Archive for export
Export success in Denmark for local kitchen company
Posted by: | CommentsHandel Export client CKOS Kitchens has recently won significant new business and has just appointed 5 new wholesalers in the Danish market to sell their wide range of kitchens. CKOS Kitchens, established just over a year ago, specialises in bespoke kitchens to the wholesale market. Their main customer base is on the UK mainland where they have already secured over 100 wholesalers in their first year of trading.
The young company is highly ambitious and after having established its products and distribution network in the mainland UK market, decided that it wanted to start looking at the potential in export markets.” Initial research which we carried out indicated that Denmark could be a strong possible market for our kitchens” says Shaun O’Boyle, one of the company Directors. “We looked at the style of kitchens that consumers in Denmark tended to buy and knew that we could supply these particular styles and additionally give Danish consumers a wider choice and better service. Denmark is an affluent market and seemed to be weathering the economic downturn somewhat better than other markets, so we thought that as an initial export venture, it could give us good return on investment”.
Training and Advice for Exporting
In order to take the export venture forward the company enlisted the services of Handel Export Consulting through Invest NI’s Developing Export Sales Strategy (DESS) Programme. Handel Export is a Belfast based export consultancy company which specialises in assisting companies to do business in overseas markets. Suzanne Hill, Director of Handel Export has 15 year’s experience working in Export Sales and Marketing, previously for 2 of Northern Ireland’s premier exporting companies, Randox Laboratories Ltd and Brett Martin Ltd., before establishing Handel Export 7 years ago. During this time she has worked on the ground in 55 world markets and speaks 6 languages.
Suzanne Hill, Handel Export and Michelle Bloomfield, CKOS Kitchens
“We have been delighted with the specialist export training and advice we have received from Handel Export Consulting, which has been instrumental in helping us to gain a foothold and good understanding of the Danish market” says Michelle Bloomfield, Export Sales Manager with CKOS Kitchens. “We contracted Suzanne Hill from Handel Export for 5 days to help us to plan how to go about developing the Danish market. We wanted to travel out to Denmark to meet with potential wholesalers and Suzanne was able to clearly explain in practical terms exactly what we needed to do to ensure that our visit would be a success. Suzanne has a good knowledge and understanding of the Danish market, what the expectations of buyers there would be and how business negotiations are carried out. This knowledge was invaluable to us when we went out to the market as we knew what to expect and were much better prepared to deal with different scenarios as they arose. Different areas that we worked on were sales and cultural training, meeting preparation, putting together a sharp and convincing company presentation, follow-up and a sales and marketing strategy”.
Cultural Awareness
Suzanne Hill explains, “CKOS Kitchens is an excellent example of a company that has been very successful despite the economic downturn. There are a number of reasons for this, but I think the over-riding one is that they are a very sales focussed organisation. The company employs 12 people, 5 of whom work exclusively in a sales role. There were already strong sales skills within the company, these just needed adapted and adjusted for the Danish market where business negotiations are carried out differently. Cultural, social and business customs vary between markets and they all need to be respected; this requires patience and a level of understanding from the company wishing to export. Lack of cultural awareness can be detrimental to the success of a company’s position in the export market. We also worked on putting together a sales and marketing strategy to take the company through the different stages of export development, preparation before the market visit, meeting with potential clients in Denmark and then following up the contacts and seeing them through to contract stage. Making sure that the company was well prepared in advance of their market visit was key to shortening the sales cycle and ensuring that the company achieved rapid results”.
Michelle, CKOS Kitchens says, “Taking advice from the professionals has definitely paid dividends. Exporting is an expensive venture and as a small company we do not have huge resources to spend on making costly mistakes. Working with Handel Export made sure that we avoided some of the common pitfalls that new exporters may face, allowed us to maximise our return on investment and fast-tracked our entry into the Danish market. Without this assistance it would have taken us much longer to get contracts and sales from the market. Handel Export has enabled us to fast-track into one market and we now have confidence to approach new markets with the training we have received”.
The Future for CKOS Kitchens
Not only have Handel Export improved sales techniques for CKOS in export markets, the two companies are now working together to consolidate business in the UK and CKOS are more confident with their new approach. In recent weeks, CKOS have also visited Holland and have just secured new contracts in this market.
For more information on services from Handel Export, contact info@handelexport.com or call +44 (0)28 9092 3378
Presentation Skills for Exporters Workshop Thursday 1st October 2009
Posted by: | CommentsSuzanne Hill of Handel Export will be delivering a workshop on Thursday 1st October 2009 on Presentation Skills for Exporters at the Ramada Hotel in Belfast. The workshop is part of a series of training run by Invest NI as part of their Passport to Export Programme.
We have all been there, having to sit through a boring presentation where either the information given was not relevant or the presenter had a terrible delivery style, or at worst a combination of both. This workshop is targetted at anyone whose role involves giving a presentation, be that in a formal scenario to a room full of people, or more informally to one or two people. The workshop aims to take participants through a number of steps to enable them at the end, to be able to deliver engaging and memorable (for the right reasons) presentations in a confident and authoritative manner.
Participants will learn how to:
- Develop a presentation from start to finish
- Deliver a presentation that engages and interests their audience
- Understand presentation styles
- Choose appropriate visual aids and manage their use
- Stage-manage presentations to present a professional image
- Develop self-confidence when speaking in public
For more information contact Suzanne Hill of Handel Export on 028 9092 3378; info@handelexport.com
Bookings can also be made on Invest NI’s website by clicking here
Winning Sales – Basic Level Training
Posted by: | CommentsThere are still a few places available on the Invest NI ‘Winning Sales – Basic Level’ training course taking place in Cookstown on Thursday 10th September. This interactive workshop delivered by Suzanne Hill of Handel Export and colleague Paul Harding is particularly suitable for people who have limited or no previous knowledge of sales, such as staff working in a technical role who are taking on sales responsibility, or those working in a sales support role who are moving towards a more customer – facing role. The key objectives of the workshop are to:
Launch of Northern Ireland branch of Ireland Poland Business Association
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Warsaw old town
The Ireland Poland Business Association (IPBA)is a well-established bilateral trade association whose main objective is to promote trade and business relations between the island of Ireland and Poland. At the invitation of the Honorary Consul for Poland in Northern Ireland, the IBPA has decided to form a branch in Northern Ireland.
The launch of this association will take place on Friday 5th June 2009 at 12.00 noon at the Canal Court Hotel, Merchant’s Quay, Newry. A light lunch will be served at 1.15pm. The event will give participants an overview of the many opportunities available to companies looking for new markets or to grow existing business interests in Poland. Speakers at the event will outline the business opportunities in the Polish market, as well as the benefits of membership of the Northern Ireland Poland Business Association.
How to avoid common exporter mistakes – Part 2
Posted by: | CommentsIn the second part of the series of ‘How to avoid common exporter mistakes’ Handel Export will outline the importance of carrying out sufficient and appropriate market research when approaching a new export market.
Part 2: Failure to carry out sufficient or appropriate market research
Carrying out good market research prior to entering a new market is vital for a number of reasons, not least for saving you time and money through making sure you get it right first time.
How to avoid common exporter mistakes – Part 1
Posted by: | CommentsFor many companies who are new to exporting, doing business outside their home market for the first time can seem like a daunting task. It is true that there are many pitfalls that need to be avoided (some very costly!), but just as there are common mistakes that first-time exporters make (and many experienced exporters!), so too are there common solutions that will help companies to avoid these.
Having worked with several hundred exporters, assisting them to successfully export to new markets, Handel Export has come up with a series of what we perceive to be the most common exporter mistakes and tips on how to avoid these. We will profile these in our next blogs over the following days and weeks.
Part 1: Failure to develop an export strategy or plan
Recession in Ireland leading to increased exports
Posted by: | CommentsRecession in Ireland seems to be leading to increased exports once again…of people. Ireland GDP figures for the last quarter of 2008 show that the economy shrank by 7.5% on last year, giving Ireland the worst full-year economic performance on record. This has coincided with a number of overseas job’s fairs being run in Dublin and Cork, with recruiters from Canada, New Zealand and Australia hoping to attract some of the best skilled workers to fill skills gaps in these countries.
Irish unemployment is currently at 10.4%. The construction scetor has taken a particularly sharp fall and has led to many skilled workers such as bricklayers, plasterers etc. being made redundant. These are some of the workers that countries like Australia are hoping to recruit. The Irish government has predicted that the economy will contract by 6.5% this year, making opportunities overseas ever more attractive.
Northern Ireland construction delegation wins success in Polish market
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Handel Export led a delegation of 14 Northern Irish construction companies to Poland from 18th – 22nd January along with its partner, the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce (NICC). The trade visit was the 6th such project undertaken by Handel Export and NICC in the last few years. Poland remains an attractive market for Northern Irish companies, many of whom have significant numbers of Polish staff at all levels of their organisations. Feedback on the visit and perceptions of opportunities in the Polish market were very positive, with many of the companies already committed to carrying out follow up visits in the next few weeks and months. Participation in a group market visit such as this also enables the companies to exchange contacts and views on the market. The visit was organised to coincide with the BUDMA construction exhibition in Poznan, giving companies another opportunity to see what companies, products and innovations are currently trading in the Polish market.
