Find clients and develop your business in Canada

Finding clients abroad is always a challenge, and business development in Canada is not different. You need the right contacts and once you reach the decision maker, you need the right sales pitch.
A lot of companies that want to enter the market in Canada, do this with their general sales pitch. However, if you don’t know the local regulations, pricing levels and your competition’s product, sales meetings may be difficult to conclude successfully.

Connect directly with a trusted export advisor in Canada

Our local consultant can advise you on the best way to identify and approach potential clients with a customized proposal. He can act as your local respresentative.

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    How to sell your product or service in Canada?

    Canada, is the second-largest country in the world by land area, but also an interesting economy, and can be a trial market before going to the United States. As of 2023, it has an estimated population of about 38 million. Known for its vast landscapes, multicultural cities, and bilingual heritage (English and French), Canada is a symbol of diversity and environmental richness.

    Economically, Canada has a high GDP per capita, standing at approximately $48,000 USD in 2023. The country’s economy is highly diversified, with key sectors including natural resources, manufacturing, and services. Natural resources like oil, natural gas, minerals, and timber are significant economic drivers, particularly in regions like Alberta and British Columbia. The service sector, including banking, insurance, and tourism, plays a central role in the national economy.

    Canadian business culture and etiquette

    Canadians are polite, easy going and informal. They like to engage in discussions on various topics as they are confident and aware. French and English are the two main languages used. If in Quebec, make sure you know French or keep a translator by your side. The Canadian communication style is pragmatic and based on common sense. Refrain from comparing Canada with the US during your interactions. Canadians are a highly individualistic lot, who like to keep their personal information to themselves.

    Most of Canadian companies are focused on leaner and flatter structure of business rather than taking the conventional hierarchical approach. In Canada, it’s far better to do initial research before any embarking on new ventures. Canadians as managers, are not dictatorial, instead they settle issues producing definite result in a decisive manner. When meeting them, make sure that you are more formal than when you are dealing with Americans. While punctuality matters the most to Canadians, meetings usually start with small talk first.

    Negotiations tactics in Canada

    Due to Canada being a multi-cultural land, most Canadians are adept at conducting business with other nationalities. They are open-minded and have a genuine interest in the world. Toronto and Ottawa are the best business destinations.

    • Be punctual and direct
    • Be aware – Canadians appreciate you more when you are clear about all aspects of your business proposal such as budget, services, knowledge sharing or third party partnerships.
    • Be open  and share information to build trust
    • Approach the negotiation as a relationship building exercise – Canadians prefer a win-win solution
    • Be positive
    • Avoid hard selling, hype or aggression
    • Wrap it up, don’t stall
    • Introduce written terms and conditions

    Do your first approach with instantly

    If you target people in Canada in a specific industry or with a certain role in the company (like HR directors) you can do an easy first trial yourself.

    With the tooling of our partner Instantly.ai you can define your target group, whether it’s 50 or 50.000 people. Send them a sequence of emails, directly in their inbox, for typically under 10 dollarcents per persoon.

    Translate your website and check your SEO

    Even if your business is really international, it may be wise to set up local website translations and check whether your text aligns with the culture. 

    This also counts for Canada. People prefer reading in their own language and also search most of the time in their own language. Therefore you need to include the relevant keywords in your texts, and these may not be a direct translation.

    With regards to content, my personal experience is that if you have a successful blog topic in one language, it is likely to do well also in other languages. Don’t reinvent the wheel, just make a proper translation.

    Translate your Wordpress site with WPML

    For targeting Canada you may need website translations that goes beyond Google translate. You can do this with WPML.

    WPML is a Wordpress plugin that helps you set up different translations of your web pages. This can be with automated translations, but you can also choose to have manual or adjusted translations or even specific content on the language pages.

    Shipping your products

    If you sell physical products, you need them to get delivered into Canada. Depending on the country you are in, this can be a challenge.

    First of all you may have to pay import duties or settle VAT. This can be complex if you don’t have your own legal entity in the country. 

    There may also be non-financial bariers, like certifications or approvals to be obtained. Especially for food, cosmetics or medicine this may be the case. Check this in advance, even before you invest in your marketing.

    Customs clearance for Canada

    Getting your products imported and delivered in a specific country can be a challenge. I have good experience with Tecex, who can act as your importer of record and even physical distributor. If you leave your details, they will contact you. 

      Your first name

      Last name

      Your company email

      Mobile number

      What is your company website?

      Where is your company based?

      This site is protected by reCAPTCHA, our privacy policy, the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

      Frequently asked questions

      First determine who can be the end-users for your product or service. From who do they purchase now? Interview a number of key players in the value chain how they perceive your offering and ask them who is your competition. Only then you can position your product or service and effectively approach potential buyers.

      In Canada, just as many comparable countries, this all depends on your offering and the way you organise your sales. If you offering already sells in other countries, you have good chances, but you still need to figure out the market structure and the sales channels that perform best. We always recommend to do interviews with key players first.
      Yes, Canada is certainly open for international business, the country has trade relationships with many other nations and although there may be import duties, certification and other customs regulations, you can certainly sell your goods there.
      First of all adhere to the local business culture and follow local ways of making appointments and structuring them. Also in Canada, companies want to make profits so if you can show how your product or service contributes to that, then the interest will be not different than in other countries. Where possible, work with local partners or have your sales supported by an international business consultant.

      Yes, we can certainly do that, because we have experienced business developers in the country. Of course it is important that your product is good, well documented and you have discovered the best sales processes already in your home country.

      Business development in specific countries