Big Picture Report: August 2022

8-9-2022

Bernadette Wiltz-Lang, SUSTA

When it comes to Exporting, Never Stop Learning

Going back to school isn’t just for the kids anymore. SUSTA has a couple of great educational events coming up in September that you’ll want to ready your notebooks for. Be a student of the process so that you sidestep common pitfalls and propel your export strategy to new heights.

First, at the beginning of the month, we have a webinar on Navigating European Certifications. Obtaining the right certifications for the European market can be a big boost to your marketing plan and finding the right one can actually be straight forward, if you know what to pursue.Our European in-country consultants, Phaff Export Marketing, will discuss the most beneficial certifications, as well as cover other market access issues. There will also be an update on what is going on in the market, and Q&A time to ask one-on-one questions you may have.

Next, SUSTA’s Export Readiness Training program will be back by popular demand. Here’s what some of last year’s graduates - who earned their SUSTA Export Readiness Certificates - had to say about the “ERT” program.

• The SUSTA team provided an amazing resource to us by partnering with Golden Crest Global. They presented a comprehensive training on exporting products to the global market. The training was top notch and professional with relevant guest speakers. It was fast paced but broken down well into digestible modules. At the end of each module, we were given a very handy worksheet with all the tips, links and websites we needed. We are grateful for the resources provided, especially the videos, so we can review each aspect in detail to refresh our knowledge as we move forward. This was world class training. We were honored to be a part of it and are better for the knowledge gained.

• The SUSTA export readiness training provided us with excellent resources, first hand advice from experienced exporters and plenty of food for thought from very professional and seasoned group of facilitators. It was challenging and rewarding, and I would highly recommend it to any business interested in the export industry.

• The ERT gave us a focus for sharpening the pencil on where it made the most sense for us to focus moving forward, which product, which market, etc.

• ERT is a 12-hour course conducted live via Zoom, broken down into four three-hour modules, conducted one day per week over four weeks. Those modules are: Developing Export Readiness Skills, Export Tools of the Trade, Export Documents and Certificates, and Getting Products to Global Customers. It is for serious students only – which means there are “homework” assignments made after each module. When you complete all the assignments, however, you will have an actionable, custom made international marketing strategy in hand.

If you want to learn more about the ERT program, log in via your MySUSTA account and complete the assessment questionnaire. That will give you an insight whether you can benefit.

Of course, when you are on the SUSTA website, check out the opportunities to have one-on-one consultations with out in-country expert consultants in Mexico, Europe, Central America, Canada, India, China and Hong Kong. You can pick a time that is convenient for you.

Finally, if you have a nagging question, try SUSTA’s Export Helpline. It’s a free service launched last year. On the SUSTA website there’s an on-line form with a drop-down box of key topics. Last year, SUSTA companies received thorough answers to 68 questions on topics ranging from tariffs and duties, licensing and pre-clearance, identifying the proper harmonized tariff schedule code for your product, third country regulations on ingredients and formulations, calculating landed costs, obtaining proper certification documents, as well as general advice on pursuing leads and general due diligence on buyers.

Of course, the best was to put all the tips and tools of the trade you can learn to the test is to browse the remaining events for this year on our events calendar, and of course, reconfirm your MySUSTA account details for 2023. As I mentioned last month, 2023 starts out strong, with a number of the very top performing shows scheduled in the first quarter of the year, with an opportunity for everyone.