INTERNATIONAL MAILORDER
Exporting is nothing more than
selling overseas ... by mail.
by: J.F. (Jim) Straw
Believe it or don't...MOST export sales are still accomplished
by direct marketing (mailorder) methods.
Think about it! - Most companies that export their products
do not maintain offices in other countries. They do not hire
and employ sales people in other countries. Nor do they ever
meet the people they sell to.
Instead of opening offices or hiring sales people in other
countries, most exporters market their products overseas by mail.
They sell their products in volume to other businesses who, in
turn, resell the products in their country.
Although the vast majority of export sales are ... and always
have been ... made by mail, the books, manuals and courses on
exporting don't even mention the subject of "mailorder."
- Could it be they honestly don't realize that exporting is nothing
more than selling overseas by mail.
WHY? - My opinion is that direct marketing (mailorder) equates
to "junk mail." Therefore, it would not be politically
correct to mention the nasty word "mailorder" in conjunction
with the sophisticated endeavors of world trade.
Oh well! Some people are politically correct. - Others live
in the real world.
Exporting is nothing more than selling overseas. - Because
that selling is done by mail, your export sales campaign should
be created and prepared as a "mailorder" campaign.
Depending upon the nature of your product, your sales campaign
can be designed to generate inquiries about your product - or
- generate actual sales of your product.
If receiving inquiries about your product is your goal, you
should use the same kind of lead generating campaigns you would
use here in the U.S. - Go prospecting for potential customers.
- Use postcards with a picture of your product...announcements
in trade publications ... classified ads ... news releases to
newspapers ... space ads or direct mailers with a clip-coupon
for inquiries.
The same holds true for generating sales for your products.
- Create and prepare a sales letter that sells ... Sells ...
SELLS your product. Include a price list and an order form. ASK
the customer for an order. Let the customer know they can order
a "sample" right now - or - request a quote for C&F/C.I.F.
prices for a volume order.
One thing is for sure, if you sit on your hands and wait for
overseas buyers to find you, you will be sorely disappointed.
Hey ... I'll bet ... when you read the title, you thought
I was just going to tell you to sell your products by mail to
consumers in other countries. - Didn't you? - Well, you can do
that, too.
Fifty years ago, people in this country went through the "wish
book" (Sears catalog) with eyes agleam. They posted their
order and waited in anticipation for the arrival of exotic items
from a far away place. - Today, it's an everyday, routine method
of buying needed goods and services.
But, people in other countries are not yet accustomed to ordering
by mail. Receiving products through the mail still holds intrigue
for them. Especially if the product is coming directly from the
"land of dreams" ... AMERICA!
Remember what I told you about export pricing. - If you can
sell a product profitably for $10 here in the U.S., you can sell
it profitably for $10 anywhere in the world. All you have to
do is let the buyer pay the costs incurred after the product
leaves your hands.
Even here in the U.S., it is now common practice in direct
marketing (mailorder) to quote the price of the product - plus
- $XX for shipping & handling. - Do the same thing, if you
sell your products directly to consumers overseas.
Where do you get the mailorder shipping charges?
Would you believe, the same place you get mailorder shipping
charges for domestic orders ... at the Post Office.
It never ceases to amaze me that, when people think about
export shipping, they overlook the U.S. Postal Service. It is
the most convenient and reliable small package freight service
in the world. It can have your small packages delivered anywhere
in the world, usually cheaper than most other freight services.
Just two years ago, I would have had to stop there - but -
today, both United Parcel Service (U.P.S.) and Federal Express
(FedEx) are now competing with the Postal Service in the international
delivery of small packages ... bigger ones, too. - Call them
and ASK for their export shipping instructions and rate schedules.
Mailorder is only a way of selling. - Exporting is nothing
more than selling overseas ... by mail.
Today you can buy or rent mailing lists, with almost any demographic
profile, from almost any country in the world. Those lists will
be most effective if you create and prepare your sales campaign
using the best direct marketing (mailorder) methods.
To locate demographically profiled mailing lists of"buyers"
in other countries, all you need to do is contact the direct
marketing associations in the countries of interest to you.
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Copyright - 2004, J.F. (Jim) Straw. All rights reserved.