News July 2010
I have recently started working with a Mumbai software product company who want to improve their presence in the US market. They approached me whilst looking for a Software Marketing Expert who could coach and mentor them in their product marketing and channel development strategies.
Entering this new market was an exciting challenge for me. In order for my coaching and mentoring to work effectively without travelling to India for face to face meetings I had to reconfigure my service to make it run effectively as an arm’s length solution where Skype and email would become the basis for all communication. This reconfiguration is working well and we’re both satisfied with the progress we have made so far.
After establishing new working methods, I faced a second challenge. In order to receive payments we had to find an alternative to the standard UK electronic banking system. For my client, it is an expensive and time consuming transaction as well as being slow for funds to be transferred.
We agreed that the best route forward was for me to accept credit card payments. When I approached our UK Bank they offered a solution that included setup fees plus monthly service fee and transaction fees which varied depending on Currency, this is apparently standard across all UK banks. I had just begun to get my head around these costs and setups when I noticed that PayPal’s business services offer a simple to integrate service with No Setup Fees, No Monthly Fees and a comparable transaction fee.
Only 48 hours later and I was up and working with PayPal, who were great to deal with and very efficient when setting up my account and organising the website integration.
I am now happily using PayPal services and payments are flowing!
So what have I learned from this recent experience?
- As a new entrant you can tear up the old rules and still be profitable.
- PayPal service levels are excellent and even though they’re a internet business I can quickly speak to someone who knows who they’re talking to.
- Don’t always believe what you are being told. I got the strong impression from my bank that they believed they were my only option. While if I hadn’t had an account with them they wouldn’t have wanted to know. The opposite is not automatic.
- Finally, and this is very important. Just because I have an account with them I WILL look elsewhere!
So it’s true. PayPal really has come of age offering serious business strength payment solutions.
If you are looking for International Sales & Marketing Coaching Services please call me on +44(0)1536 771440 or visit my website www.terryforsey.comand request your FREE no obligation consultation
