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Build Your Own U.S. Medical Device
Market the ESI Way

The US is huge. The population is about 30 times that of Sweden's. By the size of the economy, some 50 times larger. It may seem daunting to sit in Sweden and wonder how to approach this enormous market with limited resources.

How do you eat an elephant? You do it one bite at the time.

We have, during our more than 20 years in the US, developed a simple and proven process for using limited resources to build success over time. We get the process started, get the infrastructure up and running, and complement our clients' resources with our own. When you are ready, we step aside.

Start selling, one customer at the time.

The US is not one large market, but a collection of many smaller markets. A national sales force and distribution may be the ultimate goal, but you start locally. The metropolitan area of Los Angles has some 13 million people, and the associated infrastructure of doctors, hospitals etc. to service those consumers. One technical salesperson in a car can very efficiently and profitably build sales supported by esi. Early sales and revenues support hiring of more sales people in this or other regions. Or you may go the Independent Rep route. You are building your US presence, "one bite at the time" to build a success story you own and control.

Southern California is also home of the largest cluster of medical device companies in the US, proving close access to partners and collaborators, suppliers, employees and market information.

 

esi Techtrans, Inc. Offers a Range of
Services to Support a US Entry

INCORPORATE A US CORPORATION
Americans prefer to do business with Local companies. We can incorporate a California based company complete with all legal documentation that can do business all over the US in a matter of weeks.

ESTABLISH A REAL OR VIRTUAL OFFICE
Having a local address, your own phone line that can be routed or accessed from Sweden and mail opened makes you "operational and based" in the US. It makes a world of difference to your US prospects AND to your own website, doesn't it?

OBTAIN IMPORT LICENSES AND APPROVALS
Medical equipment and devices often require proper paperwork to be imported and sold. We can help you navigate the sometimes cumbersome bureaucracy, including manage the complex, but doable FDA approval process and CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) codes.

TEST THE MARKET - MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Before making a commitment to operationally enter the US market, many companies wonder if a product will be successful here. Recognizing that often it is not the technical brilliance that is the only key to success, but many other factors more tied to local preferences, habits and regulations that will make or break a product. You don't need a market research report. You need feedback and information. What are the hurdles and obstacles? Does the product design have to be tweaked? The pricing structure? Test marketing products through conceptual selling and active listening can be a most valuable first step in creating a US success.

THIRD PARTY LOGISTICS AND WAREHOUSING OPERATION
esi can manage a small inventory of products during the start-up phase. As volumes grow, we outsource support functions to logistics experts and save management time and effort to critical tasks.

MARKETING AND SALES SUPPORT
We help you create sales and marketing material that is made in and for the US marketplace. From using sizes and formats that are standard in the US, to writing copy that reads as if you are American, we help you lose that impression of being a foreign operation. Our trusted outside vendors handle printing and execution.

SALES SUPPORT OFFICE
Utilizing existing esi office space, staff and equipment, we will set up the necessary functions required to support the planned sales activities and to make the setup appear as a bona fide, full time US operation. Functions and activities include:

  • administrative routines including order taking, invoicing and bookkeeping
  • phone, fax and internet access with your own numbers and operational routines
  • establishment of a US specific price list
  • administrative processes for tax filings, payments and audits
  • reporting and communication activities with Swedish HQ
  • provide office space for Swedish staff temporarily visiting the US
  • manage inquiries and calls

SALES & TELEMARKETING MARKETING ACTIVITIES
esi actively markets and solicits sales and orders, and works with Swedish based staff to manage and negotiate with key relationships. To accomplish this, we will:

  • develop Target Prospects lists and associated marketing activities such as sales oriented cover letters and promotional mailings
  • follow-up with out-bound telemarketing programs to solicit orders
  • set up meetings for visiting managers to meet and negotiate major relationships on a planned schedule
  • manage industry oriented PR effort with outside specialist PR firm
  • develop Trade show plans and activities
  • full-fill orders, forecast needs, plan inventories

COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE
Successful marketing require you to know and understand your competitors. Not just what they say on the website and in brochures, but also know how they sell and act in the marketplace and your customers and prospects comments and attitudes.

FIND AND DEVELOP PARTNERSHIPS
So much more can be accomplished when working with partners. But who? What kind of agreement? How do we "try it out"? How do you make sure you can get out without penalties? Work with esi Techtrans, we have answers.

BUILD A SALES FORCE - YOUR OWN OR INDEPENDENT REPS
Selling is a people business. At times, the cultural divides - Scandinavian vs. American or Engineering vs. Sales - becomes a gulf that is hard to bridge. Once retained, how do you manage, compensate and motivate?

 

The Benefits: Control, Leverage and Upside

You are not greedy. Letting a US importer handle your products, even if they take a chunk out of your margins, can leave plenty of profits, especially considering the volume potential. Right? Think again. The benefits of managing your own US effort with esi Techtrans' assistance are bigger than just the potential profits. They include:

YOU ARE "AMERICAN"
Operating as local US company lowers the thresholds that Americans perceive when dealing with foreign companies. Perhaps more important, it changes your perspective on how to do business in the US, and opens your acceptance to product adaptations, increasing your chances of success. It even opens up possibilities for local funding, manufacturing, distribution, trade organizations and local partners.

YOU BECOME PART OF THE US INDUSTRY
While Americans can be brutally aggressive in taking advantage of outsiders, they also love and support a winner. By being a local player, actively being part of the industry network and infrastructure, you will be supported and promoted by others in the marketplace because they too can benefit from your success.

YOU ARE IN CHARGE
Operating in the market, listening to customers, testing different approaches, you decide how to best guide your product to success. You are close enough to the emerging needs and technologies to also stay a market leader in the future. The needs you perceive help you develop additional patents. Only shipping products to an importer can be the road to irrelevance in the US.

YOU DIDN'T GIVE AWAY THE MARKET OR YOUR FUTURE
Many a foreign manufacturers have indeed seen Importers successfully sell their products to the US. In the importers' minds, since they did "all" the work, they should also reap the lion share of the profits. As an exporter only, you have little leverage. They "own" the market, the customer relationships and the infrastructure.

Want to retire? Your US importer becomes the logical buyer. No other may apply; it becomes too difficult to untangle and separate what the importer has built. Certainly patents and global rights have a value. But compare that to the value of owning a successful US distribution, customer relationships and the brand you built in the US.

 

Let's Talk

We are glad you made it this far. Certainly every product, every situation is different. We'd like to talk further about how we at esi Techtrans can help you succeed "the American Way".

 

 

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