X5MB. Lectura Grupo 2.
You can start your import/export business at home with a telephone. You'll
need a file system, business cards, and a machine to answer the phone calls.
Once you get going, you'll want a cable address or a telex hook-up.
And you'll need a classy letterhead. Until you establish personal contacts,
it is your letterhead that represents you. Make it look professional, possibly
embossed or two-color, or gold leafed. Have it printed on light-weight paper
for airmail correspondence, but don't have airmail envelopes printed. You'll
have a lot of domestic correspondence too.
More than office equipment, you need the determination to make it work. It
will be slow at first, and you'll need to plan your moves, make contacts and
SELL YOURSELF. But once you make a few sales and sign several exclusive
contracts worth money, you'll know your dedication was worthwhile.
The most important step in setting up your business is finding the
contacts. You may have relatives in a foreign country; you may have frequently
visited and established business relationships in a country. Or, you might just
have a feeling for what will sell where. A person who keeps well-informed in
the business world can pick up and ride the crest of worldwide trends.
Foreign consulates located in the United States have commercial attaches
who want to establish outlets in the U.S., and they're a good place to start.
Sometimes these consulates can help you find indices of their own import/
export enterprises.
The United States embassies abroad are another place to find contacts for
commercial distribution. They can help you find out about a company's solvency
and reputation.
Another way to establish contacts is through the Chambers of Commerce of
every city you are aiming for.
Start small - don't tackle the world. Where do you want to sell the
American goods you might have in mind? Which countries have the merchandise you
want to import? Find out about the countries, what they have to offer, and what
is generally in demand.
Then prepare a massive mail campaign.
The easiest way to mail hundreds of letters is to use a typing service that
has the equipment to produce the same letter with a different address each
time. It's worth the money it will cost - you'd go crazy typing so many
identical letters.
To every possible contact, write a letter introducing your company,
requesting the names and addresses of appropriate firms to contact. Ask to have
the notice published in the monthly bulletin or posted in an appropriate place.
From the names you get back, write another letter, again introducing
yourself, and asking information about their company. You can use a
questionnaire, which fill out and invites a response.
What goods do they want to import? What products are now imported and how
are they distributed? Does the company have a certain territory, does it have
sales representatives, branches in other cities? What are the basic details of
operation - history, assets and liabilities, plans for growth.
Request any information you need, to find out what they will buy and what
they have to sell. If the company is a manufacturer, ask for samples or a
catalog, the facts and figures of current foreign distribution, and the product
demand in their own country.
Keep informed. Read everything you can find about world trade. Look at
trade publications, international newspapers, news magazines, and financial
reports. Who is selling what to whom? Although the market for American-made
airplanes is sewn up, there are thousands of medium to small sized
manufacturers in every state of the union.
You can get goods to sell, but you have to be sure to study where they are
in demand and can get the price to make exportation viable. Your questionnaires
will tell you what further and read the journals published by that country -
and many are available in English. Do these publications confirm the desire for
certain products?
The American market for imported products fluctuates with the value of the
dollar in comparison to the value of each other country's currency. And,
importation prices reflect that directly. Can American consumers afford to pay
the price of certain imported goods? Or will they?
Finding the right market is as important as the actual particulars of
making deals and selling goods. What do you think will sell? If you do some
careful studies and think about the trends, you'll be able to come up with
hundreds of products to import and export.
The import/export business is actually smaller than you might think. There
are only a few of these businesses - that's why there's plenty of room for
more.
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