Lead Generation and

Project Coordination in Canada Finding Business Partners for the American Market

Filza MaqsoodPresented to the U.S. Department of CommerceMontreal, June 2013hfmaqsood@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 5x-10x 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)

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:

Narrow your Search:

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 you’re targeting

• Alternatively, be more specific, search for the top companies in the sector you’re 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 you’re 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

• 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

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

Databases:

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

• 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:

Databases:• LinkedIn is also an

excellent resource• Search for people by

company, title, location, industry

• Contact information isn’t 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.comwww.thomasnet.comwww.canada411.yellowpages.cawww.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.comwww.123people.comwww.data.comwww.lead411.com

Putting it all togetherFinding 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 togetherStay organized! Keep track of:

When invite was sentResponse to phone/emailTypes of organizations

Putting it all togetherTips:

•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, they’ll land in the person’s junk mail folder

ExecutionGetting 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, don’t leave a message - make a note and call back

•When you reach someone, ask if they’ve received the invitation, let them know we’re interested in them and their organization

•If they decline, always ask if there’s someone else to contact within their organization

•Be patient; calling takes time, reaching voicemail is common and many people will decline or say they’ll get back to you

Other Resources:1. Canada’s top 1000 companies by profit:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/top-1000/2012-rankings-of-canadas-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-of-canadas-350-biggest-private-companies/article4372009/