In October, Mark Dollinger, president of
Trendlines America, was the featured speaker at a workshop sponsored
by the Federation
of Israeli Chambers of Commerce. Mark looked at a number of the barriers
Israeli companies face when commercializing a product in the United States.
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| My Hypothesis |
 Mark
Dollinger offers his perspective on aspects of doing business in
the United States. Mark often participates in trade shows, accompanies clients
on road shows and trips, and represents clients at meetings. |
A significant number of businesses fail within their first five
years. (Some estimates run as high as 70%.)
What can you do to maximize your opportunity for success and
to be a part of the successful minority?
Quite simply, understand and address the barriers to success! The lists that
follow identify some of the most important elements.
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| Anticipate the Barriers: Have Core Competencies in Place |
Before you even approach the market, build an expert team with the following
core competencies:
• Technical expertise
• Marketing experience
• Financial expertise
• Commercialization expertise
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| Cross the Preparation Barrier |
• Do your "homework" to understand
the proper entry points and most receptive targets (know your space and the
players playing in it).
• Identify your differentiators.
• Protect your IP and trade secrets.
• Learn your product space.
• Understand the regulatory issues, process, and environment;
develop a strategy to deal with the issues.
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| Overcome the Market Barrier |
• Research the market to understand the needs
and the current solutions.
• Learn the active/leading players and the competition.
• Confirm that your product is not a "solution without
a problem."
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| Address the Cultural Barrier |
• Accept – and respect -- the
real differences between Israelis and Americans. Generally, Israelis perceive Americans as too polite and somewhat naive.
Americans perceive Israelis as too informal, poor listeners, and argumentative.
On the other hand, Israelis see Americans as astute
businesspeople with expert marketing sense/skills. Americans
know that Israelis are fantastic problem-solvers, who are creative and technologically
savvy.
• Respect the difference in negotiating
styles. The time to close a deal can be a lot longer than you think is reasonable.
• Be aware of the American's expectations. They
expect high-quality presentations and written materials. They are very tolerant,
however, of English spoken by non-native English speakers.
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| Understand the Logistics Barrier |
• Don't let the geography
surprise you. The United States has four time zones, not including Alaska and Hawaii,
that are 7 to 10 hours "behind" Israel.
• Don't let the work week get the best
of you. Our
Monday is your Sunday; your Thursday is our Friday. Many Americans
work a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. day.
• Don't be surprised by the weather. Flights and transportation
can be grounded or delayed due to weather -- all around the year – all
around the country (not just due to snow and ice, but severe thunderstorms
or fog). It's cold in the winter, and not just in the Northeast, but also
in the Midwest.
• Pay attention to diversity. It is very important in the
U.S. workplace. You will be dealing
with women and minorities who are decision-makers.
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| My Recommendations |
Once you understand the barriers you can prepare solutions to
effectively manage them.
• Plan and prepare carefully and thoroughly.
• Build a strong team.
• Respect the U.S. business mentality.
• Ask questions.
• Answer questions honestly (even if the answer is "I
don't know.").
• Keep your expectations realistic. (You will not get a check after the first
meeting!)
• Follow up efficiently to keep the process moving forward.
If you do your homework and understand the barriers, you will increase your
chances for success.
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The Trendletter team welcomes your comments.
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Mark Dollinger, President
Trendlines America
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