Generally, companies outsource when they do not want to overload their internal structure and want to give the company greater flexibility. In our specific case it refers to the choice of an external collaboration with an agreement on a specific project, instead of choosing to hire a human resource which, given the kind of task involved, would generally be a full time employee. The result is greater flexibility with a cost rationalization.

It depends on the company’s structure and on its specific needs. Generally the role that most corresponds to the kind of activity we carry out is that of the export or area manager; in some cases that of the operational advisor for the development of new markets.

We are in charge of looking for specific business partners such as commercial agents, importers, distributors, etc. or clients within the markets that are identified as primary.

Once the potential partners are identified, we establish a first contact in order to confirm that they are relevant and interested. Secondly we send them all the information regarding your business, in terms of products and services. Then we proceed with the follow-up until an agreement is reached. Depending on the product/service offered and on the company’s structure there may be a technical support involved during the negotiation. If collaboration is agreed we will be in charge of dealing with the partner (client or agent), supporting the company as an export manager would do, or coordinating the management of the contact with the internal staff.

It depends on the company, on its products, its services, and on some more parameters such as the current structure of the selling network, the geographic distribution of the client list, the products’ (or services’) placing in comparison with that of the competitors, the competition, and more.

It is important to carry out a preliminary analysis based on the existing information within the company and on a series of macroeconomic indicators, apart from specific statistic data regarding the products, the sectors involved and the available budget. After considering this preliminary study there will be operational decisions to be made and then it will be possible to start with the operative phase in the selected countries or areas of interest.

When we talk about networking we refer to the idea of “building a network”. It does not specifically refer to a network of companies, even if there is the chance that the companies involved in the same network decide to establish a “network contract” between each other; it refers to the opportunity we provide of creating a group of complementary companies which can be presented at the same time to potential clients or middlemen, with a clear and significant cost rationalization.

Try to think about companies which operate in the same sector as yours, and which offer products or services different from yours, meaning that you are not competitors. In most cases they will be companies that share the same client and, in some cases, they could also work as a catalyst for the selling of your product or service.