The Plane-Probability Principle: Why Local Presence Matters for Global Sales

A note to young entrepreneurs.

Now that we are all travelling a lot more and pitching overseas again, it’s good to bear in mind the pitfalls of fly-in-fly-out sales.

No matter how enthusiastic your overseas prospects are, always bear this in mind – as the plane ascends to take you home, your chances of doing a deal are descending at the same rate.

I call it the “plane-probability principle”.

Out of sight, out of mind. And out of mind is deadly for sales.

Sales often require multiple touch points to close – the larger the deal, the greater the number of touch points required. And that’s hard to do if you’re no longer in the same country as the customer.

So, as soon as you can afford, appoint a local rep or distributor who knows the culture, language and mores of your overseas prospects – they’ll help you close a lot more deals.