Initiative · Project
Expanding internationally
Same product. Different maths in every country.
Opening further countries: choosing markets, finding partners and channels, adapting sales and marketing, shipping and complying across borders.
The situation
“We want to sell in other countries.”
The first orders from abroad came almost by themselves: through a trade fair, a referral or the online shop. Now they need to become a business you can plan.
Suddenly lots of countries are on the table, and each one raises its own questions. Do you sell directly or through trading partners? Who sorts out delivery terms, customs and export rules?
In the end, the loudest enquiry often wins, not the best opportunity.
Where it often goes wrong.
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Exclusivity for nothing in return
A distributor with exclusive rights looks like a shortcut. Without targets, reporting and an exit clause, the country is then tied up for years, even if hardly anything sells.
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Sold, but stuck at customs
Delivery terms, duties and export papers are often only sorted out once the goods are sold. Then logistics eats the margin, or the shipment sits at the border.
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Exporting the home price list
Prices, discounts and payment terms from the home market rarely fit. The new country has different price levels, different trade margins and different payment habits.
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Service stops at the border
The sale is quick. Then questions, returns and repairs arrive in another language and across borders, and without a plan, your reputation in the new market suffers first.
Which disciplines work together here.
6 of 13 disciplines, one team, one point of contact. Every service has a clear role, and you decide which ones we take on.
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D01 Business Development
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Rates possible target countries on demand, competition and entry barriers, and ranks them with reasons.
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Plans entry country by country: sequence, route to market and the adapted offer.
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Finds distributors, agents or marketplaces for each country and negotiates terms with clear targets.
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Develops local partnerships for service, installation or joint offers in each target country.
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Steers all countries through one shared pipeline and shows which markets deserve more effort.
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D02 Sales
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Sets up sales for the new countries, with clear territories, processes and responsibilities.
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D03 Marketing
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Adapts messages, channels and budget to each country instead of copying the home campaign.
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D05 Operations & Fulfilment
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Plans delivery routes, delivery terms and customs clearance, and steers forwarders from our network.
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D06 Procurement & Supply Chain
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Builds export control and sanctions screening into your processes and plans fallbacks for critical deliveries.
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D12 Corporate Services
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Prepares a local entity where it pays off and coordinates notaries and law firms.
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You decide the scope.
A good first step is choosing the starting country against clear criteria. You can also hand us just trading partners and export logistics, or have us steer the whole expansion. You don't need a package for any of it.
Good questions. Straight answers.
Do you start with one country or several?
Usually with one. We compare the possible countries and recommend a starting market where offer and sales route can be tested well.
Whatever works there, we carry over to the next markets. Several countries in parallel also work if budget and team allow.
Do you build on our existing trading partners?
Yes. We assess them on revenue, activity and contract, and build on them where it makes sense. If a contract blocks the market, we show you the options; a law firm reviews the legal side.
Do you also handle customs and export papers?
Yes, as part of logistics. We clarify delivery terms and tariffs and build checks for export rules and sanctions lists into your processes. Clearance runs through forwarders and customs agents from our network, which we steer.
Should we expand while our home market is still growing?
Not always. Expansion ties up money and management attention that your home market then lacks. An honest assessment compares both paths before you commit.
Sometimes our recommendation is: not yet. Whether that applies to you is something we look at in the free Initiative Check.
Do you also set up companies in the new countries?
Not ourselves. Where a country needs its own entity, we prepare the formation and coordinate notaries, law firms and tax advisory firms, which we appoint on your behalf. What comes next is covered in Setting up a subsidiary or branch.
Proof first. Contract second.
In the free Initiative Check, we listen for 45 minutes and ask the questions that usually only come up after the contract is signed. Then you get a short written assessment: what we see, how we would go about it and roughly what it would take.
No obligation. And if we're not the right fit, we'll tell you.
Or write to us at hello@intoops.com.