Find clients and sell your products in the Netherlands

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

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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    Our consultants typically charge between 3.000 and 15.000 Euro on fees for market research or a partner search, depending on the complexity and country.

    How to sell your product or service in the Netherlands?

    The Netherlands is an interesting country to do business in, and can also serve a stepping stone to other European countries

    As of 2024, the Netherlands has a population of approximately 17.67 million people.

    The Netherlands boasts a robust economy, ranking as the 18th largest in the world. A significant portion of the EU’s natural gas comes from the Netherlands. The country’s GDP per capita is impressively high at around $48,860, reflecting its economic strength.

    Amsterdam, the capital, is the most populous city, followed by Rotterdam and The Hague. The country’s terrain is notably low-lying, with a significant portion below sea level.

    Doing business in the Netherlands

    Finding new clients requires a clear offering and to-the-point communications. The decisive part is getting to the right person first by phone, which is still difficult to do in English. Therefore translated introductory materials and a Dutch intermediary will be essential. Once you have a meeting, you can do further explanation yourself.

    YOU’LL GET AROUND WITH ENGLISH EVERYWHERE

    No matter where you are, people speak at least basic English and if you try to utter some words in Dutch as a foreigner, you mostly will get a response in English. This common knowledge of English has many advantages:

    • Product packaging or manuals hardly need to be adapted;
    • You can keep your marketing slogans in English, it’s only useful to translate the rest of the advertisements;
    • If you work with local staff or vendors, communication difficulties will be limited.

    It’s also very well accepted to have agreements in English and there is no need to translate them in Dutch to make these legally binding.

    GOOD CHANCES THROUGH THE INTERNET

    The internet broadband penetration is one of the highest in the world, thanks to the phone and coax networks that are all around the country. The Dutch are also very much open to online sales and it is easy and cheap to arrange payment for the goods and services you sell though the internet. There is no specific preference for Dutch products, if you have a good deal, you’ll be able to sell it.

    Do your first approach with instantly.ai

    If you target people in the Netherlands 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 the Netherlands and its inhabitants. 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 a country you may need website translations that go 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 the Netherlands. Depending on the country you are in, this may 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 the Netherlands

    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. 

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      Your first name

      Last name

      Your company email

      Mobile number

      What is your company website?

      Where is your company based?

      What can we do for you?

      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 the Netherlands, 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, the Netherlands 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 the Netherlands, 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