Eastman is an invaluable strategic partner. We were able to attain valuable funding for our project working with their team in Austin.
We facilitate small Italian manufacturers, and startups, in finding a footing with U.S. corporations that are in need of OEM devices to integrate into their own products, or wish to sell or distribute innovative products to others. We do this in different ways by playing a smaller or larger role in developing opportunities, identifying partners, validating product placement, and so forth.
eCommerce
There are no geographical limitations in today’s world of information technology. eCommerce platforms and digital media allow even the smallest company to truly branch out and avail the opportunity to global reach, companies can simply pitch their product to end customers, globally, at every minute of the day.
If you are considering expanding sales to the U.S., and are trying to figure out logistics, talk to us – we can help.
Having U.S. stock will decrease average shipping costs to your North American customers and enable a higher level of post-sales support.
Find a Distributor
When it comes down to choosing the right distributor for your product, there are a number of things to consider; it is going to take time and research to understand which of your product fits into the marketplace and which distributor is going to work the best with you. Beyond choosing a promising distributor, you must then stay on top of the distributor, making sure they are actually pitching the product correctly. Or, in fact, pitching it at all: the worst thing that can happen to you is that your chosen distributor is pushing a competing product because margins or support are not there for the sales reps – this will take a year to understand, at your cost.
Distributors need to feel supported: suppliers aggressively work to maximize distributors’ returns while obsessively working to eliminate bad sales experiences. In return distributors should expect to be held accountable for their performance.
We have direct experience working inside large U.S. distributors – on both sales and supplier sides of the business. We also have experience providing in-country support for local distributors on behalf of foreign suppliers.
B2B Opportunities
B2B marketing is complicated — the basics are to focus on generating demand, finding the right buyers, and tracking those buyers through the funnel so you can connect at the perfect moment.
As a management consultant, Eastman Partners does not do marketing. Our focus is on being successful at finding the right buyers and figuring out the forums where those buyers hang out. For foreign companies, new to the U.S. markets, the focus is on “being found” and “being here”: they rely on us to build a credible local presence that speaks to those buyers that value long term relationships and in-country support.
We partner with our international clients to develop a U.S. strategy that works for them – today.
Getting in front of perspective clients is increasingly challenging amid the noise of bot-generated emails and calls. But solid business opportunities are out there to be cornered and we are constantly re-evaluating our approaches to product placement.
Underpinning Business Development
When desirable, we provide the operational functions of the day-to-day of the foreign subsidiary – in Texas or California – providing a platform from which to launch a strategy: beyond providing suitable administrative, we are the executive face for our clients, building and maintaining a trustworthy physical presence in the U.S. And, in the industries we have experience in, we can be strategic in identifying, developing and closing commercial B2B opportunities.
Travel
B2B Relationships
Prospecting
Business Startup
Virtual Office
Shipping
Our Professional Network
Accounting Office
Contracts
Tax
We allow you to enter international waters with considerably less concerns about making a mistake, adding us to your team gives your company the advantage of U.S. experience.
Closing the deal
There are multiple factors that can go into winning more of your opportunities. Having a Business Manager in the U.S., can make the difference.
Selling is different all over. The best area for a B2B sales consultant like Eastman Partners is to focus on helping you understand the customer and their buyer journey – that is, the customer’s experience from your first introduction all the way to when they sign the contract. Learning a customer, especially those that are looking to buy B2B, takes time. Beyond initiating one or more personal relationships, at multiple levels of the customer’s organization, it often requires engaging engineering managers and procurement managers in lunch and learn sessions and delivering multiple proposals as requirements change; all of which is still done best in face-to-face meetings at the customer’s offices.
The second best place for a business consultant to focus is training your proposal managers. Training them to be more responsive to customers’ values and needs and teaching them the skills needed to win opportunities – things like presentation, negotiation, closing skills, and so on.
We know that pre-qualifying a steel building manufacturer for a construction tender requires a different marketing strategy than placing a thermal printer with a kiosk or petrol pump manufacturer. For the former we built strong face-to-face relationships with key deciders in multinational engineering procurement & construction (EPC) corporations thru executive presentations and a budget for travel; for the latter we made sure we were where the kiosk engineers hang out – in industry online forums, at the end of a google searches and at tradeshows for carwashes, gaming and convenience stores.