So,have you got what it takes?

Feb 5 2008 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

COMPANIES that do well in international markets share many common characteristics.

Successful companies are those with vision, commitment, focus, research, planning, training, relationship building, quality, adaptation and energy.

It’s no good thinking: “I don’t have time for that stuff - I’ve got a business to run”. Life, and particularly business, is not forgiving of such a head-in-the-sand approach. In this and future columns we will look at these ‘Top traits of successful exporters’ and how you can use them to transform your business.

As a first step, ask yourself these questions:

Vision - do you have a management team that wants to be an international business?

Commitment - can you put enough of the right resources into developing new markets?

Focus - are you focused on only a few key markets at a time?

Research - are you being thorough in your research?

Planning - are you developing new products/services with international trade in mind?

Training - is your business investing in international trade training?

Relationship building - can you build selected relationships in overseas markets?

Quality - can you create and foster an international reputation for quality?

Adaptation - can you adapt to business, culture and language in other markets?

Energy - does your team have an inbuilt enthusiasm to do business overseas?

If the answer to all of these is “Yes” then you’re well on your way to being an international business. If the answer to any is “No” you need to look again at your expectations.

Exporting is not a game. You know that you don’t get many opportunities for rehearsal. Exporting has risks, but what successful companies show is that those risks are limited by adopting the ten traits above and applying them methodically to developing overseas markets.

It will take time and talent as well as adopting these “top traits”, but you can succeed and UK Trade & Investment is here to help with a wide range of services.

For more information on how UK Trade & Investment can help call the North East International Trade Hotline on 0845 05 05 054.