Global Expansion Consulting

In 30 days, we got 27 meetings for a B2B tech company (~ 60 people) in 3 APAC markers (5 steps we followed) 👇 Before October 2023, My client top 5 challenges: 1- Rely on inbound leads 2- ~55% of their inbounds were not ICP. 3- They were sending 20+ cold emails/week 4- 3 farmer sales team 5- Couldn’t get their ICP data (90k+ SMEs in APAC) Here’s the 5 steps we followed to generate 1 lead/day: Step 1: What sales strategy to implement? Success in outbound = planning 7 key information to formulate a sales strategy: 1- The Revenue target 2- Annual Contract Value 3- The average number of contacts/account 4- The average activities/account 5- Average show rate 6- Average qualified rate 7- Average close rate Those 7 answers tell us the number of accounts/people we need to reach the targeted revenue - - Step 2: Square their ICP Knowing our client’s Ideal Customer Profile (I.C.P.) / Buyer Persona is the top 2 info of our onboarding 6 criteria to define an ICP/Persona: 1- Demographic info 2- Challenges 3- Goals 4- Buying behaviour 5- Communication preferences 6- Value prop alignment - - Step 3: Focus on Sales-intents: Our client solution replaces 1 specific tech position in SMEs 1 way to know that a SME could potentially need that solution is by tracking what SMEs are hiring for this position. By scrapping job boards, analyzing and summarising the job descriptions of the profiles we know exactly the needs of those SMEs We can then reach out to the right person with the right message at the right time - - Step 4: Calibrate their ICP/Persona 1- Gauge the number of accounts/contacts to target 2- Estimate the available data per account/contacts As step 1 tells us how many accounts/people we need to reach the targeted revenue, We evaluate if the number of accounts/people found versus the ones needed are matching. - - Step 5: Write intent-driven cold email sequences 7 steps-blueprint to send terrific cold emails in 2024: 1. 1-3 word subject line 2. 5th grade language 3. 1st line: an observation 4. What’s in it for the prospect 5. 50-75 words 6. Generates emotions 7. Soft Call-to-Action Send the cold emails you would like to receive. Don’t over complicate it. - - Results: - In 30 days - 368 emails were sent - 203 emails were opened - 28 emails got replied - 456 cold calls were made - 27 meetings were scheduled - - PS: If the above resonates with you: - You're part of a revenue team - Post-revenue (> 1 M/y) - Existing branding ( ~10-20 inbound leads/w) - Sell to SMEs - Target: Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia - Avg ticket size: 5-figure But you don’t have the resources to make outbound work DM me 'Multichannel'. We'll chat and I'll get you details Happy Monday A.

The Secret of Luxury Hospitality Positioning 1/ Most hospitality brands think they're selling rooms. Hermès thinks they're selling dreams. Aman thinks they're selling transformation. The Ritz thinks they're selling legacy. Here's why 99% of hospitality brands will never understand true luxury positioning: 2/ The $600B hospitality industry has it backwards. They obsess over thread counts and marble bathrooms. But when a billionaire pays $2,000/night at Aman Tokyo, they're not buying a bed. They're buying 3 hours where the world can't find them. They're purchasing RELIEF. 3/ Hermès mastered this 187 years ago: Birkin bag cost breakdown: • Leather: $200 • Labor: $800 • The rest: POSITIONING You're not buying a bag. You're buying entry into a club your great-grandmother respected. Generational wealth buys IDENTITY, not amenities. 4/ The brands that "get it" understand 3 pillars: SCARCITY: Aman has 34 properties. They could have 340. They choose not to. LEGACY: Le Bristol Paris sells Hemingway's view, not just suites. IMMUNITY: While others chase trends, Aman perfects timeless sanctuary. 5/ What 90% of hospitality brands do wrong: ❌ Compete on features ❌ Chase Instagram moments ❌ Discount for occupancy ❌ Target "luxury travelers" What top-tier brands do: ✅ Create their own category ✅ Build generational rituals ✅ Never compromise positioning ✅ Target legacy builders 6/ Case study in positioning power: Four Seasons: "Exceptional service" St. Regis: "Bespoke luxury" Aman: "Sanctuary" One commands 3x the rate. Strategy isn't about better amenities. Strategy is about DIFFERENT MEANING. 7/ The psychology is profound: When stress costs $1M deals → peace becomes priceless When reputation spans generations → discretion becomes invaluable When time is finite → transformation becomes essential You're not selling hospitality. You're selling a story they'll tell their grandchildren. 8/ Luxury isn't a price point. Luxury is a CULTURE. The culture of anticipated needs, generational consistency, and effortless perfection. Culture can't be copied. Only cultivated. Ready to transform your hospitality brand from commodity to legacy? I help hotel brands discover their unique positioning and build generational meaning that commands premium rates. DM "POSITIONING" to explore how we can elevate your brand's story. RT if this changed how you think about hospitality positioning.

America just got reintroduced to Guinness as a local brand. A bold shift away from its traditional Irish roots, led by the mighty Uncommon Creative Studio NYC. Alden, Steenkamp & Batra’s work on consumer culture positioning is a business school staple. I've never seen a clearer live example of this theory in practice. Their research shows how brands can position themselves in three ways. GLOBAL: Part of global culture LOCAL: A brand for “people like me, from here” FOREIGN: An exotic, aspirational foreign brand With this framework, marketers can shape brand perception, signal trust or status, and win local share for global brands. I've always thought beer and cider is the perfect category showing this strategy at play. 1. Heineken - Global Culture Obvious example. Global sports, international celebrities, same message everywhere. 2. Craft Brands - Local Culture The craft boom was a strategy where large FMCGs bought or built local brands to win trust and authenticity in smaller, profitable markets. Ironically, BrewDog went the opposite way from local to global, ditching the Scottish charm rather fast. 3. Fosters - Foreign Culture Endless options here. Especially as Italian beer is booming! Asahi is also a big winner with this.But Fosters is my favourite: it never even existed in Australia! They borrowed Aussie humour and heat to build a brand around refreshment with mates. Genius, no wonder their campaigns won IPA awards. This is why the new Guinness work is so interesting. It takes a specific American insight (50 states, divided) and relaunches the brand as something that brings them together. Real Americans. Real Guinness. A pure local positioning shift for a brand long doing anything but. This may feel off if you're not American (or even if you are). But this stuff takes time. Just look at Guinness in Africa. Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is now a symbol of local pride across the continent. It can clearly work. This framework is also a bit of a curse. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. You’ll start reading every brand move through it. Look at discount grocers across the EU. Lidl and Aldi act local and proud in every market to boost trust and quality. The ad itself? A brilliant demonstration that marketers leaving music choices to the end of production are missing the biggest opportunity. Let me know if you're a fan of this new move in the comments. I share #advertising and #marketing insights daily. Follow for more.

I watched a $50M European brand crash in China within 8 months. Their mistake? They used their Berlin networking playbook. They hosted Western-style events. Open bar. Name tags. "Let's grab coffee" with strangers. Great attendance, but zero partnerships materialized. Meanwhile, their Chinese competitor spent the same budget on private dinners with partners introduced through mutual connections. Six months later: exclusive distribution deals locked in. The difference wasn't budget or product. It was understanding how trust works in China. Western markets start at 100 points and subtract if someone proves untrustworthy. China starts at zero. Trust is earned slowly through repeated interactions and third-party endorsements. I see this pattern constantly. Western companies treat China like "another market" when it's a different operating system entirely. They network efficiently instead of building relationships strategically. The companies that succeed? They understand the 饭局 (dinner gathering) isn't just a meal. It's where hierarchies form, intentions are signaled, and trust begins. They learn that "being open and direct" in Frankfurt can seem naive in Shenzhen. The gap isn't language—it's fundamentally different approaches to risk and relationships. Here's what I tell every client: Your advantage isn't just your product. It's your willingness to adapt how you build the relationships that actually sell it. For the cross-border operators here: What's been your biggest "lost in translation" moment entering Asian markets? #ChinaMarketEntry #CrossBorderEcommerce #ChinaBusiness #MarketExpansion #GlobalCommerce

Entering a market isn’t guesswork. It’s math. And the equation is simpler than you think. When a new player shows up, incumbents move fast: → Drop prices until rivals run out of cash → Lock up distributors and suppliers → Flood the market with brand spend → Sign long contracts with penalties → Lobby regulators to raise barriers That’s 5 of 10 ways big companies protect their turf. For new entrants, fighting head-to-head rarely works. The smarter play is partnership. Instead of burning years and millions, you can borrow scale, credibility, and access. Here are 5 proven ways to do it: Co-distribution ⤷ Partner with a non-competitor who already sells to your target customers ⤷ You get reach without building your own network. Joint innovation ⤷ Collaborate with an incumbent to launch a new product ⤷ You share costs and inherit their credibility White-label supply ⤷ Sell your product under an incumbent’s brand ⤷ You scale quietly, while learning how the market really works Adjacent alliances ⤷ Enter through a related industry ⤷ Bypass the strongest defences Anchor partnership ⤷ Land one marquee partner ⤷ Their endorsement signals trust and opens doors The question is: how do you know if you have a real chance? Use the Entry Equation. Success Score = (Distribution × Incentive × Differentiation) ÷ (Switching + Regulatory + Capital) Score each factor 1–5 (5=Excellent): • Distribution Access • Incumbent Incentive • Differentiation • Switching Costs • Regulatory Barriers • Capital Intensity Interpretation: 0–5 = Low viability 6–10 = Conditional entry 11–15 = Strong entry Need an example? An EV battery startup partners with a Tier-1 auto supplier. Here's the assessment: • Distribution = 4 • Incentive = 5 • Differentiation = 5 • Switching = 3 • Regulatory = 4 • Capital = 3 Score = (4×5×5) ÷ (3+4+3) = 10 Interpretation → Conditional entry The path forward: reduce regulatory drag or switching pain This is how experienced CEOs think about market entry. Not just, “Can we compete?” But, “Who can we partner with to get through the defences?” Remember: Go-to-market partnerships aren’t a growth lever for new entrants. They’re the only way in. --------------------------- Was this helpful? Get cheatsheets like this each Wednesday. Subscribe to my free newsletter: https://philhsc.com ♻️ Repost this to help a founder or CEO assessing a new market ➕ Follow me, Phil Hayes-St Clair for more like this

Most founders ask "where should we expand?" The real question is: "are we actually ready?" This was a powerhouse panel at the Business Leader Summit with Aron Gelbard / Huib van Bockel / Isobel Stephen / Anthony Goodwin / Simon Gilson-Fox moderated by Jason Mahendran, and it delivered some brutally honest advice on global expansion. Here's what the panel who've done it shared with us: → Lesson 1: Max out your home market first. The starting point sounds obvious.  Get the model right at home before you look elsewhere. But it's more nuanced than that. If you're Tenzing, the UK energy drinks market is large enough to build a significant business. But if you're Bloom & Wild, the UK flower market is smaller, and investors will pressure you to go international before you feel ready. Know the size of your opportunity at home. → Lesson 2: Build the playbook before you pack your bags. Before you even think about entering a new market, do this: Create a detailed executional playbook of exactly how your model works at home. → Lesson 3: Score every market before you commit. The panel discussed having a clear framework for evaluating where to go next. Build a scorecard. Assess every factor that matters such as: → Consumer behaviour — how similar is it to your home market? → Competitive landscape — do you buy your way in or grow organically? → Political & regulatory environment — what are the hidden costs? → Existing advantage — do you have a partnership, a foothold, an edge? → Internal readiness — will this distract from your core growth? → Operational scalability — can your infrastructure stretch? → Pilot opportunity — is there a low-risk way to test before you commit? → Lesson 4: Never underestimate culture. Bloom & Wild learned it the hard way. This was the moment of the session that stopped the room. Bloom & Wild expanded into Germany. It worked. But they also went to France. It didn't. Why? Cultural appetite for a British brand was fundamentally different. The lesson: really interrogate your pilot and your data before you scale. Lesson 5: Look for what stays the same across every market. Amid all the differences — regulations, culture, competition — look for the constants. Try not to damage more than 10% of the model. If you were in 20 countries one day and each was 20% different, that is a recipe for complexity and potential disaster. Anthony Goodwin put it brilliantly. In recruitment, the characteristics of successful leaders are identical across every market they operate in: Resilience. Initiative. Curiosity. Outside-the-box thinking. Your proposition may need to adapt. But if your core is built on something universal, that's your greatest asset when going global. Global expansion isn't a growth strategy.  It's a test of whether your foundations are strong enough to stretch. Another brilliant session from a remarkable day at the Business Leader Summit.

When it comes to ‘going global’, business leaders (especially sales and marketing teams) often assume that ‘copy + paste’ will be the order of the day. In other words, that …. ❌ The commercial and regulatory landscape of the target international market will be similar to the domestic landscape. ❌ The needs of international clients are (virtually) identical to the home market. ❌ That the business can simply replicate its domestic successes abroad by doing ‘more of the same'. These beliefs are a sign of: a) complacency b) cockiness or c) ignorance. Sometimes d) all of the above. Businesses that go to market overseas this way often: 😐 Fail to understand the intricacies of the target market and fall foul of regulatory requirements. 😕 Don’t differentiate themselves from what is already on offer in the market and struggle to stand out. 😧 Find their international sales falling short of forecasts. 😫 Burn through the budget for international expansion without making any ROI and have to shelve the project. Don’t be that company! Instead, as you get ready to ‘go global’: ✅ Equip yourself with a deep understanding of how your target international market works and what rules you’ll need to comply with to operate there. ✅ Get to grips with what makes your international clients tick, what their expectations are and what that means for your offer and how you present it. ✅ Create a go-to-market plan specifically tailored for the idiosyncrasies of the international market. Do that and you’ll spare yourself from: 🏁 Expensive mistakes… 🏁 Being a ‘me-too’ product that doesn’t sell overseas… 🏁 The financial stress and embarrassment of having your international venture tank… …and you’ll be on the right track for international success. Do you want help with your global expansion? Comment below or DM me and let’s chat. #Goglobal #Strategy #InternationalStrategy

Founders love to chase new markets. CFOs hate the aftermath. After helping 50+ startups expand internationally, I noticed the same expensive patterns repeating. So I built this framework. Phase 1: Market Validation Don't trust your gut. Trust data. → Run micro-tests with 5K budgets → Interview 20 potential customers (not your friends) → Check if your pricing translates (spoiler: it won't) → Map regulatory requirements NOW, not later Phase 2: Legal Architecture The unsexy stuff that saves your company. → Entity structure: subsidiary vs branch vs rep office → Tax optimization (legally, please) → IP protection in each market → Employment law compliance Phase 3: Cultural Translation Your product needs a passport too. → Localize, don't just translate → Adapt your sales process (Germans want docs, Italians want dinner) → Adjust payment methods and terms → Redesign customer support for local expectations Phase 4: Operational Infrastructure Build the machine before you press go. → Local banking (budget 3 months for this headache) → Hiring framework for remote/local talent → Supply chain adjustments → Tech stack that works across borders Phase 5: Sequential Launch One market at a time. Always. → Soft launch with beta customers → Document everything that breaks → Fix, iterate, then scale → Use learnings for next market The expensive mistakes I see repeatedly: - Launching in 3 markets simultaneously (RIP runway) - Copying home market playbook exactly (doesn't work) - Underestimating regulatory timelines (9 months, not 9 weeks) - Hiring country managers too early (burn rate explosion) The framework isn't sexy. But neither is shutting down your Berlin office after 6 months. Save this for when you're ready to expand. Your future CFO will thank you. What's the biggest international expansion mistake you've seen or made? — 👋 I’m Monia. I turn 'glocal' operations into repeatable systems for startups and SMEs. If you're gearing up to go international, I’ll audit your expansion plan (for free) and show you exactly where to de-risk your launch. 🔔 Follow for frameworks that actually work in the real world.

Should Global Brands Localise Their Names for Local Markets? I’ve been in Nigeria for the past two weeks, spending time in markets, stores, and engaging in everyday conversations - the best kind of research. One brand came up in conversation. Alpenliebe. People love it. It’s nostalgic, trusted, and everywhere. But here’s the interesting part: almost no one can pronounce it confidently and honestly, nor could I at first. Out of curiosity, I looked it up. Alpenliebe comes from German and roughly translates to “Love of the Alps” (or alpine love). That’s beautiful. Romantic. Rooted in heritage. However, it made me pause and ask a bigger question: If a brand name carries meaning in one part of the world, does it still hold significance everywhere else? Or more provocatively: Should international brands localise their names to suit local taste, language, and pronunciation? There’s a strong argument for localisation: ➡️ Ease of pronunciation: If people struggle to say your name, they’re less likely to recommend it out loud. ➡️ Faster recall: Simple, familiar sounds travel faster — especially in word-of-mouth-driven markets like Nigeria. ➡️ Cultural closeness: A name that feels “native” can create instant emotional ownership. In high-context, oral cultures, sayability matters more than clever etymology. A brand that’s easy to say is easy to sell. But there’s another side. A strong global name can: ✅ Signal heritage and authenticity ✅ Carry aspiration and trust.  ✅ Build long-term equity across borders Think of brands like Nike, Samsung Electronics, Nestlé, ROLEX, names that didn’t bend to local tongues but trained the world to learn them. Sometimes, difficulty becomes distinction. Sometimes, unfamiliarity creates prestige. So, What’s the Right Answer? I don’t think it’s binary. The smartest global brands separate the brand name from how the brand is activated locally. The goal isn’t to dilute identity, but to increase intimacy without losing integrity. What Nigeria reminded me of is the best global brands reduce friction without losing soul. What do you think? Should international brands localise their names for different markets or stay strong and consistent globally? I’m curious where you land 👇🏾

Most market entry advisory starts at phase two. With phase one missing. Phase 2 is what everyone builds: TAM analysis. Competitive landscape. Channel strategy. Partner mapping. Pricing localisation. All necessary. All built on an incorrect assumption: that the market will treat you as credible when you show up. Phase 1 is what almost everyone skips: Founder narrative localised to the new market. Authority content in the channels your ICP already reads. A digital presence that passes the "let me look them up" test every buyer runs silently. Phase 1 is how you appear to a market encountering you for the first time. 6sense tracked over 4,000 B2B buying decisions and found that the vendor a buyer favours at the end of their independent research phase wins 80% of the time. By the time they reach out, the shortlist is already set. You were not beaten in the meeting. You were off the list before anyone called you. I have watched founders with excellent GTM plans spend their first year in a new market wondering why the pipeline is slow. The plan was right. The product was right. The market just did not recognise them when they arrived. Recognition in the right context is the prerequisite for everything else. The market entry work that matters most happens three to six months before the first commercial conversation. Not in the meeting. Before it. Comment "framework" and I'll share how to approach Phase 1 before market entry. #MarketEntry #GoToMarket #B2BStrategy #FounderStrategy