There are many ways to grow internationally, and most companies choose to do this through the path of least resistance - finding international resellers and managing them from the main office. While this is an OK way to start, even here one must take care to assure that the process is properly managed. The vetting of international partners is not always as simple as the process back home. Great care must be taken to assure that your prospective partner is fully covering the territory you need. Some smaller international resellers attempt to cover too much ground; for example a reseller in Germany may also attempt to cover Switzerland and Austria. But the cultural and market differences that exist in Europe are vastly different from those experienced at home. Many seemingly small countries are widely divided culturally, often in a way that would be difficult for an American to understand. A partner in the Netherlands once told us that there are 10 distinct regions within the country, and often folks in one region mistrust those from others to the point that they don't really want to do business with them. And this in a country of only 10 million people!

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Multiply this by every country in which you wish to do business, and it's enough to make you want to give up before you start. But these facts are not meant to discourage you. Indeed, the reasons for expanding internationally are still just as valid; the potential pitfalls merely serve to illustrate the need to seek guidance at an early stage from someone familiar with these issues and how they can affect your plans who can assist you in the process. And there is a process - we recommend a carefully planned process, where each step is laid out and appropriate milestones can be met.