strategic plan

Return on Investment, Workshops and Webinars

Getting U.S. Market Entry Right the First Time Around

/

The phrases “fail fast,” fail often,” and “fail better” abound the literature on successful entrepreneurship. Yet regardless of one’s exposure to the idea of failure, it’s never easy, particularly for entrepreneurs who have already experienced the feeling of starting a successful company. One of the greatest challenges foreign-based firms face with U.S. market entry is the fact that they’ve already succeeded in building a successful company at home. Internationalization is not simply more of the same. It requires a localization strategy that calls into question every assumption about your existing business model. To explore this topic of localization and getting U.S. market entry right the first time around, we spoke with Priscila Bala, Head of the New York Office for Octopus Ventures and the driving force behind Question the Questions, a comprehensive resource guide on U.S. expansion. Here’s how Priscila’s recommends starting the U.S. market entry process. Understanding true costs The first step Priscila recommends is to “sit tight at home and set up a little SWAT team” to tackle localization. This team must operate under the assumption that your existing business model and value proposition will not work in the new market. Everything must be tested and analyzed. The task of localizing your business strategy for a new market requires immense resources, particularly the time and energy of this team. “It’s critical that clients are aware of the cost on those people’s time and energy. Even if you think you’re not spending extra money to hire someone to do this work in the U.S., you’re taking these resources away from somewhere else.” Market-testing Similar to that first time you went to market, the first step to localization will be to validate your product with real U.S. customers. Priscila advises that getting these first few customers is critical to proving that your pricing model will work in the U.S. market. Business models do not always transfer A common pitfall among firms endeavoring U.S. market entry is the belief that because they are successful in one market, they’re going to be successful in another. Priscila recounted many cases where the scaling business model falls apart because the economics and value proposition between Europe and the U.S. are different, as is the shape of the industry and size of the competition. “We had one case in which a company that was doing super well in Europe managed to fundraise $10 million from a U.S. investor only to die on the beach because the business model simply didn’t work.” Localization means understanding the market, the industry, and the unique value proposition for entirely new early adopters. It also means reallocating your budget. Entering the U.S. market is not only going to cost more than you anticipated, but it’s also going to require you to allocate your budget from a localized perspective. As Priscila explains, “the U.S. spends a lot more on marketing than other markets. Plus it’s going to be more competitive.” As a result, she recommends “leaning in on external resources—service providers, consultants, contractors, part-timers—to test your go-to-market strategy and figure out how to gather feedback from real customers. Setting goals and a deadline As we’ve referenced in a previous post on determining when is the right time to scale, exploring U.S. market entry is similar to sand in an hourglass. Time does run out.  Money, investor support, employee retention: all are limited resources during a high stakes expansion. This is why setting goals, milestones and a deadline for your U.S. market entry is key to getting it right the first time. Even more important, don’t sink the whole ship on your journey out to sea. Metrics may include the number of conversations with potential customers, key service providers secured, and strategic partnerships formed. “Agree to a set of milestones for the next three months at which point the team reevaluates if it’s working. If not, you have to be willing to walk away.” Redefining U.S. market entry success Deciding that now is not the right time to scale to the U.S—before you’ve over-invested time and resources and strained your existing infrastructure—may be your best definition of success. The process of exploring U.S. market entry may also lead you down another path you never expected. “We’ve had a number of situations in which the process of U.S. market entry led clients to think about other markets.” Firms often take learnings from an initial scaling exploration and apply them to smaller, more centralized markets where their strengths are better appreciated. Two years later, with one successful scaling venture under your belt, you may be better prepared to tackle the U.S. market. In essence, getting U.S. market entry right the first time may mean going for it the second time around. To hear more from Priscila about the challenges and best practices to U.S. market entry, check out our full interview: Reviewing Octopus Venture’s Treatise on U.S. Market Entry: “Question the Questions.” For access to all of MEET’s webinar content on how to successfully scale your company in the U.S. market through trade shows and in-person events, subscribe to our YouTube Channel. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a free, no-obligation consultation bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

Uncategorized

Time to reality check your plans to scale in the U.S. market?

/

At MEET, we often refer to the dangers of viewing the U.S. market as a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Yet, we understand where this view comes from. With its vast market size, large pool of high-quality talent, and abundance of hungry investors, it’s a hard opportunity to ignore. Particularly when your company has a strong team and traction at home. But sometimes we all need a reality check; something or someone that gives you pause, perspective, and practical guidance around how to sort fiction from fact, and where the best resources can be found. This is why we were so drawn to Question the Questions, a comprehensive resource guide to scaling in the U.S. market put out by Octopus Ventures. Headquartered in London with an office in New York, Octopus Ventures operates as part of a venture capital investment group that manages over £8.5 billion on behalf of 50,000 investors focused on supporting entrepreneurs in three key areas: industry, money, and health. On March 14th we had the pleasure of speaking with Priscila Bala, Head of the New York Office for Octopus Ventures and the driving force behind Question the Questions. Why do foreign companies need to reality check their plans to scale in the U.S. market? Priscila shared, “a number of entrepreneurs start from the base assumption that it’s inevitable they will go to the U.S. Some see it as a rite of passage—that if you have ambitions to become a market leader and a global company you must go to the U.S.” “While scaling to the U.S. market will be a step on the trajectory for ambitious global companies that want to disrupt a market, the data will also tell you that the U.S. is the graveyard of more companies than it is the bounty they expect.” What was the inspiration for the Question the Questions Resource Guide? “Question the Questions really came from this recognition that there are a number of assumptions that are made about the US market. It may feel familiar because of shared language, movies or news articles that constantly give you a false sense of confidence that it’s going to be a market like your own. In practice, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.” For that reason, Octopus wanted the Resource Guide to be incredibly practical and “battle-tested.” “It’s about what works in the real world, in the wild, with some of the most talented people, because even those people struggle like crazy.  That’s because what you’re up against is a really, really hard challenge.” What are the unique risks to U.S. market entry? For all the reasons why the U.S. market represents an unrivaled opportunity for foreign entrepreneurs looking to scale, Priscila warns of the double-edged sword. “In many cases, the U.S. may cannibalize your domestic product, create divisions in your team, and make you vulnerable in both your home and new market.” Priscila isn’t trying to dissuade any of her clients from scaling in the U.S. Rather, her goal is to ensure they are prepared and approaching the endeavor with eyes wide open. For many foreign companies, U.S. market entry is absolutely the right answer. Timing is key and unfortunately, many companies operate under false pretenses. She shared this common trend: “In the beginning, companies get really excited when they start to see some traction in their home market. Suddenly they feel like they can’t miss out on the opportunity to expand to the U.S.” Key insight: Make sure that your impetus to scale in the U.S. market is not simply based on a desire for faster growth. Changing the geography of an underlying problem, as Priscila points out, will lead to even greater setbacks. “Unless you understand exactly why it is that you’re not picking up the speed that you need, growth is not going to be faster in a bigger market. If anything, it might be even slower because now you’re diluted amongst all of the American and international startups.” Priscila advises that firms take a step back and consider their reasons for scaling to the U.S. market. “Our role is to push on them to understand the real causes of their growth. And if it turns out expansion to the U.S. is a great option, we sit down and figure out how to execute correctly.” There is no such thing as a free lunch. Investing in the U.S. is going to cost you something and you have to be ready for the trade-offs. We recommend you check out Question the Questions for a reality check on what it takes to scale successfully. To hear more from Priscila about the challenges and best practices to U.S. market entry, check out our full interview: Reviewing Octopus Venture’s Treatise on U.S. Market Entry: “Question the Questions.” For access to all of MEET’s webinar content on how to successfully scale your company in the U.S. market through trade shows and in-person events, subscribe to our YouTube Channel. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a free, no-obligation consultation bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821

Return on Investment

U.S. Market Entry the Octopus Ventures Way: Part 1

/

Are you a CEO considering U.S. market entry? The decision to scale into the U.S. market, followed by the execution, is not for the faint of heart. That said, according to the World Bank’s Doing Business Project and statistics shared by SelectUSA, the United States ranks in the top ten overall for ease of doing business and number one among nations with populations over 100 million. Easy or not, everyone can use support when navigating a foreign market. At MEET, we help international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. To learn more about how we can help scale your business in the U.S. market, contact us today. To highlight some of the work our partners do to support companies endeavoring U.S. market entry, we spoke with Priscila Bala, Head of the New York Office for Octopus Ventures. Headquartered in London, Octopus Ventures operates as part of a venture capital investment group that manages over £8.5 billion on behalf of 50,000 investors focused on supporting entrepreneurs in three key areas: industry, money, and health. As one of Europe’s largest early-stage investors, the partners at Octopus realized that a significant amount of the money they were deploying in Europe was being spent in the U.S. This prompted the idea to open a center in New York specifically focused on supporting these firms with U.S. market entry. Priscila was Octopus Ventures’ first U.S. hire. Tasked with truly understanding the challenges and best practices that come with U.S. market entry, she jumped into action. “We went on a mission to interview over 100 VC-backed European companies that had expanded to the U.S. market and then documented their challenges and patterns of success. We then built a library of resources to support our portfolio of companies based on those findings.” Recognizing the immense value of this exercise, Priscila’s team decided to share the wealth of these findings by creating a reference guide to U.S. expansion titled: Question the Questions. Originally released in 2017, a 2nd edition was unveiled in 2018 with additional focus on fundraising and how to build effective teams. Before exploring all that Question the Questions has to offer firms currently exploring U.S. market entry, we wanted our listeners to get a better sense of how Octopus Ventures supports their firms in this endeavor. How does Octopus Ventures support U.S. Market Entry? Octopus Ventures sees itself as a soup to nuts advisor during international expansion. “At the outset, we provide strategic insights, asking the critical questions of: Does internationalization make sense? If so… Should it be the U.S.? If so… With whom, in how much time, and with what level of resource commitment?” “Once the U.S. market entry decision has been made, we provide an entire suite of resources to help them execute that expansion effectively. This includes a roster of service providers, discounts and benefits, even candidates that could join their team” Priscila’s goal is to help firms hit the ground running. Once these resources are secured, she offers support with go-to-market strategies. “These are bigger resources on how to operationalize and scale up processes that might be different from Europe. We help them think through the regulatory environment, then recruit, and even interview new team members.” Does Octopus Ventures offer support with fundraising? Fundraising can be one of the most time consuming and resource intensive processes for a start-up. As a result, Octopus Ventures has made fundraising support a strong focus of its U.S. market entry resource suite. “Once our companies are established in the U.S. we are able to broker connections with other U.S. investors that could syndicate with us and provide follow-on rounds of funding.” “We have a vested interest in creating as wide and as big a network of support for our companies as we can and so I spend a lot of time with my American counterparts thinking through what are their metrics and milestones for companies that really are a good fit to try and expedite that process.” To learn more about the challenges and best practices to U.S. expansion, check out our full interview with Priscila Bala: Reviewing Octopus Venture’s Treatise on U.S. Market Entry: “Question the Questions.” For access to all of MEET’s webinar content on how to successfully scale your company in the U.S. market through trade shows and in-person events, subscribe to our YouTube Channel. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a free, no-obligation consultation bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

Return on Investment

Getting a Poor Response from Your Trade Show Follow-up?

/

With 75+ years of experience in trade shows and in-person events, one of the most common questions we get asked is “Why are people who express interest in us at the trade show, not responding to our follow-up emails?” At MEET, we believe there are a number of factors that contribute to poor follow-up response rates. The first and most common reason is that the person you are targeting was never a prospect, to begin with. Prospects vs. suspects As discussed in our previous post: The Top 5 Mistakes Trade Show Exhibitors Make, thinking that “everyone” is a prospect is among the most common mistakes. In order to qualify as a prospect, individuals must meet three criteria. They must have a need, the resources (money) to fulfill that need, and urgency. To simplify, we like to use the phrase: NEED MONEY NOW The most common reason why people do not respond to trade show follow-up is that they do not have a need, the resources, and/or urgency for your solution. Even those who have a need for your product and the money purchase it will not qualify as a prospect today if they lack urgency. A trade show strategy that fails to target true prospects and instead aims to engage high volumes of trade show participants (also known as suspects) is more likely to result in poor follow-up response rates. How do you improve your trade show response rate? Another question we often get asked is “How can I distinguish real interest from fake?” The best way to ensure that people you enroll at a trade show are truly interested in your product or service is to develop an offer that addresses the number one problem that keeps them up at night. In the B2B world, this will be the aspect of their business they feel most challenged by. Do your homework. By taking the time to identify buyer personas that help you identify your ideal customers’ greatest challenges, you will have a unique opportunity to develop an offer that speaks directly to their needs, triggering them to self-identify as a prospect on the trade show floor. Prospects who self-identify in the face of a well-crafted offer are showing real interest in your product or service. For more information on crafting an offer that will attract your ideal customers and the value of testing different offers to improve your follow-up results, check out our Special Report: How to Maximize ROI with a Trade Show Strategy Plan, or reach out to us today. Maintain an efficient trade show follow-up strategy The final factor that may be causing poor response rates is an inefficient trade show follow-up strategy. We often hear people tell us that they like to give prospects a few days to “settle back into the office” after a show before they follow-up. This is a huge mistake if for no other reason than the longer you wait, the more competition you’ll have for someone’s time. For a moment, put yourself in your prospect’s shoes.  You arrive at a show with a short list of urgent problems you’re aiming to solve. You meet a handful of providers who could potentially solve those problems for you. The same evening the show ends, one of those providers sends you an email to set up a follow-up call. Now you can return to the office with a potential solution in the works. Everyone wins! You might be wondering, how is it possible to follow-up with every prospect immediately following a trade show? That’s where we can help. As part of a larger trade show strategy plan, MEET can help you design a series of post-event engagement tools that will immediately initiate the process of enrolling qualified prospects into your marketing funnel. We’ll also share our strategies for prioritizing prospects during an event to ensure you are using your time most efficiently. For more perspective on how to formulate a trade show follow-up strategy that works, check out our Special Report: How to Maximize ROI with a Trade Show Strategy Plan, or reach out to us today. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a free, no-obligation consultation bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

Uncategorized

The Top 5 Mistakes Trade Show Exhibitors Make

/

With 75+ years of experience in trade shows and in-person events, we’ve witnessed many mistakes made by trade show exhibitors. Fortunately, they’re easy to fix—the first step is to recognize when you’re making them. At MEET, we help international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. We do this because we believe that trade shows deliver the most efficient way to get face-to-face with a target prospect. Failing to fully leverage trade show opportunities is a huge waste of time and resources. Our goal is to help you avoid that mistake and maximize your return-on-investment (ROI). Mistake #1: Thinking that “everyone” is a prospect As social beings, we sometimes experience a sense of fear of missing out (FOMO) when we make a commitment. Some of us also have scarcity mentality, the fear missing even one prospect. Translate these tendencies to your business strategy, and they present as the fears that cause you to continually expand your sense of your best target customer, or buyer persona. The result is a substantially diluted marketing message. In fact, the opposite is true.  A trade show strategy that fails to target narrowly defined buyer personas leads to more missed opportunities by literally clogging your booth with unqualified suspects while high-quality prospects walk by. The challenge with remedying this mistake is that prospects aren’t labeled. As a result, you need to devise a booth offer that targets a narrowly defined buyer persona, triggering these individuals to self-identify and enroll in your marketing funnel. The misconception that everyone who walks by your booth is a prospect = mistake number one. Mistake #2: Failing to proactively select your trade shows “Should we participate in this event?” is a question we get asked repeatedly. At MEET, we believe that question is best answered by a series of follow-up questions, specifically: What other events are you doing? How does this event fit into your annual trade show and marketing strategy? Who is this event targeting? Where does this event fit in our strategy? Or does it fit at all? If we participate, how should we participate? In essence, we aim to better understand the broader context, a.k.a the who, what, where, when, and why, to ensure that each trade show opportunity is a productive fit with your overall strategy. Mistake #3: Misaligned (or totally missing) call-to-action. Though seemingly straightforward, misaligned (or missing) calls-to-action are among the most common mistakes made by trade show exhibitors. Also known as a booth “offer”, a well-aligned call-to-action will attract qualified prospects on the trade show floor to stop, opt-in and engage with your marketing offer by enrolling with their contact information. For more on how to select a call-to-action that will attract high-quality prospects (not suspects), check out our Special Report: How to Maximize ROI with a Trade Show Strategy Plan, or reach out to us today. Pro-Tip: At all costs, avoid enter-to-win booth offers for items that you do not sell. The iPad giveaway is the most classic example. Offers such as these will overwhelm your sales and marketing teams with contacts who have very little interest in your product or service. Mistake #4: Placing salespeople in the booth. Salespeople are trained to deliver the knowledge and expertise needed to sell your product or service. This takes time, which in the booth is your most valued commodity. Placing sales people in the booth not only wastes time that could be spent enrolling greater numbers of qualified prospects, but it also eliminates opportunities to engage with those already in your sales funnel and those already doing business with you as well as build relationships with potential strategic partners, opinion leaders, and speakers. Interested in seeing how many more qualified prospects you can gain by simply replacing sales people in the booth with transaction professionals? Here’s how we do the math. Mistake #5: Inadequate follow-up and tracking Perhaps the easiest mistake for trade show exhibitors to make at the end of an exhausting event is forgetting (or not fully leveraging) follow-up and tracking. As with any commitment of time and resources, you want to know your ROI. Additionally, the contacts you make at trade shows are perishable. Coming up with an efficient system for immediate follow-up will help to ensure that hard work is not left to spoil. Pro tip: Some trade show exhibitors choose to stay an additional day at the event location to get all their follow-up done. This guarantees timeliness and protects against these activities getting sidelined upon return to the office. At MEET, we’ve devised tools that allow B2B growth companies to calculate precise metrics for each stage of their trade show strategy plan and gain valuable insights into areas of strength and opportunities for improvement. Contact us to learn more. For more perspective on how to remedy the top five most common mistakes made by trade show exhibitors, check out our Special Report: How to Maximize ROI with a Trade Show Strategy Plan. There’s a saying that mistakes are meant for learning, not repeating. Everyone makes mistakes. The trick is learning how not to repeat them. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a free, no-obligation consultation bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

Exhibitor Tips, Return on Investment

The Key to Identifying High-Quality Prospects

/

It turns out that the key to identifying high-quality prospects isn’t a huge marketing budget or a massive sales team. Rather, the key to identifying high-quality prospects lies in the precision with which you execute your strategy. At MEET, we help international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. We do this because we believe that trade shows deliver the most efficient way to get face-to-face with a target prospect. And if carried out correctly, 100% of those targeted and enrolled will be high-quality prospects that deliver a strong return on investment (ROI). In the advent of social media, trade shows remain the most efficient way to get face-to-face with high-quality prospects. 90% of exhibitors fail to maximize ROI With 75+ years of experience in trade shows and in-person events, we feel confident in our assessment that approximately 90% of exhibitors fail to maximize ROI. This results in wasted money (trade shows aren’t cheap!), and wasted time that key team members could be using to deliver results. What contributes to this loss of valuable resources? Many exhibitors fail to take advantage of the opportunity that trade shows represent. There are a number of reasons why, the first of which is a poorly defined target. What is a high-quality prospect? One of the greatest challenges companies face in delivering ROI at trade shows is defining a prospect. At MEET, we’ve identified three criteria to help our clients distinguish high-quality prospects from the sea of trade show attendees who may or may not approach the booth during an event. High-quality prospects must have a need, the resources (money) to fulfill that need, and urgency. For the point of simplification, we like to use the phrase: NEED MONEY NOW In essence, these are individuals for whom your product or service solves one of their top three problems at this moment. In the absence of any one of these criteria, this individual is not a high-quality prospect and therefore should not be the focus of your trade show strategy. Another key step to identifying high-quality prospects is to understand the purpose of trade shows, i.e. what you are there to accomplish. The goal of individual trade shows and an annual trade show strategy The goal of individual trade shows is to identify and connect with volumes of high-quality prospects. That means that in and amongst the 1,000, 10,000 or 30,000 people in attendance at a show, you are aiming to find the 10 to 300 that are actually prospects today, separate them out, and enroll them in a lead nurturing process. An annual trade show strategy plan helps to manage your prospect pipeline. Its purpose is to avoid ebbs and flows that will overwhelm your sales team, resulting in poor quality follow-up and hundreds of missed opportunities. When executed with precision, an annual trade show strategy plan delivers a steady stream of high-quality prospects, allowing for manageable, un-yielded growth. The key to identifying high-quality prospects Understanding the purpose and focus of each trade show opportunity is the first step to carrying out a successful strategy that will deliver high-quality prospects. The next steps include determining a buyer persona, booth strategy, and mechanisms to ensure effective follow-up. For more perspective on formulating a trade show strategy plan from start to finish, including show selection, hypothesis testing, and measuring for results, check out our Special Report: How to Maximize ROI with a Trade Show Strategy Plan. For access to all of MEET’s webinars and Special Reports, check out our Resources Page. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a free, no-obligation consultation bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

Return on Investment, Uncategorized

Diving into U.S. Market Entry? Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help

/

You’ve spent boatloads of time carefully researching the decision to plunge into the U.S. market. All signs point to yes. It’s time to dive in. Fortunately, there are many lifeboats to help keep you afloat—the key is knowing where to look. At MEET, we help international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. To learn more about how we can help scale your business in the U.S. market, contact us today. To highlight some of the work our partners do to support companies endeavoring to scale in the U.S. market, we interviewed Blair Parks, U.S. and Canada Business Manager for the Mayor’s International Business Programme, London & Partners. The Mayor’s International Business Programme is a free 12-month program designed to help UK-based high-growth, ambitious scale-ups expand internationally. To learn more about the program, check out their site here. How does London and Partners help companies taking the plunge into U.S. market entry? “Our primary goal is to help connect founders to networks and mentors,” shared Blair.  “In a place like New York where there are so many associations and networking groups, even investor groups specifically designed to serve Europeans founders, it’s difficult to know where to focus your energy.” Your goal as a founder in a new market should be to meet as many people as possible that can inform and support your business strategy. From an events perspective, however, Blair warns that founders should be selective. “SXSW may be awesome for some founders, but it’s big, saturated, and while fun, may not be a great fit for everyone.” Key Advice! Foreign founders have exclusive access to a number of networking groups and events uniquely tailored to their needs. Don’t miss out on these opportunities to meet investors and learn from peers. The value of building relationships when scaling in a new market While events are a great way to build your business network, the underlying goal is to build relationships. Introducing your team to people in the new market will not only help them assimilate and learn the culture, but it will also help them build social support networks that will keep them onboard. It’s important to understand every networking opportunity for the full value it can offer your team. Building relationships with companies who have achieved U.S. market entry may also help you gain valuable advice and avoid common pitfalls. Support with finding investment U.S. investors are not interested in one-off introductions warns Blair. Equipped with their own teams of researchers, VCs have no trouble finding the best of the best. “They will take meetings if a company is persistent and has a good sell, but in general, they are not interested in these type of opportunities.” London and Partners works to connect investors with UK-based scale-ups through exclusive events. Investors are most interested in maximizing their time by meeting groups of companies. Blair’s team facilitates these opportunities. Key Advice! It’s not always necessary to have an existing U.S. office or existing U.S. customers in order to get funding from a U.S.-based VC. That said, you may be asked to set up an office with senior leadership on the ground, so prepared to move quickly! In preparation for meeting with investors, Blair encourages founders to research those who are truly the best fit for their company. “Look at their history and their appetite. Look at the profiles of those they’ve invested in previously and how many were European startups.” Support with building your team According to Blair, European scale-ups often face difficulties and frustration when recruiting and hiring high-quality employees. Many scale-ups fail to invest in accountants and HR advisors to support this process. “When putting out a job description and assembling your employee benefits package, companies need to know how to appeal to U.S. talent and how to be competitive. Dedicated HR firms can help” “In order to attract the best talent, you need to do everything you can to stand out. That means getting it right from the beginning.” Be bold and ask for help From Blair’s perspective, those taking the plunge into U.S. market entry have two things to learn from American companies: be bold and ask for help. “You need to think like an American. Don’t be afraid to say you’re the best because that’s how American companies present themselves.” “Americans are also not afraid to ask for help. It’s part of our culture. Keeping everyone—customers, investors, team members, in the loop at every stage and seeking out support from peers and mentors when you need it is crucial to U.S. market entry success.” To learn more about this topic and the work of London & Partners, check out our full interview with Blair Parks on Issues and Opportunities when Endeavoring to Scale in the U.S. Market. About 
MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a free, no-obligation consultation bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

Uncategorized

U.S. Market Entry, When is the Right Time to Scale?

/

For many companies across the globe, U.S. market entry represents unrivaled opportunity, a veritable pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And while many international firms do find success on U.S. shores, others are forced to retreat with empty coffers. The decision to scale in any market is complex; one that requires numerous phases of self-reflection, evaluation, and calculated risk. Knowing when, and if, your company is ready for U.S. market entry is the first step. Support is out there—the key is to know where to look. At MEET, we help international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. In an effort to explore this question of when is the right time to consider U.S. market entry, we spoke with Blair Parks, U.S. and Canada Business Manager for the Mayor’s International Business Programme, London & Partners. The Mayor’s International Business Programme is a free 12-month program designed to help UK-based high-growth, ambitious scale-ups expand internationally. To learn more about the program, check out their site here. To help founders determine the right time for U.S. market entry, Blair explores a series of questions with her clients. Is your business solid and stable in your home market? Financial stability is the most obvious place to start. Does your company have the necessary investment capital on hand and in projected sales to afford U.S. market entry? Fortunately, through support from agencies like London and Partners, international scale-ups can be connected with U.S.-based firms specializing in tailored cost projections. Beyond financial stability, you’ll need a solid team. Blair makes sure her clients have the necessary support, from HR to legal, as well as employee buy-in for international expansion. Finally, Blair helps her clients gain a realistic understanding of the amount of time and energy it takes to set up internationally. “A lot of people don’t realize how much you’re going to have to travel back and forth to get this office set up. Make sure you’re at a place in your life when you can commit that time and energy.” Like sand in an hourglass, time does run out for firms exploring U.S. market entry.  Money, investor support, employee retention: all are limited resources during a high stakes expansion. This makes timing all the more critical. Is U.S. market entry the next best milestone for your company? Many international firms perceive the U.S. market not only as exciting but endlessly bountiful. Blair works with her clients to make sure that U.S. market entry is truly the next, most logical step and that they have considered other markets in Europe as well as Canada. “The U.S. may not always be the best place to scale first. Companies need to ask themselves: What is the competition in the U.S.? Is there a market? Logistical factors like time zone and ease of travel may make European expansion a good practice or interim step.” For data to support this decision, Blair encourages companies to drill down into their client data, even explore the source of their web traffic to which parts of the world their company is gaining the most traction. This will help to determine the next best market. Jumping in with both feet There are actual risks to only partially committing to U.S. market entry. Embracing the time and resources international expansion requires is a critical step in the scale-up process. “If you tell your prospective clients or even your current clients that you’re coming to the U.S. and it takes too long, it looks like you don’t have your house in order.” Whether you take Blair’s advice to send a senior manager from the home office to lead the expansion (see our post on common post-scaling pitfalls) or decide to scale digitally, your full commitment to the U.S. market must be visible. “Companies often get attracted by an opportunity and think this is a “hot time” to be in a particular city like San Francisco. If it’s really too soon or doesn’t make sense for you yet, I recommend waiting.” To learn more about this topic and the work of London & Partners, check out our full interview with Blair Parks on Issues and Opportunities when Endeavoring to Scale in the U.S. Market. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a free, no-obligation consultation bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

Scroll to Top