Interview with iadvisor June Oei: Exporting

iadvisor June Oei of Defining Reality and an export coach of IE’s Exporters Development Programme, shares some tips on points Singapore companies should take note of when exporting and how to navigate through export negotiations.

Before Singapore companies embark on their exporting journey, what are some questions they should ask themselves?

The most important step is to do some soul searching and be really honest when doing this.

• Why are you exporting? Is it for short, medium or long term returns? Is it for survival or for additional growth?
• Do you have something worth exporting?
• What kind of commitment (time, financial, human capital, opportunity cost) are you willing to put into this?

With every answer to these questions, there will be even more questions. If you can get to the very end and your answer is still a 'yes', then you are ready to start the adventure. The questions are simple but believe me, the answers are not. Once you start your adventure, you must be prepared to switch course, adapt, and even redefine goals.

You can't learn about internationalisation from a textbook. The most useful and practical advice I can give to help guide you along is to write down all the specific goals you want to achieve, when you want to achieve them and what you are prepared to do and most importantly what you are NOT prepared to do. One last point to take note of is not to underestimate the power of branding and product positioning. Always ask yourself ‘what is my story and is it worth listening to?’

Export negotiations remains one of the major problems that exporting companies face. What are some of the pitfalls of export negotiations and how do companies avoid them?

The style of negotiation is very dependent on the culture of that country where you intend to do business. Many people don't realise this but even having dinner with your potential business partners is part of the negotiation process. The old adage ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans’. I prefer "when in Rome, respect the Romans and their culture". When a company prepares to internationalise, they do a lot of academic work like finding out about population trends, GDP growth, etc. Sure, all that is important but what is equally important is to do your homework about the people of that country, the culture of the country, of the company that may be your potential partner, and of the people you are negotiating with. Many people miss that part. So the pitfall in negotiations is not just the what, but the who; that is us. We are our own pitfall.

All answers are provided to the best knowledge of the iadvisors at the point of answering, and are solely represented by the iadvisors, not IE Singapore.

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