Find clients and develop your business in Spain

Finding clients abroad is always a challenge, and business development in Spain 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 Spain, 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 Spain

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 Spain?

Spain is a vibrant and diverse market where you have good chances of introducing a new product. As of the latest data, Spain has a population of approximately 47 million people. According to the World Bank, Spain’s GDP per capita was about $30,370 in USD as of the last reporting year.

WHAT ARE THE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN SPAIN?

As the country is recovering, it’s becoming more competitive and attractive to foreign investment. Spain’s array of promising industries are:

Textiles and Apparel
Food and Beverage
Metal and metal manufacturers
Chemicals
Shipbuilding
Automobiles
Machine tools
Tourism
Clay and refractory products
Pharmaceuticals
Medical equipment

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SPANISH BUSINESS CULTURE?

The business culture in Spain is generally relaxed. Spaniards value trusting relationships. While they may greet one another by kissing on the cheeks, you do not need to do so in business meetings. A handshake is more recommendable. Being great conversationalists, they will ask you about your background and personal life. Your honesty will gain trust and be a foundation for your business relationships. It is advisable to stay humble and non-confrontational.

WHAT ARE NEGOTIATION TACTICS IN SPAIN?

Do not be surprised if meetings do not follow the agenda.
If you want to discuss your business over a meal, you need to inform your counterparts in advance. Do take notes that in Spain, meal time is meant to relax and not to close deals. The one who invites will be the one to pay the bill.
Presentations can go at length.
The way you dress while doing business is important.
Personal networks are essential in this country. It will be beneficial if you have a local representative with an extended network.
Negotiations should only begin after you have already established the relationships.
Final decisions depend on people with senior positions in the company.

Do your first approach with instantly

If you target people in Spain 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 Spain. 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 Spain 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 Spain. 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 Spain

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.

Get in touch

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

How to do business development in Spain?

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.

Is it difficult to find B2B clients in Spain?

In Spain, 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.

Is Spain open for international business?

Yes, Spain 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.

How to do sales in Spain?

First of all adhere to the local business culture and follow local ways of making appointments and structuring them. Also in Spain, 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.

Can you find B2B clients for me in Spain?

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.