Corporations are at times, very skittish. They’re large and cumbersome and they know it. That’s why they don’t want to make any big moves without taking their sweet time. This goes in the favor of small businesses, as because of the size they are able to connect and morph quickly. Say for example, you are an English cake maker. Everyone knows how tasty English cakes are, so one day an Indonesian caterer wants to have some selections of the sort on their European menu. They’re a small business too, but they want to grow and succeed, so they look overseas to get the real deal. They reach out to you after seeing your website and or meeting you at a conference, and now you’re about to partner with them. You will supply them cakes to their liking and your name will grow overseas thanks to a domestic business. These kinds of deals can be done far quicker if you have developed certain areas of your business first.

Receive confidential documents

Not every client that wishes to partner with another business will want to do everything online. Although there are some great services that small businesses can use to help them regarding documents, some are best sent in the real world. Especially, confidential documents such as business plans, sensitive details about a company’s financial health and also contracts that are binding each part. Fraud is ever-present and hackers are looking to take anything they can from a business’ servers. Instead use a free scanning and mail forwarding service that not only provides a real-world address in a prestigious location, but can scan all your mail and send it to you via a secured connection. The location itself will be impressive to a client, as it’s in the heart of London. You also get free access to meeting rooms where you can meet your clients in person should you require some privacy to sign or discuss anything.

Fly out to them

You should be willing to meet your foreign partner at least once a year when you have signed a mutual contract. You’re in it together, trying to succeed and grow. Make the extra effort to fly out to their country and or operating base, and meet them face to face. If they would like to greet you first before they sign anything, then be willing to make that journey to lock them into a deal. Sometimes, a larger business will want the smaller business to make the effort and come to them. If you don’t they could lose interest or find another client that will. This isn’t so much as a showing of disrespect as it is test. The larger business is offering you a chance to ride their back and get a boost from their customer base, possibly offering you a substantial amount of money, and even logistical help or expertise so you can grow in your own country. The bottom line is, if the deal is sweet and they would like to meet you first to iron out any doubt, get on that flight and go to their offices.

A foreign business deal can sometimes be more lucrative than in your own nation. This is especially true if their currency is worth more, as the profits you stand to make will be higher than a domestic deal. Be ready to receive mail in the real world, and make a trip out to dine and converse with them.