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| April 26, 2006 |
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MIND
YOUR BUSINESS
Starting offshore operation? Check out the competition first Ilana DeBare Wednesday, April 26, 2006 Q: I would like to start an offshore business in the Philippines, offering low-cost drafting services to U.S. engineering and architecture firms. I have family and connections in the Philippines and am confident I could find the drafting talent. My question is about finding American clients. Is there a way to get a list of prospective clients? If I get such a list, how should I approach them? I have a day job here in the Bay Area that I can't afford to give up. -- Peninsula puzzler A:There may not be a lot of Filipino companies providing offshore drafting services -- yet -- but there are a bunch in other countries such as India. So your first step should be to check out the competition. Through Web sites like www.indiamart.com, you can find similar businesses and see how they present themselves to potential clients. One marketing option is to dig up lists of potential clients yourself. The business librarian at your local public library can help you find directories of architecture and engineering firms. Most weekly business newspapers publish annual lists of local companies, including lists of the biggest engineering and architecture firms. And trade associations in your target industries may be willing to sell you a list of their member businesses. Once you've got a list of target companies, identify and contact the manager in charge of drafting. That's the most obvious path. But Richard Barrett, a sales and marketing consultant with One-to-One Business in Pleasanton, offers some less-traditional ideas that could get you off to a faster start: -- Market your services to other firms that provide contract drafting work. "Look at them as customers rather than competitors, and tell them, 'Send me your overflow,' " Barrett said. "Some will say, 'I don't like you,' but others will say, 'Great, I just got this huge job and need help.' This will allow you to get started quickly and hire a drafting team." -- Find clients through companies like Autodesk, which produces the computer-assisted design software used by many architects. Get to know the users' groups for drafting/design software and talk to executives at those companies about ways they can spread the word about your services. -- Hire a marketing company to do an e-mail campaign for you. Look for a company with experience in your target industries. For $3,000 to $10,000, Barrett said, a good company should be able to generate a list of several thousand potential clients and send them an e-mail marketing letter. Especially since you have a full-time job, it's worth spending the money on some experienced marketing help. "Be sure to do a quality check," Barrett said. "Get examples of their recent campaigns and statistics on their results. Ask for a free sample of 100 names, and then verify if those names are current. The list should include the executive's name, title, company, address, phone and e-mail." The e-mail letter should direct potential clients to your Web site. That raises an important point: how you present your business. You have an advantage over many other offshore contractors in that you'll have an actual U.S. sales presence -- yourself. Some clients will feel more secure knowing there is someone local to answer questions and solve problems, rather than relying on international phone calls and e-mails. Both you and your Web site need to convey solid, reliable professionalism. So invest in a well-designed site, a phone answering service and other marketing materials that will make you seem like an established business -- even if you're actually making sales calls on your lunch hour. "Nobody wants to trust their work to a part-time amateur," Barrett said. "If you're dealing with large companies, your business has to look, feel, smell and taste like a full-time professional enterprise."... |