If you want more help with sales, know that you are not alone. Close to 10% of businesses consider it a weak spot. That is what SMEs are telling us via InterTradeIreland’s Business Monitor. Sales, are of course, crucial to the success of your company, but if you are running a small business you may have limited resources to strategize.
This is where InterTradeIreland can help. Assisting micro-businesses in particular, InterTradeIreland’s Elevate programme will link you up with a consultant that can identify and capitalise on the significant cross-border sales opportunities that exist on your doorstep. €6K/£5K of consultancy time is available to you.
A very basic point is that a consultant has specific knowledge of your new marketplace- and can create business introductions for you. This can help you overcome the early hurdle of trust. The more a buyer trusts you and the company you represent, the more receptive they will be.
Astra McNicholl knows this first hand. She is the founder of Itty Bitty Books, which starting from a stall in St George’s Market in Belfast now has signed a deal in Dublin.
Astra says ‘IntertradeIreland has, without a doubt, been the main organisation that’s helped us get our business to the next level. Through the Elevate program we were able to work with a professional sales team who helped us strategize our expansion into Ireland and ultimately, secure a fantastic distribution deal for our Itty Bitty Book set. This deal has the capability to sell more books in the next year than we’ve sold in our entire 5 years of trading!
As a micro enterprise I’ve often felt that the really good help was just out of reach for us, which can be very frustrating. IntertradeIreland were flexible where possible and took into account our business plan when processing our application. It felt as though they really wanted to find a way to help us achieve our goals.”
If you think your SME could benefit from €6K/£5k of sales support you can apply here (please make here clickable) http://www.intertradeireland.com/elevate/.