STORY: Everyone Wants American Products
John Kennedy
Everyone Wants American Products And They Want to Deal with American
People'
Never underestimate the power of an adÄor a dynamic duo such as
Ginny and John Hall, of Hall & Hall World Trading, Edonia Hills, CA.
The Hallss have proven that a profitable marketing niche exists for
the nterprising entrepreneur who sets out to locate products for
foreign buyers.
Ginny Hall had been a businesswoman all her life, but the
international phase, which she says is the most fascinating of all her
careers, began when a Polish neighbor, knowing Ginny's budding
interest in trade, showed her a Polish newspaper advertisement. A
Russian had advertised for canned goods and meats. Ginny had been
reading up on importing, but she found the exporting books to be more
interesting, and the potential of exporting greater. This was her
opportunity.
She contacted a friend who was in the grocery business in another
state (networking among friends has certainly helped in locating
products). The friend immediately sent catalogues of food items. She
then called the Polish newspaper in order to locate the advertiser and
this netted a name and number in MoscowÄfortunately a person who spoke
English. She sent the catalogues to Moscow, and the rest is history
for this company which now has done over $100,000,000 worth of
business.
The next step in getting this business going was to research the
whole transportation process, costs, etc. She did this so well, she
was able to make a deal that responded to 30 feet of faxed orders from
Moscow. A Letter of Credit was made through a Chicago bank. Ginny
utilized a private service to check on the buyer's credit. With
typical ingenuity, Ginny invited the Russian principals for a house
stay when she learned they would visit the United States. An
exhilarating two weeks of introducing the Russians to Western-style
supermarkets, barbecues, casual wear, and Pike's Peak beauty
solidified those most important of requirements: rapport and trust.
The two visitors returned to Moscow with Western hats, outfits, and an
important business contact.
Orders continued to pour in``Everyone wants American products,''
Hall says, ``and they want to deal with American people.'' Not long
after, Hall responded to an ad from a Bremen, Germany trade magazine,
and ended up providing Western-style clothing, automobiles,
motorcycles, and bicycles. Word of mouth (she has never advertised)
has led to an increasing number of orders, so that people worldwide
are calling Hall.
She usually has at least 75 transactions in process at any given time.
None of this would be possible without the full-time partnership
of
Ginny's husband, John, who also brought years of successful business
expertise to the new venture. ``There is no way one person could do
this
business,'' Ginny says. Generally speaking, Ginny finds and responds
to
the trade leads and sets up the deals with the foreign and domestic
parties. John handles the contracts, banking, freight forwarding
arrangements, and follow-up communications, so that they all mesh with
Ginny's original stipulations. She keeps careful notes on her
conversations, so that all conditions will be met.
All this success is not without its price. A monumental
dedication
of time and effort is needed. The Halls receive 300 feet of faxes
every
week. They spend many more hours on their demanding business than most
people could handle. Their monthly telephone bills are $2,000 and that
is with a 40 percent discount! But, they are enjoying this business
more
than anything they've ever done. They enjoy meeting and working with
people from other countries and learning their cultures. ``The world
is wide open,'' Ginny says, ``and there is certainly room and a need
for more people to serve the function of sourcing products.'' Ginny
has a few pointers for those entering this business:
* Do your homework read up on all aspects of the country,
industry,
transportation, regulations, quotes on shipping, as well as small but
important detailsÄsuch as sizes of certain ports. For instance, a port
may be large enough to take two small ships, but not one large one.
* Invest in a computer and a fax machineÄthis type of business
could not have existed 10 years ago.
* Decide which products you wish to specialize in and become very
familiar with that industry.
* Network with acquaintances and business contacts; they can give
you leads if they themselves can't supply the wanted products.
* Utilize the available sources of trade leads, many of them now
on Internet and the Commerce Department's Economic Bulletin Board.
* Follow up leads and be willing to phone to get the contact and
to go meet the people. Ginny and John recently traveled to Poland to
sign contracts.
* Be organized otherwise it is chaos. Ginny keeps her files
according to product and stays on top of price fluctuations.
* Check out the credibility of potential trading partners.
* Utilize Eximbank's excellent foreign buyer loans. ``Eximbank
officials have been very good to deal with,'' says Hall.
* You must really want to do this and be very dedicated. Contacts
to other time zones need to be made at all hours of the day and night.
Be flexible on everythingÄyour time, your life.
She has found the commercial sections of the American embassies
abroad ``very nice and very helpful.'' Warsaw and Tel Aviv were two
embassies recently consulted. ``The U.S. Department of Commerce in
Denver has been a wonderful help,'' she says. She attended the World
Trade Center/US&FCS exporting seminars, including one given by the
Denver office in Colorado Springs. ``The information from the National
Trade Data Bank (on CD-ROM disk has been a great help.'' Ginny uses
these reports to research the background of a country, industry, and
negotiating practices.
Ginny has started a computer manufacturing company, since she
couldn't get computers from established sources. She hired designers,
formerly with leading companies, to make a ``design-it-yourself''
computer, which the customer can design with desired features,
including easy, do-it-yourself insertions of additional capabilities.
She now ships computers to many countries around the world.
The Halls estimate their exports which are now so voluminous,
they are shipped in container and shiploadsÄto be 50 percent
agricultural and 50 percent manufactured goods. Eighty percent of
goods the Halls find are from the United States, and about 20 percent
of that is from Colorado, and the rest is from sources abroad. On
occasion, the Halls import goods, such as Malaysian live and frozen
frogsÄ8-10 metric tons per month for the Asian community in San
Francisco.
Ginny has become adept at working with freight forwarders to plan
the massive transportation requirements, often consolidating
shipments. For Russia, at this time, she avoids the ruble exchange
problem by utilizing banks in other countries. Roll-over and rebate
programs are inducements for getting orders. Ginny believes in taking
a small profit margin, in order to get and sustain orders. She finds
there are up to 20 suppliers for any given product, and among these,
she shops around for price, enabling her to submit a low quote.
Typical countries the Halls export to are Australia, Canada,
China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Israel,
Jordan, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland.
Products which the Halls find for their contacts around the world span
the spectrum and include butter, petroleum, gold and diamonds, jeans,
athletic shoes, sugar, pre-fab houses, cement, computers and
peripherals, flour factories, tractor trailers, furniture,
helicopters, limousines, flat- bottomed boats, baby clothing,
detergents, copper, aluminum, and tires.
American products are truly desired around the world, and this is
reflective of the appeal of the American way of life. Ginny says,
America is still the greatest place in the world. She sees a
humanitarian element in what she is doing, in that economies and
living conditions in the various countries with which she is doing
business are improving, people are getting jobs, and traders are
learning how to cope with the capitalistic system. ``It's a two-way
street exporting and importing.''
Ginny's past interests and endeavors have all contributed to her
knowledge of various industries (equestrian, for one), but her success
really stems from her drive, perseverance, good humor, creativity, a
photographic memory, and enjoyment of life.
The Halls say, ``We desperately need people to help supply the
world's demands. The rewards can be tremendous. Put everything into
it.
There is great satisfaction in accomplishing these transactions. It's
fascinating dealing with all these products, and with phones on
planes,
fax machines, and computers, the trader can live anywhere. Just step
on
the plane and keep moving!''
Aloha -jk
John Kennedy
International Trade Brokers
http://export-brokers.com
Associate Brokers Wanted
808.943.0146 9-5 HST USA