Entering a new market can be very time consuming and complex project. There are numerous issues to address depending on your specific industry. You must figure out the logistics, decide over market entry models, obtain approvals for your products, localize your sales and marketing material, set up sales channels, and recruit people. In midst of all this, it is easy to forget that your brand needs special focus as well.

It has been proven several times that people purchase brands, not products. I’m saying here people, since I’m not talking only about consumers but rather about all people that engage in purchase decision-making. The same laws apply whether you operate in B2C or B2B markets. Thus, when entering new and significant (or significantly different) markets such as the North American or Chinese market, your brand needs special attention.

1. Benchmarking: See what your competitors and industry leaders are doing in that specific market. Try to find out the different patterns that emerge, which differ from what you are used to at your home markets.
2. Key message: What is the key message that your brand is supposed to get across? Is that same message strong and differentiating enough to gain you a strong position right from the start? Use the information from benchmarking to help you redefine the key message of your brand.
3. Be persistent: After you have done your benchmarking and fine-tuning of the key message, you must use that knowledge to reconstruct your marketing material and content of your communication medias. Take one document or media at a time and asks your self these questions, ”Does the re-defined key message get through via this document/media? Will my target audience apprehend it? Does our brand emerge stronger from the competition?”.

Now, as you may have noticed, these steps only address the brand promise. Keep in mind that you must always pay attention to delivering on your brand promise.

Managing your brand during market entry does not need to be time consuming and difficult but it needs to be addressed and managed coherently. 

Once again I'm amazed how fast time can pass by. It has already been four months since I started to work on my current assignment. Then again, when I look at the things that I have done, I have to be satisfied on everything accomplished.

So what is my current assignment all about? 

I'm currently helping a finnish company in entering the North American market. My tasks involve carrying out the market research, setting up the channels of distribution and doing all that it requires to have the business running on its own by September this year, after which I will no longer be involved with the business. 

So what have we done so far? After the initial market research we concluded together with my client and Finpro USA that the best way to enter the market would be through wholly owned sales subsidiary. Thus, we proceeded to recruit a local Country Manager to manage the business in N.A. and the sales subsidiary, which we incorporated in January. After this decision I have been heavily engaged in setting up the sales subsidiary. This process has included several meetings with the lawyers, accountants, bankers and others alike. One of the major questions has been how to handle the logistics and the flow of goods from Finland to the end customers here in N.A. Unfortunately, I'm not able to disclose more detailed information at this point about the process or the decisions that we have made. 

All and all it has been a long process to get to this point but the time has gone fast. And when considering the business perspective and the investors point of view, new business ventures like this should be done as swiftly and efficiently as possible. After all,  time is very expensive. The expenses are cumulating day by day and thus it is important to get the administrative tasks done, so that we can start making some sales. The faster money starts to roll in the easier life is for everyone.

I have stopped several times to ponder what is the single most important factor behind sales success.

John C. Maxwell, an internationally recognized leadership expert, instructed in a recent interview by Darren Hardy, the publisher of Success Magazine, that the most important thing for sales people is to keep their "pipeline" full.

Now, wait a second. If this is true, why do most of the business and sales books talk so much about people skills and persuasive communication skills? Pick a book on the topic of how to be an effective sales person and most likely you will end up with one talking about the skills you need in order to persuade and influence other people. "Of course those are important. However, more important is to keep persistent; to have an effective sales process and to follow it actively day after day." said Juha Mattsson, when asked about the importance of people skills and persuasive communication skills in sales. I wanted to hear more on this topic, so I went to discuss with Juha after his speech and what I understood from his words was the following. Based on numerous research that he had conducted or studied, he had found out that the most successful sales people are successful because of the way they manage their sales cycles. They always have their pipeline full of leads to generate new sales and they have well crafted processes how to proactively manage existing accounts and to grow their sales per customer.

What is your experience? Is keeping the pipeline full the most important factor behind your sales success?

Returning to my hotel today, I notice a voice message in the answering machine. “Dear Mr. Kallunki, we have a delivery for you. Please, let us know when can we bring it up for you.” The message left me a bit puzzled, since I was not expecting any delivery. Nevertheless, I called the front desk and told that they may bring the delivery up to my room.

A person from the room service knocks on the door and as I open it I see a lovely lady with a tray in her hands. With a warm smile she hands me the tray and says “let me get the door for you” and wishes me a good evening. To my amazement I’m holding a tray with a bottle of wine in my hands. At this moment I’m even more puzzled than earlier.

WOW!! Now, that is customer service!

Let me tell you the details behind these notes. As I came to the hotel on Tuesday, I read from the information booklet that the hotel arranges a morning run for their guests every Wednesday. So I went to hotel lobby on Wednesday morning as instructed, only to discover that Stephen, the person who arranges the run, has missed his train and thus the run is cancelled. Later the same morning, as I’m having my breakfast, I happen to meet Stephen in the dining room and he suggests that we go running the next day instead. So we went running this morning and during the run, amongst other conversation topics, I happen to ask his advice of good Sushi places and he promised to list me a few good ones that he knows. Instead of jotting the names of the Sushi restaurants on a piece of paper, he sends me a list of the places together with a map and a bottle of wine - how great is that!

It also happened that we talked about wines and I mentioned that my favorite wine is Pinot Noir. You guessed right, the wine I received was a Pinot Noir.

You do not need to be a fortuneteller to know which hotel I will stay in the next time I come to Toronto.

Do you rely on mere luck in your relationships with people and who you connect with, or do you actively search for the right kind of connections that motivate you and helps you forward in life? Unfortunately, most of us rely on luck or as some would call it, the faith. As I have come to notice, quite often this is even the case in business.

To understand why this happens, we must take a look at how we form relationships with people. More precicely, we must look what kind of a role does proximity play in our relationships. Let's take for example a study conducted by Bell Communications Research, where they examined scientists working in a same company. The study revealed that the scientists formed collaborative relationships with people who were physically located close by. Factors such as academic reputation or expertise did not have such a big influence on their choice of collaboration partners. The scientists would rather work with someone in the adjacent office. This, so called exponential attraction factor, is so powerful that it overrides other factors. Other similar studies show that the single most important factor in determining whether or not you connect with another person is neither personality nor mutual interests, it is proximity.*

Knowing how proximity and passive contacts affect who we connect with, are you just going to sit around and see who happens to sit next to you and build a relationship with that person. And will you simply trust your subconscious that the people you see daily are more appealing connections than others. OR, will you take a proactive approach in building your network? If you choose the later choise, you can start by following these simple steps:

1) Become a regular face at networking events, so that you start becoming a passive contact to other people you want to network with. It is much easier to connect with someone who already feels subconsciously that you are a "good person".

2) Locate yourself near the people you want to connect with, so that the proximity works for your favour and you can easily engage in casual conversation. These casual conversations and interactions are the foundation that enables the formation of deeper connections and relationships between people. 

*Click: Obi Brafman, Rom Brafman (2010)

For a long time my dream has been to set up my own business and to begin a journey that would result to something greater in life. I'm one of those people who tend to think big and the words such as "modest" rarely go together with my personality. Thus, I have felt very limited and restrained in my job for not being able to do the things that I see valuable.

Instead of suffocating my self, I decided to listen to one of the guidelines that I have previously mentioned in my blog. So, I have kept asking myself for a while now, "what would I do if I weren't afraid?". Fear is very powerful feeling and it can easily cripple even the strongest one of us. I was also afraid of the idea of setting my own business. After all, to get started is like a leap of faith to the great unknown. Especially since I did not have any earth shadering business concept or product innovation in my mind. All I had was the feeling that this is what I want to do in life.

So, what was the switch, how was I able to overcome my fears and take the decision to leap? One was definitely my newly adopted attitude towards fear, which helped me to look at things a little differently. First, I started to look at small businesses and entrepreneurs around, to see what they are doing and how they have managed to set up their business. Sometimes I would see someone running their business and I though to myself "hey, I could do that so much better"or "if he can do it, why couldn't I". Then I would see people and businesses that truly inspired me and I could use those as a benchmark for my own start-up. Finally, I saw people who were just about to start their own business and as I saw other people doing what I was just dreaming about, I got very inspired and exited about the fact that I could be doing the same. All this reduced my fears and I started to believe in my dreams more and more, day by day.
Then came the turning point when I asked myself, "what is it exactly that I'm afraid of?". Once I jotted the answer down on a piece of paper, I started to laugh, and I realized that there was absolutely nothing to be afraid of. The fears were simply my own imagination. My mind just tried to protect me from the unknown. And that was the switch, to realize that there was nothing to be afraid of.

So, I made the decision to start my own business. It will be all realized within three weeks. I will resign at teh end of September and start working as an entrepreneur in the beginning of October. The future will show how I will succeed on my quest but at least no one can ever say that I did not go after my dreams.

Have you ever though what is the purpose of having a vacation? Or, what is a vacation and why do we need one? For me vacation has always been about having time for yourself to do the things you otherwise wouldn't have the time. It is also the time to recharge myself. Nevertheless, this year, as my summer vacation is coming to an end and I'm returning to the office tomorrow, I had to stop for a while to think about it. Why? That's for me to figure out as I'm writing this post.

According to different dictionaries, vacation is defined as, "A period of time devoted to pleasure, rest, or relaxation, especially one with pay granted to an employee." and it originates from Latin vacátió, vacátión-, freedom from occupation, from vacátus, past participle of vacáre, to be empty, at leisure. [1] 

Based on that definition, my vacation was a great success. I experienced pleasure, as I participated rock and salsa festivals, went out with friends, had wonderful family dinners and enjoyed the lovely summer days outdoors. I had plenty of time to rest and relax, whether it was in the form of sleeping late or lounging at the beach. And lastly, to be empty. I probably do not even need to explain this one, as you can see it from the number of my posts during the last month. My mind and soul have been totally empty from all work related matters. All I have focused on during my vacation has been my own wellbeing. In addition to the above mentioned, I have exercised a lot and concentrated on my own health. I have explored the potential advantages of CrossFit training and educated myself on the different superfoods. 

What I'm trying to say here is that I have being doing the things that I enjoy the most during my vacation. Thus, it caught me thinking, why don't I do these things any other time. Why don't I prioritize my life so that I would have more time for the kind of activity that I have been doing during my vacation. If I kept doing these things that bring me pleasure, help me to relax and be empty, even a little bit every day, wouldn't that empower me throughout the year. I bet it would. 

A research done in the Netherlands, suggests that the relaxing effect of a vacation soon fade out after we return to work. Thus, why not to keep mini-vacations everyday by doing things that bring you pleasure and relaxation? In my opinion it doesn't need to be much. I believe that 15-30 minutes per day is enough, just like in sports. If you do a 15-30 minute workout everyday, it is much more effective than doing a 1,5 hour workout twice a week. Or, even like brushing your teeth. Do you think your teeth would be clean if you brushed those only once a week or so? You can even do this in the middle of the day. Think about the moment when you are extremely stressed and tired. Doing something that relaxes you and empties your mind will definitely re-empower yourself for the rest of the day. How, you must be asking. For example, put together a slideshow from the best pictures that you took during your vacation. Then, when you need a mini-vacation, play that slideshow with your favorite music that helps you to relax. Focus on that slideshow for 15 minutes and let your brain have a mini-vacation.  

I do not know about you but I will try it for sure when I return to work tomorrow. Besides, what do I have to loose if I try it?

In his book "Millionaire Messenger", Brendon Buchard talks about how anyone can start making millions by becoming an expert on something and then sharing the information they have put together. I must give him the credit, since he has successfully used the basic marketing principles and more up-to-date social media marketing methods, and adapted those rather successfully to the expert industry. 

Brendon is doing a good job in encouraging people to start their own business within the expert industry. Nevertheless, to me his approach is like TV-Shop. Almost in every chapter he is trying to sell you something. Thus, the book becomes rather annoying at some point and you start to jump through the text, looking for valuable content. 

Millionaire Messenger is like the new exercise gadget on TV-Shop, many people, who want to see quick results, get excited over it. After the book they purchase the audio programs and then some video tutorials, soon they find them selves attending one of his seminars and after awhile they are subscribing to his monthly premium content. They try out all the different products that Brendon has to offer, just like some people buy all the new exercise equipment from TV-Shop but never get into great shape. The only one who is making the millions is Brendon. 

Despite my criticism, Millionaire Messenger can be very inspiring book. I truly hope that it will encourage some people to start their own expert business, whether it will make them millionaires or not. 

We are afraid of many different things from spiders to loneliness but is it possible to learn to control your fears. Here's what I have experienced myself. 

I used to fear heights quite a lot, and to some extent I still do. In 2004, a friend of mine wanted to take me to rock climbing in Italy at the Dolomites. The only climbing experience I had, was from my childhood, when we used to climb in the trees and in the climbing structures at kindergarden playground. Nevertheless, I was rather exited about this opportunity. At the same time I was slightly nervous because I knew that I was afraid of heights. Despite my fears, I accepted the invitation and decided to go for it.

So, there I was standing at the bottom of this 300 meter wall of rock and my legs were shaking, and my heart was beating so fast that I was afraid it will come right through my chest. However, there was no turning back now, I thought to myself. I really wanted to go through this experience. So, I fought really hard to put my fears aside and focus on the climb. The first step was an easy one, so was the second and the third. The guide was a smart one and he had selected an easy start for me, since I was a beginner. Soon I noticed that I was about 10 meters off the ground and that's when my fears started to surface.

Even though I shouldn't have, I look down and I could feel my stomach twist. My heart was beating even faster, my hands were sweating, my legs were shaking and I could feel the sun burning on my back, as I was leaning against the wall. For a moment I felt that I wasn't able to move. I thought to myself that if I pull this one off, I will never ever go climbing again, in fact I don't even want to go near of a rock climbing mountain again. I was really scared. Then, I gathered all my strength and willpower and continued the climb. In my mind I had no other option, there was no turning back. Just like the buffalos that walk against a blizzard in order to get out of a storm, I told to myself that the best 

way out of this situation was to climb the remaining 290  meters. So I went on, step by step, meter by meter. I focused all my attention to climbing, where to place my foot and where to get a grip with my fingers. I tried not to look down or think of the height.

Then, somewhere at around 50 or 60 meters off the ground, something magical happened, I felt my fears fading away, as I started to enjoy the climb. Suddenly, looking down didn't twist my stomach anymore, nor did it make my heart beat faster or my legs to shake. I had conquered my fears. To my surprise, once I got down from the mountain, I felt joy and happiness and I was anxious to go climbing soon again.

Based on this experience, I believe that we can learn to control our fears. We just need to face those head-to-head and go through an experience where we must control and conquer those fears in order to pull through.