Blog And News
Overcoming the Hurdles to U.S. Market Entry
U.S. market entry is a rite of passage for many international scaling firms—particularly those in advanced technology. An outcome of globalization and the rapid pace of technological advancement, entrepreneurs and manufacturing businesses of all sizes from around the world see extraordinary opportunity here. Such trends have also fueled increased competition,
The Trick to Getting Past Gatekeepers in B2B Sales
Gatekeepers are hired to protect C-suite executives. While not the Queen of England, the myriad of responsibilities juggled by C-suites requires someone to filter, grant or deny access to them based on their credentials. C-suite executives themselves are also gatekeepers to B2B sales in that they control the budgets. As
Setting C-suite Appointments like a Boss
Setting appointments with CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, CMO’s and other organizational leaders are the lifeblood of B2B sales. Top sales professionals must battle gatekeepers, voicemail, email filters, their fears, and a variety of other obstacles to get the attention of these executives. The process is often inefficient and
Steps to Ensuring High-quality Conversation at Trade Shows
High-quality conversations at trade shows and in-person events are like buried treasure. It’s rare that you stumble upon them. It is worth every investment of time and resources to evolve a map to ensure that you find them. First, let’s define high-quality. High-quality conversations deliver value—whether in potential customers, partnerships
Getting in the Mindset for Trade Show Success
At MEET, we focus on helping B2B growth companies soft-land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. By using time-tested strategies to identify prospects, select shows, align marketing techniques and measure outcomes, MEET works to de-risk the scaling process by ensuring a steady stream of high-quality
Why Good Conversation Delivers ROI
The art of making good conversation has been studied for centuries. And while everyone seems to have their own twist, there is clearly some agreement around the makings of a master conversationalist. According to common wisdom, those with good conversation skills show interest and curiosity in their counterparts. They ensure
Build your Bullpen to Maximize Trade Show ROI
When sales leaders are asked where they get their referrals, close to 100% will answer from past or existing customers. When asked why they attend trade shows and in-person events, these same individuals will say that they expect to build new relationships that will drive referrals. What is the best
Market Entry and the Art of Staying Nimble
The famous hockey player Wayne Gretzky was once asked by a reporter: “What makes you better than other players on the ice?” “Other hockey players go where the puck is,” he answered. “I go where the puck is going.” Every CEO is trying to stay ahead of the game, to
Beating the Competition as a Scaling Firm
Understanding your competition and how to differentiate in a new market is critical for any scaling firm. Beating the competition, on the other hand, requires much more. As any swimmer will tell you, the key to winning a race is to keep your head down and focus on your strengths.
How to Maximize ROI in Market Research
We’ve all been the target of market research. Whether it’s a prompt requesting you to remain on the line for a brief survey, a feedback card you receive upon exiting an airplane, or that pop-up web survey you just can’t seem to minimize. How do companies decide on a market
Six KPIs for Measuring Success of a Scaling Business
While every company chooses to measure success differently depending on their scope of service and product features, certain KPIs unite all successful companies. For firms scaling to the U.S. on a tight budget and timeline, keeping close tabs on metrics of success can make a world of difference. What are
Meeting Customer Expectations: Lessons from Market Research
Understanding and successfully meeting customer expectations in your target market is the number one challenge for any business. Scaling to a foreign market acts as a multiplier for that challenge. That’s where investments in market research and rapid testing can make a big difference. On June 25th we spoke with
The Importance of Market Research for Scaling Firms
On June 25th we spoke with Michael Vigeant, CEO of Greatblue Research in a webinar we titled: What You Don’t Know Can Kill Your Business: Nailing Market Research for U.S. Market Entry. With over 20 years of experience in market research, we thought we’d begin by getting Michael’s perspective on
Keeping an Eye on Your Target Market
Knowing your target market is part and parcel to starting a successful business. In the absence of a remote sense of whom your product is aiming to serve, it is practically impossible to develop any sort of viable marketing and sales strategy. With 75+ years of experience in trade shows
Entering the U.S. Market? Resist Big Bets
Americans have a reputation for going big—big cars, big houses, big portions…the list goes on. But for firms entering the U.S. market, this inclination to “go big” can actually be counterproductive and destructive. In our recent webinar: SCALE NOW: Entering the U.S. Market through Trade Shows and In-Person Events, we
Solving the Six Most Common Challenges to Trade Show Success
We know—you’re thinking there can’t be one solution to solving the six most common challenges to trade show success. In fact, there are many different strategies one can use to improve ROI at trade shows and in-person events. But they all boil down to one mindset. Mastering this mindset
Are Trade Shows Still Relevant for Scaling Businesses?
In these times of rapidly evolving technology, we often get the question “Are trade shows, trade fairs, and in-person events still relevant in today’s marketplace?” With the growth of online marketing and global remote services companies, it’s a fair question. Here’s our answer. Particularly in the B2B and B2G (business
Scaling to the U.S. Market: the Importance of Early Traction
If scaling to the U.S. market is something you’ve considered, you’re probably aware of the potential risks and rewards. At MEET, our goal is to help companies entering the U.S. market employ techniques to optimize this process by minimizing the risks and leveraging all the unique rewards that this large
Nailing the Follow-up
Devising a follow-up plan before you leave for an event is the best way to maximize ROI, plain and simple. At MEET, we specialize in devising strategies to get the most out of every event for our clients. Here’s a peek at how we do it. Prioritizing contacts At high-value
Help Your Event Team Help You
Event teams may be the most under-utilized resource at important trade show events. For opportunities like the upcoming SelectUSA Summit, where and how your team members present themselves will be a major predictor of ROI. Train to divide and conquer It happens quite often that we see events teams huddled
Maximize your ROI at SelectUSA with an Opportunity One-Sheet
When heading to a high-value event like SelectUSA, it’s important that you are equipped with the right tools to make the best first impression. In our last post, we talked about the importance of fine-tuning your value proposition and self-introduction to ensure that every interaction is congruent with how you
Introducing yourself at SelectUSA
With 75 years of trade show and in-person event experience under our belts, we’re not exaggerating when we say that SelectUSA is 10x better than any trade event that we go to annually. With every U.S. state represented plus a full array of resources and organizations that support U.S. market
What’s your strategy for SelectUSA?
SelectUSA is an unrivaled opportunity for international firms looking to scale to the U.S. market. We believe the knowledge gained from Economic Development Organizations, investors, service providers, and network resources, coupled with the maturity of the companies in attendance, makes SelectUSA a hard event to beat. At MEET, we help
How to leverage every opportunity at SelectUSA
For many international companies looking to scale to the U.S. market, SelectUSA is a once in a lifetime opportunity. In our last post, we discussed how to goal-set your SelectUSA strategy plan and design an agenda that reflects your clearly defined priorities. In this post, we’d like to provide a
Creating Your SelectUSA Success Plan, Part 1
Last year, the team at MEET joined more than 3,000 international business investors, U.S. economic developers, CEOs, government officials and market-entry thought leaders at the 2018 SelectUSA Investment Summit. Unequivocally, SelectUSA 2018 was the best trade event we’ve ever attended and we’re thrilled to be returning this year. For companies
Maximize Your Trade Show ROI by Running Through the Finish Line
Trainers and experienced athletes will always say, “It’s not enough to complete the race—you need to run through the finish line.” After months of hard work and training, it might seem obvious that you’d do everything to maximize your results. The reality, particularly for less experienced runners, is quite the
Scaling to the U.S. Market? Time to Sweat the Small Stuff
It’s easy for international CEOs who are scaling to the U.S. market to get completely absorbed by tangible tasks like fundraising, customer validation, and team building. While these milestones are fundamental to any U.S. market entry endeavor, there remain less tangible, “softer” tasks that scaling CEOs must master in order
