3 skills you MUST HAVE to increase international sales

Profitable cross border trade (CBT) is becoming more and more accessible to small and medium size retailers. Thanks to established marketplaces like eBay and Amazon, CBT is no longer just a trend; it has become a key component in leading retail sales strategies.

There are important differences in the resources and capabilities you will employ in an international market strategy versus a domestic one. Further, there are best practices when positioning your products for international selling. These are summarized below as the 3 C’s of CBT: comprehension, competence, and confidence.

Comprehension

In order to sell well internationally, you should first consider what works best.

Best practice: Active CBT. This requires you to post translated and localized product listings directly to international marketplaces. You must also be able to communicate with buyers in different languages. The idea is to give your inventory the same exposure that local sellers enjoy – and give the same customer service that local buyers enjoy  – in foreign markets. Your items are visible in the marketplaces of foreign shoppers and appear naturally in foreign language search results, thereby increasing the global reach of your inventory. This topic is discussed in more detail here.

Second best: Passive CBT. This is when you allow international buyers to shop from your domestic product listings and ship to international addresses. The global reach of your listings is limited compared to active CBT.

Competence

Sellers must have the right tools and the right partnerships to navigate through the obstacles – and often times new territory – of international selling.

Best Practice: One-on-one consultation with experts in cross border trade, particularly those with specialized knowledge of international selling in your established global marketplaces. Your business is unique, and your international selling strategy will be unique as well. More of an investment. More chance of success.

Second best: Consult secondary data and general information. There’s a big Internet out there with all kinds of information. Some will help your international selling strategy and some won’t. Less of an investment. Less chance of success.

Confidence

If you know what you’re doing and you have the right resources, you should be confident in your ability to execute a successful international strategy. Success breeds confidence, and if you’re a seller already experiencing success with passive CBT and second-hand information, then you’re likely ready to take your business to the next level.

In addition to the best practice of managing localized listings in foreign marketplaces, consulting with foreign marketplace experts can make all the difference when developing an effective, scalable and personalized international selling strategy.

The leading all-in-one solution is Webinterpret, a cloud platform offering full international listing consultation and management. Here’s how success at Webinterpret is measured:

-A focused CBT strategy for your business.
-Clear metrics to measure your success.
-A substantial portion of your overall revenue is generated from CBT.
-The ability to scale your inventory in a variety of international markets.

While best practices for profitable CBT require more resources – and offer more rewards – than passive CBT, it doesn’t need to carry more committment. Webinterpret specializes in international eBay and Amazon marketplace expertise and offers a no-committment, free trial to test your international potential. Read more about how our active CBT solution can increase your international sales, including eBay’s exclusive offer for sellers.