Lead Generation and Project Coordination in Canada

Finding Business Partners for the American Market

Filza Maqsood Presented to the U.S. Department of Commerce Montreal, June 2013 hfmaqsood@gmail.com

Overview
Every year, the Commercial Service offices across Canada have dozens of events

These include high level visitors, trade and investment missions, trade shows, information seminars/webinars, networking and various outreach events
For each event, CS Canada puts together a database of who to invite

Overview
Whether contacted by mail, e-mail or phone, or a combination of these, acceptance rates vary from 10%-20% Therefore, for each event a list of contacts must be compiled with 5x10x the target number of people at the event For example, if the target for a seminar is 50 people, at least 250 people should be invited It may seem daunting to find so many contacts in a short time, but there are some tactics that can facilitate the process

Narrow your Search:

What type of organizations should be targeted? Government (local, provincial, federal) Government agencies act as multipliers since they can open the door to many private business contacts, as well as being direct partners. Key departments or offices to look for: economic development, international affairs, trade, commerce, investment, business development Industry and Regional Associations Also act as multipliers; every industry sector has associations that may have hundreds or thousands of members they have access to. Regional chambers of commerce also make good partners and are eager to form new relationships Others Consulting Firms, Research Centers, Universities, Conference/Trade Show organizers, Service Providers (law firms)

Narrow your Search:

Private companies:
These are often the most desirable contacts since they are the ones who will do business or invest in the U.S. directly. Many things need to be considered when finding the right company to contact: sector or sub-sector, size, revenue, location. Within a company there may be hundreds of people to contact: the title, role and level of the person needs to be considered. Depending on the event, high level (President, Vice-Presidents) and/or mid level (Directors, Managers, Advisors, Coordinators) employees should be considered. Mid-level employees who make decisions about business partnerships have titles that may include the phrases: Business Development, Procurement, Supply Chain, Project Manager, Sales and Marketing, General Manager, Strategy, Operations, Trade, Buyer, Associate, International Relations

Navigating the Web

A good way to start looking for companies is to look for online company lists Search online for top companies in Canada or in your province/city- once you have the list, you can see who is involved in the sectors youre targeting Alternatively, be more specific, search for the top companies in the sector youre looking at targeting

Business magazines and newspapers are also a good resource and regularly publish lists of the top companies in each sector

Ex: Globe and Mail: Top companies in Canada by Revenue

Navigating the Web

Once you have some company names, and especially if youre targeting top level management, visit their website Large companies usually have an About Us section, where information about the management/executive team can be found Larger firms will also list the board of directors: if the company is headquartered locally, these contacts may also be valuable, and be executives of similar organizations Their full contact information may not be published, but their name and title is sufficient to find their email and phone number on the internet

Databases
Searching the web will only get you so far; a lot of information, especially contact information, may not be easily accessible Databases become a necessary tool; in Canada, the best way to find industry contacts is the government database at Industry Canada: www.ic.gc.ca

This website has the capability of narrowing down your search for companies by many factors, including:
Industry, sector, and sub-sector (NAICS) Location (province and city) Size (employees) Annual Revenue/Sales Exports

Databases:
To search, click search company listings or browse companies by industry

Databas es:

Search by industry or browse the specialized directories for specific sectors (aerospace, medical, IT, etc)

Databases:
Database is organized by NAICS: North American Industry Classification System Click on subsections to find companies as specific or broad as needed

Databases:
Narrow your search by selecting:
Province, sales, type, size, etc. Avoid searching by city because often boroughs/suburbs are listed instead Since the larger players have access to more opportunities, try to start with companies in the multi-million dollar sales range

Databases:
Search results will be a list of companies

At the top of the page choose consolidated report complete profile select all
Full company profiles will appear (max 20/page) On each page, there should be 30-40 contacts, which will allow you to amass a large amount of appropriate contacts in a short time

Databases:
LinkedIn is also an excellent resource Search for people by company, title, location, industry Contact information isnt included, but company, name and title are usually sufficient to find the email/phone number from the internet

Databases:
Narrow search by location, company, industry

Only allowed 100 profiles so be as specific as possible

Try to use keywords of companies, or titles like business development, directors, vice-president

It might be tempting to add employees who are not a good fit

Only add contacts whose companies and titles are targeted!

Ex: no human resources, entry-level, engineers or sales people

Databases:

Name, Company, Location, Title

3rd degree connections only have last name: fill in the rest with google
Check the People also viewed/related profiles Usually similar type of people/company/title

Databases:
Other databases for Canada: www.icriq.com (Quebec only) www.scottsinfo.com www.thomasnet.com www.canada411.yellowpages.ca www.manta.com For emails and phone numbers (paid service, but free trials available, take advantage of them- make multiple accounts if you have to) www.zoominfo.com www.123people.com www.data.com www.lead411.com

Putting it all together

Finding phone numbers: Access through main company # using directory or reception Finding emails One sample employee email can be used as a template for the rest of the company Within a single company, there is a standard formula for emails Ex: bob.smith@company.com; b.smith@company.com; etc. Watch out for hyphens and endings; marie-claude.smith@company.ca Correct emails that bounce-back - sometimes typos happen Call and ask for their email, explain why

Putting it all together

Stay organized! Keep track of:
When invite was sent Response to phone/email Types of organizations

Putting it all together

Tips:
Keep your eyes open; read the news, look at advertisements and building signs; take note of companies that could be potential partners For each organization, get multiple contacts- sometimes within a company, people will have completely different preferences on doing business with the U.S. Never worry about getting too many contacts they can be sorted by quality later by making an A list and B list and staggering invitations

Make sure the contacts are appropriate- do not get clients to meet with competitors who sell the same product/service!
When sending out emails, send them in batches of 10. Otherwise, theyll land in the persons junk mail folder

Execution
Getting People in the Room: Only a handful of people will confirm by email. The majority of guests need a gentle follow-up phone call to seal the deal Make a soft call ideally 2 days after sending the invitation If you reach voicemail, dont leave a message make a note and call back When you reach someone, ask if theyve received the invitation, let them know were interested in them and their organization If they decline, always ask if theres someone else to contact within their organization Be patient; calling takes time, reaching voicemail is common and many people will decline or say theyll get back to you

Other Resources:
1. Canadas top 1000 companies by profit:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/top-1000/2012-rankings-ofcanadas-top-1000-public-companies-by-profit/article4371923/

2. List of Professional Associations Canada:

http://www.cicic.ca/en/profess.aspx?sortcode=2.19.21.21

3. Industry Canada Business and Trade Associations:

http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ccc_bt-rec_ec.nsf/eng/h_00001.html

4. Top 350 Largest Canadian Companies:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/top-1000/2012-rankings-ofcanadas-350-biggest-private-companies/article4372009/