Unless you have chosen a purely Australian strategy, you will need to travel overseas to meet with prospective partners, distributors and customers. Despite the convenience of email and telephone, at the end of the day people enjoy meeting people. Unless you travel to your target markets to meet those people you are emailing or telephoning, you may seriously limit your chances of success.
If you are seeking assistance with setting up appointments with potential local partners, contact Austrade to discuss your requirements at least one month before your departure. With sufficient notice, Austrade can set up appointments with relevant parties and suggest appropriate industry events that may coincide with your visit.
If you are visiting a country where English is not widely spoken, ensure that you organise an interpreter for business meetings. Austrade can provide language support in some markets or refer you to a local interpreting service if required. If your meetings are highly technical, ensure you use an interpreter who is familiar with technology terminology and concepts. Where possible, email background information to the interpreter in advance to help them prepare.
Advice on visiting particular markets can be found by the country listing on the Austrade site. Before you travel, please check travel bulletins issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Besides obvious steps such as taking enough business cards with you on your travels and applying for visas, you should prepare appropriate marketing and presentation materials.
IT executives often travel with laptops and run PowerPoint presentations during meetings. Presentations can be easily updated or changed to reflect the nature of the meeting. You should leave a copy of your presentation with the people you meet or email them a copy to follow up after the meeting. You should also leave appropriate brochures and data sheets.
Product demonstrations during meetings, will be well received. If you need Internet access to present the demonstration, be sure to advise the meeting organiser in advance and tell them if you need a data projector or other equipment.
First-time meetings are generally introductory, with the objective of ascertaining whether a good fit exists between the two companies. Unless you intend the discussion to get highly technical and specific – or you are presenting a patent-pending technology – a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) may not be necessary at the first meeting.
However, you should have one prepared for subsequent meetings where you may provide further insights into your technology to seal the business. You should have your lawyer in Australia prepare a pro-forma NDA and this should be forwarded to those you are meeting in advance for their signature. Business people do not react well to unexpected demands to sign an NDA.
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