International Corner

They've launched 50 countries in 10 years and now have 18 offices around the world. That’s what Little Big Connection has managed to do with a test-and-learn mindset and very little investment for each new country launch. But…What is their secret recipe to make it work? Jules Maillard, international expansion director, describes it in 4 steps: Hiring the right country launcher Leveraging the unlock program they created to support the launch of new markets Adopting a low investment & test and learn mindset Creating hubs to support multiple countries at a more local level We emphasize particularly on the unlock program as they have spent years fine-tuning it to adapt to any cultural specificities country launchers stumble upon when they are in the job. From closing the first deals, to hiring the first salespeople and to getting to maturity level in the targeted geography, the idea is to unlock rewards at every step of the way to help country launchers be succesfull in their mission. In the last episode of International Corner podcast, you’ll learn everything about the steps of that program and their secret sauce to build a country launching machine. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

9 months to take over a multi-market scope, structure it and scale it to get to the next stage of growth. When she arrived at Partoo, there were 6 people within the expansion team. 2 years later, there are now 20 people. That is what Cécile Farah, VP Sales Expansion, and her international team did at Partoo. But it has been a long journey to make changes and generate positive impacts. In today’s episode of International Corner, she explains what it took to get there: 1) Build a true team cohesion As she took over a scope with different maturity levels, people are not living the same thing from one market to another one. They had to learn to move together to make it. 2) Follow global processes but keep a local approach They make sure they use the right processes at a global scale while having local adjustments to take opportunity of the famous land and expand strategy. 3) Make the other departments understand what is going on in the different markets The idea is to spread the knowledge and adjustments needed to marketing, legal finance etc… to avoid copy, paste what they did in other markets and make sure the entire organization is on board with what they do. Find out more about these aspects in the episode! Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

As you move from the launching to the scaling phase in a new market, You’ll Have A Tough Time. Yet, you thought you went through the hardest part - getting the first few customers. Well… I hate to break it to you… but this was just a “Mise en bouche”. There are tons of aspects you need to consider afterwards such as: Building a clear vision of where you are going Spreading clear communication across local and global teams Adapting to the local market and localizing the Sales approach Implementing an agile sales process And the toughest part according to Frederic KINGUE JOHNSON, GM and VP South EMEA and Latam at Content Square : Stabilizing a team to scale the business efficiently. A few highlights of our discussion Mistakes when hiring in a new market Misalignment to avoid between new hires / local people and HQ teams Global vs local process Challenges when transitioning your team from the launching to the scaling phases Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

If you are working on expanding into new markets, your goal should be about finding Product Market Fit (PMF). It can sometimes be really tough to find it. And this is even more true for competitive markets such as the UK. Edouard Epaud, Head of Sales Uk at My Traffic was obsessed about one key aspect in this PMF quest. Nailing their Ideal Customer Profiles in the UK. To grow sales in the UK over the past 2 years, his team has focused on 3 aspects to keep iterating fast to find their ICP 1 - listening to calls again and again 2 - Gather data points to find lookalikes 3 - Get help from his growth team and his network What else can you expect from this episode ? Differences in the way we do business France vs UK, finding your competitive advantage and tips about cold calling there. If you are struggling to find your PMF in the UK (or any market) and are looking for some tips to start the year strong, listen to this week’s episode of International Corner ! Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Have you considered leveraging communities to grow internationally? This is a strong means to strengthen your lead generation efforts… and in a more genuine way. Communities are a way for you to: ✅ get insights ✅ get direct access to your target audience ✅ form meaningful connections But they are not a way for you to: ❌pitch your product ❌get a list of contacts to send aggressive cold emailing campaigns In this week’s episode of Interntaional Corner, Coralie De Robert, Sales Director at Salesloft explains how they are using communities in the Uk, Germany and France to boost their sales. Expect to hear about how they create communities, how they entertain it, their approach towards fellow community members and Coralie’s vision about the ROI it provides. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

The is no one-size-fits-all strategy to sell internationally. Just as much as there is no one-size fits all strategy to manage an international team. I think we’d all agree that one of the toughest aspects of going international is to make it right with people. People with different backgrounds People from different countries People with different personalities And no matter how different we all are, as a manager, you need to make sure everyone can work together, in harmony, to reach a common goal. Anne Claire Cornée, Senior Director EMEA and International Sales at Dailymotion currently manages a team of 3 individuals coming from different cultural backgrounds. Multicultural management is at the heart of her routine and she shares with us how she adapts her management style to each individual while ensuring a sense of togetherness. What you can expect in this episode: Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What if you could reduce your Time to first deal by 50% in all your markets? Imagine being able to have all your new Sales hires get their first deal x2 faster, in every market? Well that is what Niamh Murray Lalanne, VP Global Sales Ena blement at Mirakl managed to do with her team. The power of Sales enablement is often underestimated in organizations. This business unit is often created at a later stage of a startup's growth. And it is often created… too late. Yet, especially to help you go to the next stage of international expansion, Sales enablement is key. How are you making sure new insights & contents are not only rolled out in all markets but also digested and adopted by all Sales teams? How do you successfully onboard new comers to make them operational as fast as possible? In the last episode of International Corner, we discussed how you can leverage Sales enablement to grow internationally. A snapshot of what we discussed: Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

You sold to a firrst few clients in the US, great! But how do you achieve repeatable Sales now? How do you prove you can sell again and again to the same type of companies, the same persona for the same price? Well, as usual for the folks who work on expanding internationally, you know there is no one-size-fits-all solution. But there are stories worth listening to get inspired There are mistakes worth studying to avoid losing time There are ideas worth using in your own context to help you grow faster And today I believe you will want to hear what Alex Louisy, CEO of Upflow has to say in the last episode of International Corner We discuss how they managed to achieve repeatable Sales in the US market despite covid times that account now for almost 50% of their total revenue. Content to look forward to: Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

If you are working on expanding into foreign markets, you probably leveraged some of your current customers to expand into other countries. This is the land and expand strategy That’s most likely how most of us get the first 2-3 clients in foreign countries But have you considered using this strategy as your main focus to grow internationally and not just to get the first few references? That's what Anthony, CEO of Meeriad have done to expand into several markets. They have mastered the art of landing and expanding into new markets. Anthony tells us everything they do to make sure they convert their first POC or pilot into successful international cross-sells. One key aspect he nailed to get there is this: How do you justify a soft ROI to your client? Sometimes there is no direct relation between your solution impact and a company soft ROI. For instance, how do you justify your solution can directly impact the retention rate of your customer? Well… Anthony found a way. And you can find out how in today’s episode of International Corner. What to expect: Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Thinking about hiring your first local people in a new foreign market? Greeeeat. How can you avoid making mistakes? Well… let’s be honest, you most likely will 😅 But you can probably limit them by learning from Amanda Simon, CPO at The Briars group with her 30+ years of HR experience overseing several markets. We discussed 2 crucial topics that should be at the heart of your HR priorities as you expand in nex markets: A snapshot of what we learned: Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

It is better to stop investing in international expansion in these times of business uncertainty. Especially if the new target market brings you close to 0% of revenue. Very tempting to have these thoughts right? Well, wouldn’t you miss the point as a founder if you close yourself off to internationalization? There are ways to be more cautious about international expansion. Actually, You can generate 10-15% of your revenue remotely before committing to having local operations What are your current operations looking like? Are there ways to switch to remote operations if they are local? The idea is to cut costs while keeping your efforts on. Zoltan Vardy, Founder of the Launch Code and Chairman at Antavo tells us more about how to expand globally in times of uncertainty. What we covered during the episode: Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

They went from 5000 to 15000 active users in less than 4 months in Italy How did Akt.io manage to be off to such a fast start? Spoiler alerts, they didn’t spend much marketing budget The key was to focus on 2 very important aspects: Kevin Régis, COO and CCO tells us everything about how they achieved these great results in such a short period of time Expect to also hear about: Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

How do you ask some key employees in your HQ to spend 20% of their time on a new market that currently brings 0% of turnover? You don’t 😅 But then how do you build the right HQ organization supporting your internationalization effort? There is no one-size-fits all solution. But whatever you choose to do, it’s going to be key to successfully expand into foreign markets Florian Garcia Business operation and New market Director at Alma shares how their HQ organization has evolved in 2 years to now support their growth in 11 markets. Key aspects we discussed: Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Are you looking at a market where you can grow exponentially? (I mean who is not?😅 ) Then make sure to include Brazil in your list of potential markets to consider. In Sao Paulo only, there are 11M inhabitants. Brazilians are actually really open to buying and using European products and solutions. And France has actually a special place for them. I mean… let’s not forget Carrefour is the #1 supermarket chain there and Blablacar has made Brazil one of their biggest markets. But if you want to make it there, there are codes and specificities you absolutely need to master. Danilo Gomes, internatio nal business developer at Business France in Brazil walks us through the Do and Don’t to make it there: Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

80% European and North American companies I’ve talked to over the last 12 months expand into Europe or North America. It’s a fact. Some are doing so because they have a true potential within these regions. But… maybe some companies are also doing so because it is more convenient. It’s culturally closer to what they are used to. Therefore… it feels like the barriers to entry are not that high… But what if… the best business expansion opportunities were the ones that are underlooked at? Wouldn’t it be better to go to markets where your competitors DON’T GO? The African market for instance, is a goldmine IF you know how to navigate it. Zach Selch, Global Sales Mentor, spent 35 years leading International Sales for various companies. He sheds some light into why and how you should expand into markets like Africa where your competitors don't go to unlock true international growth. Here is a snapshot of what you can expect from the episode: Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Wanna launch a foreign market but you’re a bit tight on budget? It’s a new world we are living in. Frugality has become the #1 driver for all founders these days. However, Sales teams are still expected to reach a higher level of growth year after year. What if you could bootstrap your way into launching a foreign market? Well that is what Fleet has done in Spain. It has been the one-man work for a few months of Baptiste Petelle, who is now Chief of staff at Fleet. He shares his learnings of how they launched the Spanish market without dedicating a big budget. Being bootstrapped has had impacts on: They manage to reach 10% of their current total ARR in Spain in less than a year without raising any funds. You'll also learn about cultural differences to master to do business in Spain ;) Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

In India, you have 15 seconds to make an impression on a cold call, or You. Are. Dead. It is super easy to get Exec’s phone numbers… And because it’s easy, they are spammed every minute of every day. See where I’m going here? As a BDR there, you have to be super impactful and creative to stand out from the noise. If you want to do business in India, you have to understand the culture and how it translates into business practices. Shishir, has opened 3 times the Indian market for non-indian companies. In this week’s episode, he shares a bit of India’s history for us to understand how it impacts the way you choose how: Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

You’re never going to scale revenue globally by doing like everyone else is doing. Do you know why? Because all your competitors are already targeting your audience with salesy emails & linkedin messages, cold calling, webinars… You have to think out of the box. You have to develop a Growth Mindset Be innovative You have to do what nobody else is doing. That is exactly the thought process Ken Condon, E-com entrepreneur & Global channel director went through to find an innovative way to get potential customers in a room with him. The key to scale revenue globally is by NOT SELLING. When he found his secret recipe, he used all traditional channels to work towards that new lead revenue source. …And today Segmentify is selling into more than 32 countries. I can’t write here what he found, but I can tell you that partnerships, value-added content and networking were key in making it happen. Fortunately, you can find out how he did by listening to the 24th episode of International Corner. ;) Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What if you could successfully launch 6 new markets in less than a year and half? That’s what Ironhack did From launching the Mexican Market to now managing operations of the french, dutch and English markets, Manon Pellat shares with us the expansion playbook they have sharpened over the years. The 3 phases that makes them successful every time: But there is more. The playbook doesn’t JUST describe how to kick-start a new market. It also gives keys to ensure PMF is met and revenue keep growing the following years. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

7 years, 4 European markets launched, 14 people and a few millions euros of turnover generated. Wifirst has been scaling several countries at the same time while managing different growth stages. As Vince, VP EMEA reflects on their journey so far, he shares some key insights that have allowed them to get where they are today. One aspect they have been really strong at: Fostering cross-country collaboration. Here is how their get-together routine looks like: And these are just part of his tips ! Highlights of the rest of the content: Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.