Advantages and Success Secrets of International Buyer Business Meetings

Participation in international buyer business meetings is a great way to develop new sales channels and business partners.

Direct business meetings with international buyers are a valuable opportunity to meet with buyers who have different business cultures and demands from those in Japan.

To be successful, it is important to fully research the needs of the other country and buyers in advance and prepare to showcase your company’s strengths.

In order to overcome language barriers and cultural differences, it is also essential to provide interpreters with advance lectures on your products and services and to understand the business manners of the other country.

International buyers’ business meetings are a business opportunity where careful preparation, research, and good communication with your counterparts will pave the way to success.

What is an international buyer business meeting?

An international buyers’ business meeting is an event where international buyers and Japanese suppliers gather for business discussions.

These meetings provide an opportunity for suppliers to introduce their products and services and for buyers to find products and services that meet their needs.

By interacting directly with buyers at international buyers’ business meetings, you can gain an understanding of local needs and trends overseas, which you can apply to your own business development in the future, and gain new hints and ideas through cross-cultural exchange.

Of course, it is also an excellent opportunity to develop new sales channels. This is an event with great potential for companies looking to expand their business internationally.

Types and Features of International Buyer Business Meetings

Here we will explain the characteristics of international buyer business meetings organized mainly by governments and municipalities.

International CEO Business Meetings｜Sponsored by Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, JAPAN (SME Support, JAPAN)

SME Support, JAPAN is a public organization under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) that supports the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in cooperation with local governments and SME support organizations in the region.

For more than 10 years, SME Support, JAPAN has been holding large-scale CEO business meetings every year, both in real and online, by inviting CEOs individually after carefully researching excellent companies in Asian countries.

Details of the CEO business meetings for the current year are usually announced after the summer, so we recommend that you subscribe to our e-mail magazine so that you do not miss out on any timely information.

(You will find the red newsletter registration icon in the upper right corner of the official website of the international CEO business meetings below.)

Click here for details on the SME Support, JAPAN

Export Business Meetings｜Sponsored by JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization JETRO)

Source　https://www.jetro.go.jp/news/releases/2019/9a551b0f2221168b.html

JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) is a public organization under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which fully utilizes its network of 74 overseas offices and 48 domestic offices to provide international business information and support the overseas expansion of medium & small enterprises.

JETRO holds not only domestic business meetings such as domestic trading company meetings for interior goods exports and online business meetings for processed marine products, but also sample showroom meetings for cosmetics and beauty products (Shanghai, China) and sake test marketing meetings (Sydney, Australia) every year, both in real life and online. We hold both real and online business meetings every year.

Since decisions on which business meetings to hold are announced irregularly and there may be a short period of time between the call for applications and the deadline, we recommend that you register for our e-mail magazine so that you do not miss out on any timely information.

Click here to register for JETRO’s e-mail magazine
Click here for a list of JETRO’s current openings for business meetings in Japan

How to participate in international buyer business meetings

Basically, the participation procedures for international buyers’ business meetings are described on the event organizer’s website or in the invitation.

First, check the event information on the official website and confirm the application method and deadline for participation.

You should also be aware of the documents and procedures required for participation.

Once you are ready, apply as soon as possible and confirm your participation by submitting the participation fee and required documents.

In many cases, you may be able to participate free of charge if the business meeting is organized by a local government or government agency that supports international expansion.

On the other hand, if there is a fee for participation, the purpose may be to increase the overall closing effect of the business meeting by individually inviting international buyers who are that serious about their business, or by excluding in advance the participation of supplier companies that are not fully prepared.

Please follow the appropriate procedures to ensure the success of your participation in international buyers’ business meetings.

Required Documents and Preparation

Participation in a business meeting requires a variety of necessary documents and preparations.

First, presentation materials, catalogs, and sample products for business meetings are required. In addition, a website and a video explaining your product or service are also essential.

Since prices often vary depending on the parties with whom you are negotiating, you may be able to proceed with the negotiations even with a verbal offer, but if you have a high degree of certainty, you will be required to send a quotation and price list by e-mail within a few days.

It is recommended to have English quotations and price lists prepared prior to participating in business meetings.

(You can also download a template for international quotations from the related article below.)

Determining prices for international buyers means that you have a grasp of international shipping costs, export packaging, and delivery dates.

If you are not sure how to set prices for international buyers, please contact the organizer of the business meeting, you can contact the organizer of the event and ask them to provide you with expert advice and guidance,

Free advice provided by advisors affiliated with various public organizations is available, so please resolve any unclear points as soon as possible before the business meeting.

In order to have successful business meetings with counterpart countries, it is necessary to pay sufficient attention to local business culture and needs, for example, by preparing all materials in English or the language version of the counterpart country.

Interpreters are generally arranged in advance by the organizer of the meeting, but if no interpreters are assigned to the meeting, you will need to arrange for interpreters on your own.

Since broken English is not enough to close a business meeting, translation and interpretation support is essential to overcome the language barrier and ensure smooth communication.

It is important to prepare well and take steps to ensure success at the business meeting.

Key Points for Successful Business Meetings

There are several key points to a successful business meeting.

First of all, research on the company in advance is indispensable. At the very least, carefully read the websites and SNS accounts of the international buyers’ companies in advance to formulate a hypothesis of the current issues.

Research the international buyers’ competitors and competing products as well, as this will be relevant to the content of your proposal to the international buyers.

Understanding the business culture and market needs of the other country and clearly grasping your company’s strengths are extremely important in order to take advantage of opportunities at business meetings.

Next, you must be respectful to the language and culture of the other country.
Polite greetings and a courteous attitude are the first step in building a relationship of trust.

Do you unknowingly become so nervous during a business meeting that you have no facial expression, do not look the other person in the eye, hunch over, and keep your voice low?

It is essential that you actively build a business meeting with the intention of communicating with the other party by raising the corners of your mouth, expressing yourself with rich expression, and standing tall.

It is also important to be flexible and have a long-term perspective.
The key to success is to view business negotiations not as a one-time event, but as the first step toward building a long-term partnership.

Keep these points in mind and aim for success at international buyer business meetings.

Effective presentation

First, select a format that is appropriate for the culture and business of the partner country.

Specifically, since international buyers are extremely busy, do not begin your presentation with an overview of your company, as is often the case with Japanese companies.

The first thing to convey is the benefits that the international buyers will gain from this transaction. Focus on this one point.

The perfect way to explain the benefits is to provide evidence that you can solve the international buyers’ problems, and two reasons why they should go to the trouble of doing business with a Japanese company (even across the ocean) in less than one minute, in a concrete and logical manner.

(The company profile is not required; you can find it on their website, so if an international buyer asks you about it, or if you have extra time, you can explain it.)

In presentations to international buyers, it is more effective to be persuasive with figures and concrete examples.

Only when the international buyers begin to feel that the company’s services or products can solve their own problems or those of their end-users should they be introduced,

The logical structure for convincing international buyers is to present the strengths and features of the company’s products and services in an easy-to-understand manner while comparing them with those of its competitors.

In other words, even if you present the superiority of your technology and the high quality of your products and services before the international buyers are convinced that they should listen to what you have to say, it is unlikely that they will ask for a quotation or a sample shipment.

This is because it is a risk for international buyers to increase their accounts with a new international company, even though they are not sure if they can solve their current problems by doing business with that Japanese company.

The most important thing is to convince the international buyers that there is a definite advantage to starting this transaction within the short presentation time.

(Actually, international buyers also want to be convinced (reassured).

Thus, the structure of the presentation is very important, and sometimes needs to be emphasized more than the content of the presentation itself.

In addition, if the international buyers ask question after question during the Q&A session that follows the presentation, it is a sign that you are getting close to your goal of receiving the order.

At the end of the presentation, a clear summary and next actions for both parties should be made, with confirmation and suggestions as to what needs to be done by when,

This will ensure the success of your presentation to the international buyers.

How to follow up

Follow-up is important even after the business meeting with international buyers is over.

Start by sending the buyers you met with in person a compact document that outlines the “advantages of doing business with us for international buyers” that you communicated to them on the day of the meeting.

Next, you can keep their interest by sending them additional information about the content and proposals made at the business meeting.

Regular follow-up is an important step in establishing a relationship of trust, even before the deal is done.

Flexibility in responding to the needs and timing of the other party is also key to success.

Follow-up should be viewed as an important step in establishing a long-term business relationship, and careful follow-up will pave the way to success.

Best Practices and Lessons Learned

Regarding success stories and lessons learned, many Japanese companies have gained valuable experience.

One successful example is the case of “proceeding with business negotiations from the standpoint of international buyers.”

Overseas, where human resources are highly mobile, the expertise of international buyers is directly related to their careers, so even if they are from a different industry, they have considerable expertise.

On the other hand, sometimes they do not have access to information that only suppliers can know, and this can be useful in building mutual relationships.

One company succeeded in gaining the trust of international buyers by providing detailed information to international buyers, including information on competitors in specific regions, a unique industry map, time-series comparisons, and future direction of the industry, and by making proposals that honestly conveyed that, depending on the application, the company did not have an advantage.

They received orders for products in which they could take advantage of their strengths, and for applications in which they did not have an advantage, they were able to build trust to the point where buyers asked them for advice as suppliers with industry information.

On the other hand, as a lesson learned, some Japanese companies defined the business meeting as a place to gather information for their own companies, and ended the meeting in a short period of time.

They asked international buyers in rapid succession whether product A had potential or not, whether they felt this product was expensive or inexpensive, what their budget was, what they thought about competing products, and whether the international buyer in front of them had the authority to make a decision,

Scenes of international buyers losing interest early on can actually be seen here and there in the business meeting halls at a fair rate.

It is true that the common sense overseas is to “ask questions each time you don’t understand something, and don’t leave it unanswered.” However, asking the other company what you only want to know is somewhat impolite and not very common even overseas.

In addition to language barriers, there are also differences in business practices and cultures overseas.

A Japanese company that can be courteous to both parties, providing and receiving information on an equal footing, while deepening understanding and creating a good time together, will surely be recognized by international buyers.

Points to learn from failure

• Be sure to practice business meetings in the company as if they were the real thing (identify in advance any lack of preparation).

• Look the international buyer in the eye, greet him or her, be seated, stand up, and follow the sequence of events with a sense of urgency.

　(Do not suddenly start talking to the interpreter because the 　international buyer is looking at the catalog, while putting down your luggage while bending at the waist, raising your face only to say “hello,” and holding out a catalog with one hand while repositioning your chair with the other hand) (Always look at the international buyer)

• Tell the story from the conclusion, one sentence is shorter and shorter because it is harder to interpret

• Confirm today’s flow at the beginning.If you start without confirming the flow of the day, do not panic, but concentrate on how your products and services can help solve the problems of the international buyers and build the business meeting.

• Even if you discover midway through the meeting that your needs do not match and you are unlikely to receive an order, remain focused and shift your main focus to building a relationship with the buyer.

• If you receive a request for a quote or a proposal for the next step, ask for the information necessary for the quote or a tentative plan for the next step, and confirm directly on the spot, rather than saying you will contact them later.(This is because it is often the case that the confirmation items are not filled in afterwards and the project does not proceed.)

Summary

International buyer business meetings have great potential for developing new sales channels and business partners.

Direct dialogue with international buyers is essential in order to address needs and business environments that differ from the domestic market.

To be successful at business meetings, you must first be well prepared. Gather information about the business customs and culture of the partner country and the country’s product needs.

Next, you should create a presentation that will firmly demonstrate the strengths of your products and services, and consider what appeals to the other party. It is also important to strengthen your English language skills to overcome the language barrier.

And it is also important to acquire knowledge of the business manners and important etiquette of the other party’s country. Most importantly, it is important to communicate with the other party and build a relationship of trust.

To build a relationship of trust with international buyers, it is important to know how they feel comfortable in conducting business negotiations and conducting business, to make an effort to match with them, and to confidently convey the attractiveness of your company only when they are in your bosom.

With careful preparation and research, international buyers’ business meetings can be a valuable opportunity for your company to grow.

Paccloa Co., Ltd. provides daily on-the-job training support for international expansion, including pricing for overseas markets, to help you establish new business relationships with overseas companies.

If you are a small or medium-sized company that would like to try selling your products or services overseas, establish a base of operations overseas, or develop overseas business as a pillar of your company’s new business, please feel free to contact Paccloa Co., Ltd. at any time.