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Export Strategy & Sales

Shipping goods is only half of exporting; the other half is deciding where to sell, at what price, on which terms and through which partners. This course takes you from the export business plan to the price build-up, the quotation, the negotiation and the contract, then to finding buyers and checking that every shipment really makes money.

What you will learn

  • Write an export business plan with a market choice, a three-year budget and the KPIs to steer it
  • Build an export price from your ex-works cost up to FOB, CFR and DAP, and know your floor price
  • Send quotations with a clear validity, Incoterm and named place, payment terms, lead time and tolerances
  • Prepare and conduct a negotiation with a BATNA, a concession plan and respect for the other side's practices
  • Choose the law, the court or arbitration and decide whether the CISG should govern your contracts
  • Select, contract and manage agents and distributors, and measure each shipment's real margin against its budget

Course contents

  1. Export Business Plan: Template, KPIs and a Worked Example — How to write an export business plan: a 10-section template, a three-year budget with break-even and working capital, and the KPIs to steer your export drive.
  2. Export Pricing: Cost Build-Up from EXW to FOB, CFR and DAP — Build an export price step by step: ex-works cost, margin vs markup, then FOB, CFR and DAP prices with a full worked example, floor price and credit costs.
  3. Export Quotation: How to Write a Professional Offer — How to write an export quotation that wins orders and protects you: the 13 elements, validity, Incoterm and named place, payment terms, lead time, tolerances.
  4. Negotiating International Deals: BATNA, Concessions and Culture — How to negotiate export deals: prepare your BATNA and walk-away price, trade concessions on price, payment and volume, and handle cultural differences well.
  5. The CISG and Choice of Law in International Sales Contracts — The CISG explained: when it applies, which countries are parties, how to exclude it, and how to choose the law, the courts or ICC arbitration for export deals.
  6. Agents vs Distributors: Choosing and Managing Partners Abroad — Agent or distributor? Compare commission vs margin, control and risk, exclusivity, clauses, termination and the EU commercial agent indemnity, with figures.
  7. Trade Fairs and B2B Export Marketing: A Practical Playbook — How to choose and prepare a trade fair, qualify leads on the stand, follow up after the show, and use B2B platforms and LinkedIn to find export buyers.
  8. Shipment Profitability: Track Real Costs and Margin Variances — Measure each export shipment's real profit: budget vs actual costs by category, variance analysis, FX, break-even and target-margin prices, what-if tests.