Beginning in Export

Purpose of the workshop:
To introduce delegates to a practical approach to Beginning in Export, to develop international business and processes, and to ensure that any export trade will be profitable.

Workshop Overview

Many companies may consider exporting but do not know how, or where, to start. Other companies may receive enquiries from overseas and try to trade with them as best as they can, usually by replicating their current way of doing business in the UK.

Whilst the process of exporting can be daunting, it is usually assumed that export trade is profitable. Unfortunately this is not always the case and it has been shown that when companies who are new to international trade are introduced to even the basics of exporting, their effectiveness and awareness of what it takes to be successful increases exponentially. The Beginning in Export workshop aims to:

• Give sufficient insight and understanding so that the delegates can leave the workshop with the ability and confidence to move forwards in exporting.
• Identify competencies that are required to export effectively and profitably.
• Understand the external influences and how to address and work with them.
• Switch companies on to exporting that may never have considered it as a business development possibility.

The workshop builds the elements of the export process, whilst remaining relative to the level and experience of the delegates, who complete a series of exercises that combine to create an operational export plan. The process is intentionally formulaic and can be replicated within the company to enable the company to approach other markets or introduce new products or services to current ones.

Who should attend:

The workshop is for company owners/managers who are prepared to make decisions and invest time, resource and thought, from SMEs who are new to export, businesses that have received and delivered some export orders and wish to proactively grow internationally or companies that wish to achieve a fast-track export growth but are not aware of what is involved.

This is not a course developed from theory or textbook; all elements come from the facilitator’s experience of working with SMEs and within the international arena.

Workshop style and format:

Facilitator led discussion and instruction with delegates completing exercises, checklists and frameworks based on their own company and target markets. Delegates are encouraged to raise issues and questions regarding exporting, where the facilitator encourages class debate to help develop approaches to overcome the challenges. Delegates benefit from the experience of all other delegates and that of the facilitator.

Workshop duration: One day

Maximum number of delegates: 15

Workshop contents

The workshop is broken down into four main modules, which are delivered holistically, and answer the key issues in export:

• Will the customer want what I have?
• How will I work with the customer?
• Where should I start?
• Is it worth it?