For a lot of products working with a local sales agent or with a dedicated sales representative can be a good solution.
Especially if you have a customized product or service, or you want to work with a number of resellers in the country, an agent can be the one connecting these parties to your organization abroad.
Agents can be individuals, but I often recommend to work with established companies who already have a good network and where you are not dependent on just one person.
Our local consultant will help you find the agents or representatives or for limited target groups we can be your agent!
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.
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.
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.
The best preparation for doing business in any country is visiting it. This way you can experience the culture, check the shops and build your network.
With Trip.com you can compare flights and also book your hotel.
Hotellook compares different hotel sites so you always have the best rate.
Localrent connects you to national rental car providers per country.
If you don’t want to work with agents, you can always set up a local office yourself or try to sell your product from abroad. This all depends on the product or service and the ease to reach the right buyers. Be careful with the contracts that you close with agents. In many countries their status is well protected and you can’t take their recurring income easily away from them.
I always put a lot of emphasis on drafting a good distributor pitch. Even if you already have great sales materials for your end-users, this often does not make clear what the benefits are for a potential agent, distributor or retailer to work with you.
When you approach potential sales channels with your standard documentation, chances are high that they are holding of. If you make it crystal clear what are the benefits for them, like in the example presentation, you will get a much higher response rate.
Please note that it helps to put concrete data in your presentation. You may think it is sensitive, but just know the secret is in how you achieve the rotation or the low returns level, not in the data itself. So share it here, in order to get the right attention.
