How to Win in America

Nobody gets it right the first time.  Many people give up after getting it wrong on the first go-around.  Those people will never be successful in the US market.

Even Microsoft failed with Windows until version 3.1 finally got major traction.  And they continued to improve with each version.  Google's first algorithms were flawed; they continued to modify and ended up owning the market.  Interesting to note that JK Rowling was turned down by 11 publishers before one agreed to take a chance on her Harry Potter series.  Seems the publishing industry thought the market wanted more dinosaurs, not wizards. Good thing JK Rowling did not give up.  Otherwise she would not be richer than the Queen of England.

These are the top 10 mistakes international companies make when they come to the USA market.

Mistake 1. There is no strategy or plan in place.

If you think:

• “North America is a huge market it will be easy to make money in North Amer”
• “Every one is just waiting for my call”

The reality is:

• The market is too big and too fragmented
• It is the most competitive market in the world
• The competition is not only Americans, but also all other international companies who are in the market

Now, ask yourself these questions:

We have a common expression in America... "Birds of a feather fly together."  This simply means people typically associate with "people like them".

Certainly this is true in business.  Think about it.  The French prefer to deal with other French people.  The Germans prefer to do business with Germans, the Indians with other Indians.  It just makes sense.  People feel more comfortable dealing with others who speak the same language, have the same cultural background, understand the "nuance" (if you have to look up the meaning of that word, then I have made my point very clearly) of the country and understand the "way we do business".

Many companies are under the impression that they should pay high salaries and big bonuses to "keep the employees happy."  While employee satisfaction is important  it cannot come at the expense of profits. 

It is certainly true that happy employees stick around longer and help you grow a profitable business, a company's success depends on consistent profits to keep the cash flow moving and the bankers happy.

Recently I met with 3 different manufacturers of solar panels.  All are from Spain, and all want to enter the USA market.  Their approaches are very different, and I think that their results will also be very different.  One will undoubtedly find success.  One will undoubtedly fail.  And one will probably limp along until they get either lucky or tired.  When you think of doing business in America, which approach will you use?

Approach #1: Certain Failure.