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Promote yourself and your company well by leaving a lasting impression. We all know how important first impressions are. Letters, brochures, websites, social media profiles, phone calls and personal meetings all have a substantial impact. Gain a competitive advantage by presenting well.

 

How can I make a good impression?

Pay attention to these basic factors: Be confident. Be responsive. Be professional. Be friendly. Pick up the phone. Practice your presentation.

 

Clients appreciate a quick and efficient reply, and want to feel that their enquiry is important to you. Even if they don’t purchase now, they are likely to remember that your company provided friendly and responsive customer service. Keep a formal and professional tone. Learn what communication techniques work in the markets that interest you.

 

Correspondence should be kept short and contain no more than three critical messages. Make it easy for your prospect to say yes to your proposal. Offer to call at a set time and check if that is convenient.

 

 

Hone your meeting techniques

When you are attending a meeting or business mission in a new country, seek advice on meeting etiquette. In Italy, for example, long lunches are a norm. Italians are relationship oriented and need to take time to get to know before they can operate on trust. Pasport toTrade (hyperlink www.businessculture.org) Is a very useful guide to business etiquette in different countires.

 

PowerPoint presentations should be short and include visually arresting graphics or photos of your product performing in comparable locations.

 

However busy you are, keep aware that follow-up is critical.

 

Have a good website

A good website is your corporate brochure and prospects will usually go straight to it to check you out. The website should be cleanly laid out with interesting graphics. Customer testimonials are a very important convincing item to have on your website.

 

A well-constructed and easy-to-navigate website projects the impression of a professional organization. It will also help you reach overseas customers in cost-effective ways regardless of the time zones and time of the day.

 

Social Media

In B2B business LinkedIn is a very important media and a valuable networking tool. Your presence on other social media is also important to show positive feedback towards your products and customer service.

 

Brochures

Having brochures available at trade shows and on trade missions is essential, this allows potential customers to view information on your products and services.

 

EPB’s Exporter Directory

Another way of promoting yourself overseas is by registering your company on EPB’s Exporter Directory. The EPB Exporter Directory ##hyperlink## promotes Bangladesh products and services to overseas buyers.

 

Business cards

You cannot afford to go overseas without business cards. Burmese names are quite difficult to remember for non-Asians, having a passport picture on your card can be very helpful.

 

Make it easy for your contacts to store or scan your card for future reference by only using the standard format (3.5’ by 2’). In non-English speaking countries it pays to print full details on the reverse side of the card in the local language.

 

 

Trade missions

To help Bangladesh exporters promote their products, EPB occasionally organizes selling as well as buying missions. Due to budget limitations, buyer missions are more frequent.

 

Overseas buying missions visiting Bangladesh also provide opportunities for you to promote your products and services. By joining a buying mission, members have already shown some commitment to purchasing from Bangladesh. These missions give individual exporters the chance to impress a multiple potential customers at a time – for instance, by offering on-site tours.