5m pound return from a day at the races

It’s not often that a day at the races produces a £5million return, but that’s been the net result of a conversation I had with a company MD during an EMC hospitality day at Plumpton.

He told me that he was thinking of setting up an operation in Belgium and Holland but wasn’t sure how to go about it. Indeed, he wasn’t even sure if there was a market for the product or who the other major players were.

I explained that a tried and trusted professional approach to export marketing would provide him with the answers and we agreed to meet to discuss the project further.

We subsequently met on a few occasions but there seemed a reluctance for the MD to commit. So to get the ball rolling we agreed that I should carry out a research project over seven days to establish the size of the market, who the major customers might be and what sort of demand there might be for the service.

The research was meant to be purely desk-based, using the internet and the telephone. The objectives were to:

• Establish market size and potential in Belgium and Holland.
• List major players in the market, with contact details for relevant staff.
• Rank companies as likely, possible or unlikely to use the service.
• Ascertain if they wanted a local service or were happy to use a UK operation.
• Provide recommendations on how to set up the business.
• Compile a market entry plan with realistic and agreed budgets maximising turnover and profit.

Within a few days it became clear that this was (and is) a major opportunity with strong demand for the service and virtually no competition in the market place.

I sent emails, postal correspondence and spoke to all the major players in the two markets. The feedback was so positive that on day five I started making appointments. By the time my research was finished, I had ten major customers interested in meeting us to discuss a possible co-operation.

Bearing in mind that it can often take one to two years to launch a product or service in a new overseas market, this was quite extraordinary.

In view of the positive feedback, the client and I visited both countries to meet the potential customers, discuss the service in more detail and gauge if there truly was a demand for our service.

One was the most positive first meeting I have ever experienced as a sales director. We were met by the directors of one of the leading insurers in the Benelux Countries and shown up to the chairman’s office on the top floor of an amazing glass skyscraper. We were served lunch prior to our presentation.

We discussed the service in detail and it was obvious from their reactions that they were very keen. I asked if they had any concerns. They didn’t. So I suggested that for the next stage they should come to Sussex to see our UK operation and agree how we could best set up the service for them in The Netherlands. I held my breath. But, as I suspected all along, they were hooked.

As a result of that trip, three of the biggest insurers from the Benelux countries have recently been over to Sussex to explore how we could set up our operation over there and replicate the service to them.

The turnover my client will generate will be in excess of £5 million. And a number of other companies are also keen to explore a future co-operation.

Not bad for a day at the races!