General Questions –
1. Can you describe your business?
2. Which markets do you target?
3. How many ppl are there in your management team? What is their role?
4. Can you tell us about your company? How it started? What are the products you offer?
5. You sell wholesale or retail?
6. Do you sell in the domestic market? If yes, can you describe your experience?
7. How has your foreign market experience been? Can you tell us how you cater the foreign markets?
Which country?
8. What is your industry like? What is the structure? What kind of competition do you have? Can u name
a few of your competitors?
9. What risks do you see for your business especially in the foreign market? How do you plan to counter
that risk? DO you have any strategy in mind?
10. What are the strengths and weakness of your company? Is it easy for anyone to enter your business
and be your competitor? - do pestle and swot analysis
11. How has the economy impacted your business?
12. How does your buyer pay you back? Are there any documentations involved? Is there any credit
period involved? Any difficulty u face bcuz of payment from buyer?
Production
1. Do you have any production facility? How many do you have? where is it located? How many
employees work there?
2. What is the approx production at this facility?
3. Are there any plans of expansion?
4. How has the demand been in the domestic market?
5. How has the demand been in the foreign market?
6. Are you able to fully supply to the demand of the markets? Over/under supply? Reason?
Marketing & Promotional
1. Have u directly invested for exporting or have made a partnership in the target country
2. Do u use any promotional strategy to sell you’re your products in the domestic market?
3. DO u do promotions in the foreign market? If yes, what is the strategy? Is it different from the
domestic market? How much do u spend approx
4. How much does the expense on the promotions affect the pricing of the product in the foreign
market?
5. Do u have a particular product strategy while selling in the foreign market? eg - any phases of rolling
out different products/ or similar product in different regions of the foreign market, etc
6. Is there any agreement between agent for working in the foreign market?
7. Is there any agreement with distributors in the foreign market?
8. DO you have any agent or an employee in the foreign market who helps you with the business? If yes,
what is the expertise of that personnel? How long has he been in the business?
Pricing
1. How do u price your product in the domestic market?
2. How do u price your product in the foreign market? Why is it different from the other? DO
you use any particular strategy while pricing your product? DO u charge different price for
different regions? If yes, why so? What are the factors that make this pricing different?
3. How does govt incentive help your business? Does it help in tax savings?
4. Do you get any incentive from the govt?
Legal
1. Does your product have any patent/trademark attached to it?
2. What export/ import regulations affect you?
3. IS you product ISO 9000 certified?
4. Has there been any legal dispute regarding your product/production facility/any othr matter relating
to export?
HR
1. Total personnel working? How many dedicated to domestic and foreign? Avg experience?
2. What type of personnels are needed to manage your export business? Any specific
qualitfication you look for? Any particular experience?
3. DO u give any trainings to your staff? If yes, what type? What further trainings you wud want
to give your staff?
4. What are your hiring needs? For short term? Long term?
5. DO employees stick with the company for a longer time?
Logistics
1. How do u export to a particular country?
2. Tell us about your distribution channels, starting point to end point?
3. List of documentations u have to do to export your product
4. Can you explain the flow of your product starting from production in your facility to being sold in the
foreign market? Can u also tell us in terms of days
5. DO you do any insurance of your goods?
6. Can you tell us thes export expenses – port charges, insurance etc? FOB price?
7. How much time does it take for your goods to reach the target country? Any delay takes place at the
port or due to authorites?
Growth & Funding
1. What growth are u expecting in your business in the next 5 years? Any further growth plans for long
term?
2. How do you fund your business? Debt – bank loan, od,etc or equity?
3. What are your financial needs currently? Based on your grpwth, what will be your financial needs in
the future?
