If you are considering becoming active on the international stage and are seeking to achieve growth in foreign markets, then this program will assist you to adopt a structured approach towards generating a positive cash flow abroad. Move from occasional international orders to structured sales abroad, study new and specific foreign markets, and discover who your buyers are and how best to reach them!

Together with other entrepreneurs, you will go through the program divided into six partially online group sessions, each week focusing on a different topic. Every week, you work independently on practical assignments to prepare and complete these modules. By regularly sharing progress and providing each other with feedback, you learn from each other’s challenges and successes.

Who is it for?

The program has been designed specially for small and medium sized enterprises that hold a strong position in the Dutch market, are pursuing a growth strategy, and wish to achieve a position in a structural manner in foreign markets. That means SMEs that aim to evolve from receiving occasional international orders to generating structural foreign income, as well as experienced exporting companies that aim to access a specific foreign market.

"Do you know that, or do you just think that?

Thomas van Eil, export manager of Focal Meditech, was looking for ways to encourage the sale of medical devices in Germany. "The company has been doing that for some time, but for me it was a relatively new endeavor, and that is exactly why the feedback I received from other participants in the Export Accelerator Program was so beneficial. You learn a lot from each other's experiences abroad."

"The program covers a wide range of aspects of selling abroad. It was particularly helpful to me when it came to getting to know my foreign buyers better. How? By working together to determine who was involved in the sale on the buyer's side, and then conducting a great many telephone conversations using a fixed structure. That created a clear picture of the issues that we can help to solve for our German clients."

"Do you know that, or do you just think that? I'm often asked that question during the sessions. The only way to find out what motivates a customer is by asking them. Our sales policy is no longer based on assumptions, but on measurable processes."

What are we going to do?

Spread over a period of 7 weeks, there are 6 group sessions on specific topics including determining market potential in foreign markets, Decision Making Unit (DMU), customer problem, and more. In addition, you carry out practical assignments in preparation for and in conclusion of each module. The program consists partly of online and physical group meetings divided over 6 mornings lasting 2 to 3 hours. Each morning covers a different topic.

Practical information

To effectively go through the program you will use Microsoft Teams. You will receive an invitation to this as soon as your participation is confirmed. The digital sessions take place in this environment. The start, a module in the middle, and the conclusion of the program will take place physically.

The number of participating companies is limited to 8 to enable as much interaction as possible. An intake interview will follow upon registration
Participation costs are €500,- excluding VAT per company and will be invoiced before the start of the program.
If you cancel one week prior to the start date (or later), the invoice of €500,- excluding VAT will remain.
The language of instruction is Dutch.
Each company may have a maximum of 2 people participate. Each module requires at least 1 person to be present from the participating company.
It is a short, but intensive program. Please keep in mind that in addition to the meetings, the homework also requires time and attention in your schedule.
The locations for the physical meetings will be determined based on the locations of the participants. It is a national program where we always try to take into account the travel time of all participants. However, it may happen that the travel time for a module is longer than desired. Please take this into account in your schedule.

Costs

We try to keep the participation costs as low as possible so that the program is accessible to many companies. The total costs for this training amount to €1500,- per company. To accommodate you as a company, you pay €500,- and the accompanying ROM pays the remaining €1000,- for you.”

"Thanks to the program, our focus shifted from distributors to future end-users. It was extremely educational!"

Denny van Veen, Manufactoring Marketeer Equinox MHE

The Export Accelerator Program is an initiative of Trade and Innovate NL and is a collaborative venture between the following development agencies in this network: BOM (the Brabant Development Agency), LIOF, Innovation Quarter, ROM Utrecht Region, Oost NL, en Impuls Zeeland.

This program is hosted together with the portfolio company Gritd.