What are your pointers for an import/export agency wanting to use HubSpot for lead generation and authority building?

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Many of the large established maunfactures attend trade shows, such as the Canton Import and Export Fair. The key is to look for manufactures that already supplies to established brands. Once the manufacture meets the QA standards of the large brands, their quality remains consistent regardless of the company they produce for. Most of the time the minimum order quantity they request are up for negotiation. Same for the sampling cost. Most manufactures are willing to wave the sampling cost if a production order is placed at a later time. Sourcing at the end of the day requires a lot of ground work. It takes time and effort to locate the right suppliers, visit and audit their facilities, and prices negotiate. However, this really saves money in the long term because you will have solid supply chains you can count on and trust. One way to approach this is to consolidate. Consolidate the number of suppliers, and make each sourcing trip count by finding multiple suppliers at once. Best of luck in finding the right suppliers for your products!

Hello! I am a former automobile dealer, and I had an auto repair shop, body shop, and licensed vehicle inspection station in central Missouri. I am very familiar with this industry. I entered this market at the wrong time, grew quickly, and hit the Great Recession at the wrong time. My goal was similar to yours, to wholesale vehicles, but also to export classic cars to the middle East. Canada is a great source for people here, because the prices are in fact lower for US buyers. I am still somewhat involved in the automotive niche, and I even recently purchased a replacement engine on a Scion from Canada because it was about one third of the price that I would have paid anywhere close. One thing you mentioned that stuck out in my mind is focusing on SUVs and trucks. When you specialize, you create your biggest potential. If you can create a name for yourself for supplying a particular size of truck, say a 1/4 ton pickup with an extended cab, you might be able to connect with volume buyers who are looking for low cost alternatives to buying new. This could be municipalities with tight budgets, small transport companies, service industry companies, etc. Once you find a hot niche, word could spread fast, and if you've mastered the supply side, you will be able to move vehicles super fast. And if you have the capability of doing some mechanical upgrades on the vehicles before you sell them, you'll make a greater return on your investment. One example of a hot niche is Jeep Cherokees in Colorado. Cherokees sell for 20% to 30% higher in Colorado than what they go for in the Midwest. I know of a person who did nothing but purchase Cherokees and fix them up for selling in Colorado. He had a very solid business. The advantage to focusing down on a very tight selection of vehicle models is knowing what to expect. You'll know what parts are likely to be worn out at a particular mileage, where these vehicles tend to rust first, what mechanical issues are common, or electrical problems that you can run into. When you are wholesaling and buying anything and everything, you'll heighten your chances of getting burned. I've been there myself, and learned some hard lessons. At the end of my run in the business, I wish I could have hit the rewind button and only scoped out a narrow variety of vehicles that I had the most knowledge on. I plan on re-entering the business soon. I've got a particular car in mind, the 1995 Ford Mustang. I rebuilt one of these, and I know all of the gory details for this car. Right now, they are a dime a dozen, and you can find them everywhere. My plan is to restore them and sell them, because this body style and the Fox body are the next ones which will become "nostalgic". Drill down and find out which pickup truck is your best prospect. Factor in common problems, cost of repair, and demand out on the market. Then stick with that model within a certain range of years, and make a name for yourself in that niche. You are guaranteed to have better success if you take that approach!

It's a difficult one to answer because Hubspot is a continuously evolving platform. What isn't working so well today will be great tomorrow. The speed at which they are developing is mind blowing. I've been watching this now for 1.5 years and it's pretty amazing. They're doing some pretty cool stuff and constantly pushing the boundaries, I wouldn't want to single any one thing out, none that might not be 100% of the parts will remain so. I just don't know in which order they develop but I know they have a team behind every aspect and like I said keep evolving the product. So if the question comes of whether it'll be a problem because perhaps there is something that another software might be better in, it won't be long before that's no longer true. Buying into Hubspot means buying into constant change and evolution - that by itself could be a bit of an issue for some people but in my books that's their greatest plus, despite the constant learning curve.

Selling to enterprise customers is about demonstrating value while reducing risk. You will need to show irrefutable proof that your solution will address a pain - ideally, one that is both urgent and important (Eisenhower matrix/Covey). The best way is to point to tangible examples of where you have solved the problem before - through documented case studies, testimonials from industry luminaries, etc. Most enterprise solutions have been developed with the involvement of at least one customer to ensure there is some semblance of product/market fit. If that is your situation, you need to use that customer as a proof-point. In the absence of an existing customer, you need to find someone (a champion) who is willing to accept greater risk in return for the benefits of being an early adopter. The offer to them could be financial (free/reduced cost/pay when you're happy), exclusivity, customization/ personalization/integration,... - something that will provide extra reward for taking a chance with you, in return for allowing you to use them as proof when the value is proven. As well, expect that an enterprise will limit their risk by testing your solution in a controlled setting - in one department, a specific project, a parallel implementation with another product, etc. with very specific, measurable objectives and expected outcomes. Selling to enterprise customers can be daunting. Decision-making can be slow, complex and political. The reception area is full of existing account managers with big expense accounts and six figure salaries who call on the customer every day. But, if you can find a way to successfully break into the market, large companies can be like lemmings - and one sale can lead to many. Good luck! Ping me if you think I can be of help.