign.

We just finished 51 new web pages for the ImportExportHelp.com
web site under the new directory of "targeted business lists".

You can review these 51 state (and Washington DC) web pages
through their links at the bottom of our main
American Business Lists web page. Check them out today!

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DIVERSIFICATION - that is the key to success and long term
viability of your international business.

A little known marketplace that you may be able to sell
your goods to is the United Nations.

The most effective way to approach the United Nations is to understand that despite the fact that UN headquarters is in New York, the UN has the same status as a sovereign country. So, selling to the UN is similar to selling to the Canadian government or any other public sector export market.

The most effective way to approach the United Nations is to understand that despite the fact that UN headquarters is in New York, the UN has the same status as a sovereign country. So, selling to the UN is similar to selling to the Canadian government or any other public sector export market. Being a US company confers some strategic advantage as US firms can visit the UN headquarters easily, but beyond that, competition for UN contracts is global and intense. Canada and the Scandinavian countries are key competitors, operating with strong governmental advocacy and financial support for their industry. Inside the UN, there is an international culture, so ithelps to be a seasoned exporter.

To get started, get on the UN Procurement Service website and bookmark it:

http://www.un.org/Depts/ptd/

Your may Download and print out their General Business Guide, which serves as a roadmap to the UN agencies, what they buy and how they do business:

http://www.iapso.org/information/publications.asp

The Procurement Service requires that suppliers be solid, solvent, stable. The UN can’t afford to have a vendor go bankrupt in the middle of a Peacekeeping Mission, so the Procurement Division requires vendor registration.

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Money-$aving tip: If you take an empty toner
cartridge to Office Depot, Office Max or Staples,
they will give you a credit of approximately $3
towards the purchase of anything in their store.
Note: most have a limit of one trade per visit.
Also, call to verify that the offer is still valid
at your local office supply stores - I just called
our local stores and it was still in effect. So,
save your cartridges. If you have to buy another
cartridge, take in the old one for a nice credit.

Another Money-$aving tip: When your toner cartridge
starts running low, leaving streaks in the
middle of your pages, simply remove the cartridge,
shake vigorously from side to side, and re-insert
it. You will get another couple of hundred pages,
minimum. This strategy is especially important
when you don't have a spare cartridge on hand,
and you are printing out something that need
completed immediately.

Import Export Business Resources

This is a quick post on a Saturday night before I go watch a movie.

First, if you are searching for a product to export or sell domestically here
in the USA, you should look for a product line that has the backing and
support of the US Government and what better product than one that
is certified to meet their standards?

The US and the world are looking for products that support the GREEN
movement towards saving and supporting and not destroying the Earth.
If you are not familiar with environmentally friendly cleaning products
and how they are just as effective as other harmful chemical based
products, you should really take a look at the green cleaning products
company that is advertising on our web site.

One you have viewed their ad (thru the link above) then go to their
main web site and if you have been looking for a line of products to
market in the USA or internationally, this might be it or if you live
in a country where you think these products would sell, contact the
company and see what kind of deal you can work out with them.
Do it now!

Next, if you have followed my posts here (and you really should
because I have really published a great deal of information FREE
that others would charge you for (see the ARCHIVES by date on
the right side of this blog) then you know that I STRONGLY
encourage you to use the INTERNET to promote your products,
whether you are working as an exporter or importer.

The INTERNET is the marketplace to the WORLD. Whether you
are promoting your own product or marketing another company's
products, the INTERNET is your VERY BEST resource.

The course that got me started about 10 years ago on the net was
only available in a cumbersome 2 ring binder of over 1000 printed
pages and cost nearly as much to ship it outside the USA as the
course itself cost.

ALL THAT HAS CHANGED WITH THE NEW 2009 EDITION!

Everything is now available on a password protected web site and
includes FAR MORE than they could have ever included in the
printed version AND due to the savings on paper and shipping,
the price has been lowered by $97.00.

This Internet Marketing course is AGES ahead of the one I
purchased 10 years ago and includes the very latest and greatest
information YOU NEED to market products or services via the
INTERNET.

Literally, OVER $100 MILLION in international business
experience, strategies, and Internet marketing secrets have
gone into this new 2009 version which is availabe to YOU
WHEREVER you live in the world (it is best to have a broadband
connection due to the number of vides that are included).

The $100 MILLION is what the publisher has done in
International Business using the very same strategies they
reveal to you. Strategies you can use to market your export
or import products and/or services.

Here is the link to FAR MORE information than ever before
at nearly ONE HALF the price and available IMMEDIATELY!
http://www.importexporthelp.com/redir/imc-course.htm

Last, but certainly not least, if you do the SMART THING and
begin using INTERNET MARKETING to promote your export
or import products, you need an easy to use and inexpensive
web site building system with hosting, domain registration and
search engine optimization help built into it.

The best best WEB SITE BUILDING system that I can
recommend to you gives you all of the above and MORE and
right now, they have a special deal going on that you should
check out before it is closed. Literally, you get about 5 times
the value of what they ask from this web building system when
you look at the resources they provide all-in-one package to
help you build and get your web site ranked in the search
engines where someone will find it - go check them out now
while their special is still in effect:
http://www.importexporthelp.com/recommends/best-website-building-system.htm

That is it for this Saturday night - I could not contain myself
and keep the information until Monday, so go check out the
above resources and be sure to visit all our archived pages
for free valuable real-life experience lessons from the world
of import and export.

Ron Coble
Coble International Marketing Services
http://www.importexporthelp/

Recession? Depression And The Import Export Business

One of the main questions I get from people who call or email
me asking about starting an import export business involves the
current state of the economy.

Quite frankly and honestly, it is bad and probably going to get a
lot worse before it begins to turn around. Personally, I do not
believe that either political party can do much about it and since
most of them are lawyers, they have little, if any, real business
experience or comprehension of how or what it takes to operate
a business.

If you are contemplating starting a business, make sure it is one
you are really interested in because it is going to be a lot tougher
to succeed now than it was just 6 months ago.

The Import Export Business is not for everyone. YOU must decide
if it is really what you want to do and if it is, make the decision
now to move forward and do it.

If you wait for a politician or government statistician to tell you
when is the right time to get started or when we have "turned the
corner", you are simply allowing another human being dictate your
life's future. A human being, that is what makes up government,
remember that - they are as subject to mistakes, miscalculations,
fraud, waste and abuse and any of those deadheads being paid
billions of dollars while their corporations are going bankrupt.

Take control of your life now, whether we are in a recession or
depression and move forward based on YOU and the intelligence you
were given.

So with that said, I wanted to post an excerpt from a book titled:

The Davis Dynasty by John Rothchild the subject of which is the
Great Depression of the 1930's:

Rothchild writes: "The Great Depression didn't destroy commerce,
any more than the mislabeled Dark Ages destroyed culture.
Zippo lighters, Frito corn chips, Skippy peanut butter and
Three Musketeers candy bars appeared on retail shelves in 1932."
People still started businesses. Revlon got its start in 1932,
for instance. "Life went on. People went shopping. Some bought rugs.
Even in the worst of times, Art Loom stayed in business."

Art Loom was the creation of the Wasserman family. It sold rugs.

Recession? Depression?? Don't let it or some government employee
(remember they serve you and I) dictate how you will live out
your life in the coming months and years.

OK, here is one of the latest Questions and Answers from my
email collection:

QUESTION:

One of the first products I wanted to trade in construction
materials is cement. I found a company I would like to deal
with because of their size and many locations
around the world. After some weeks of weeding out the
wrong people to talk to, it seems I may have stumbled on
the right person.

If you have the time, I am sending my correspondence with him
and is from last to first of our communications.

I am wondering if you might steer me in the right direction.

All I would need is FOB pricing, depending on quantity,
from any particular manufacturing site they may have around the world.

Do you think he may be asking me for actual orders I may have now,
or just the type of relationship I wish to create with them?

ANSWER:

First, you have encountered one of the primary reasons why I
do not like email as a means of making initial contact. It would have
been much more reliable and faster to just pick up the phone and
call this gentleman and it would be my recommendation for any
follow up to either get to an agreement or find out they are not
interested.

Second, you have to decide what it is you are, i.e., an EMC generally
buys the product for resale to your importing customers - an export
agent/broker works on a commission basis by bringing the two parties
together and earning a commission from the seller/manufacturer.

Third, back to number one - this gentleman is unsure of what it is
you are asking or requiring of him and his company - a short 5 minute
phone call would clarify that and you would soon know if he is
interested in working with you.

*** NEW ADDED NOTE not in original correspondence - I cannot emphasize
enough about making initial contact by some other means other than
Email. For some reason, our ISP does not like the email
domain name of a long time business associate of ours - despite
approving his domain and email "multiple" times, our ISP puts all of
his emails into the sp*am folder. Some ISP's are even more strict and
delete them outright.

The first part of this question was answered because there had been
multiple attempts to make contact with the supplier by email and
there was then some problem in the supplier misunderstanding the
communication. A quick phone call will alleviate this type of
delay and also help eliminate any misunderstanding of what you are
proposing.

One additional suggestion - in your calls and correspondence - try
to refer to your business in the plural - we - it just sounds more
businesslike than using I.

Bottom line is that email is a very poor means of making
initial contact, but great means after you have established a
point of contact to deal with. I use both methods but rely more
heavily on phone for initial contacts.

---------------------------------------

Ron Coble
International Business Marketing Services
http://www.importexporthelp.com/

International Business Questions And Answers

Import Export Business Question:

We are to Norwegian export agents based in Vancouver, Canada,
who would like to find potential buyers in Norway for Canadian
and American companies. Even though one of us has a bachelor
degree in International marketing & export, we still have some
questions about how things really work in the real world.

Due to our limited resources, we have just started a home-based
export business, and we think we have everything in its place now.
However, we are a little bit unsecured if we as agent need to be
responsible for the shipping of the goods and custom declaration?

Could some companies require this?

Import Export Business Answer

Even though you have a degree, I would still suggest you get a copy of
our Exporters Master Training package since it contains "real world"
information, not just theory - you may review details at:
http://www.importexporthelp.com/trdspm1.htm

I will attempt to answer your question below, but you should also take
several hours and visit our import export business blog at:
http://importexportbusiness.blogspot.com
*** look on the right side - down a bit - to find the dated archived posts -
not all will be of interest but the majority are questions and answers
that we have received and answered over the years which will be
beneficial to you.

Now to your question - working as an agent/broker can involve you doing
everything that is part of the exporting process from taking care of the
shipping, customs, financing, etc. if that is what you agree to do or
what your client requires in order to do business.

You can also work the business (again subject to your negotiated
agreement with the supplier/manufacturer) in a manner like I do where all
I do is generate or identify potential buyers for manufacturers and pass
those qualified leads on to the supplier - upon completion of a sale to
the parties I introduce them to, I get paid a commission which is far
less than the one I could earn if I wanted to handle all the follow up
details as you have described.

Some purists would say I am a finder, some would say I am nothing
more than a lead generator and I would respond, call me what you will
but as long as they have my name or my company's name spelled
correctly on their checks, I could care less what anyone else wishes
to call me.

So bottom line, it comes down to you and the supplier and what
involvement you wish to have in the process - the more involvement,
the more you can demand in payment, the less involvement and the
you can expect to be paid less - you have to weigh the offset of the
time you spend on a deal versus what you will get paid for that time.

Hope this helps and again, I strongly recommend you and your
partners get the Exporters Master training package - it is something
you all may use and continue to use if and when you hire any employees
or take on any new partners in your business.

Good luck and I wish you success!

Ron Coble
http://www.importexporthelp.com

Import Export Business And The Economy

Question:

I am going to order your program next month, but I was wonder, if the economy is such a crappy mess, is Import/Export Business hard to get into?

Answer:

Thanks for the opportunity to answer your question. It is one that
I thought I had answered this question in one of my blog posts but
upon reviewing it this morning it does not appear that I have done so.

I will try to keep my answer from getting political, but it is difficult
not to reference some of the reasons our economy is in the mess
it is in.

First, let me address your basic question. Is the Import Export
business hard to get into?

The quick answer to your question is Yes, it is a hard business
to succeed in whether the economy is good or bad.

In fact, it is hard to succeed at any business at any time and
the economy does play a role in how difficult it will be and
right now, it is much, much more difficult to succeed in ANY
business.

The fact that this business, or any business, is difficult to
succeed at is a fact the "hype" masters of the Internet and
opportunity magazines seem to ignore. It can best be summed
up in a Chinese proverb I just posted last night in our
Import Export business blog - the proverb is this -

“Fish see the bait, but not the hook. Men see the profit, but not the peril.”

International trade or trade between businesses in different
countries has been going on since the beginning of mankind.

There have always been obstacles placed in front of them and
these obstacles can be in the form of mountains, rivers, oceans,
thieves, and the biggest thief and obstacle of all, governments.

Governments create obstacles whether through the manipulation
of their economies or supposed protection of the industries
within their borders from less expensive goods coming in and
threatening the status quo.

Governments try to regulate things that most often will work
their way through, if the government would just let their hands
off of it in the first place.

We human beings have a tendency to believe that the persons
making up our governments have a better understanding of how
business should be run than the people who are actually working
in that business, yet most government employees and elected
officials have "never" run a profitable business.

And the people who make up our governments are just as
subject to greed and envy as all human beings and in some
instances I believe they are more subject to it.

Sorry, I am getting off on a rant here but in regards to starting
your business, you must decide if the Import Export business
is really what you want to do. It is not a hyped up business
"opportunity", it is a serious business and what our course
offers is "training" on how to start that type of business.

If you are serious about starting an import export business,
then do not wait around for the economy to turn, get started
learning what you need to know to succeed now. Then when
the economy finally does turn around, you will be that much
ahead of everyone else who sat on their hands waiting for
an imagined government solution.

One of the biggest obstacles to international trade, right
now, is financing or letters of credit.

Banks no longer trust each other, both within the USA and
from one country to another and this means you or a
manufacturer you work with as an agent or broker is going
to have a much more difficult time getting a buyer to get
a letter of credit and secondly have the manufacturer's
bank accept that letter of credit (loc).

The course will discuss financing options and where you
or the manufacturer can go to get financing if that is the
only method by which a buyer can make a purchase.

There are other alternatives to financing depending upon
the amount of the purchase. Credit cards often have a
line of credit large enough for a buyer to make the purchase
if an loc is not an accepted solution. Direct bank wire
transfers are still another option.

If a buyer really has a market for the product(s) you are
helping a manufacturer sell, the buyer will find a way of
paying for them.

So the bottom line, in answer to your original question,
is YES it is more difficult today than just a few months ago
but if you are serious about your interest in this business,
then begin learning the "how to" now and you will be in
a much better position to capitalize on the turnaround
once it comes.

If you make the decision to get started now, do not wait
for a turnaround, begin looking at markets that are still
moving goods. Food is a commodity that will always
be needed and the USA still leads the world in food
production.

In finishing this LONG answer to a SHORT question,
let me cite how difficult trade can be and then begin to
think about how much easier a path you have than
the following example.

Over the past weekend there was an episode of the
show "Globetrotter" on one of the PBS stations. I
missed the first part of it but saw enough to impress
me on how easy our lives and businesses have it
in comparison to other people in the world.

The 'globetrotter' on this episode was a young lady who
(when I picked up the show) was walking across a barren
desert in an African country (I think it was part of the
Sahara).

She had joined a trader's caravan from a desert oasis
where they grow fruits and vegetables. The people and
their camels were walking across the desert as these people
have done for thousands of years to take their goods to
a city where they would trade their goods for "salt".

The salt is required for both the people and their animals
due to the intense desert heat.

Most of the people in the caravan were walking and the
narrator stated how they would cover 50-60 miles a day!

I think they said it was a 17 day round trip and the city
where they traded their goods for salt was about 600 miles
from their oasis.

Once they got to the city, they made their trades and
loaded 4 very heavy pillars of salt on the camels and
began their journey back to their oasis.

This is what these people have been doing for thousands
of years and in my humble opinion, nothing that is currently
facing us in regards to the economy even comes close to
the hardships these 'traders' face on a continual basis.

So, yes, it will be more difficult to succeed in the import
export business today than just 6 months ago, but if this
is the business you wish to pursue, then you need to make
the decision that once you learn the "how to" that nothing
is going to stop you which brings up another proverb or
old saying I once heard many years ago.

"Let the dogs bark but the caravan moves on"

You can liken that to the first caravan that ever made that
long, hot and fateful journey across the Sahara. There
were probably more people telling them it would fail than
succeed but in the end, the caravan left those barking dogs
behind and moved on.

Hope this helps you make a more informed decision.

*** There was a brief follow up to the above answer that I
remembered a few days later that I had intended to include,
that additional answer is as follows:

Just wanted to follow up with you since there was one other
comment I wanted to include in the previous reply shown below.

It basically involves how in today's lousy economic environment
and a general distrust of investing your money with any
institution, the very best thing you can invest in is yourself.

Once you gain knowledge about a new subject, the investment
will last for a life time. No one can ever take it away from you
and the growth of that investment is solely dependent upon
you and the actions you take, not an investment advisor,
banker, etc..

So if there is any ONE place I would recommend for someone
to invest right now or for that matter, any time, is in educating
yourself.

For further information about Import Export or other International
business resources, visit the International Business Help Center
and be sure to take your time looking around the 285 web pages
that make up this premier web site.

Ron Coble
Coble International Business Services