Have you ever tried to drive a place without a map, GPS, or address? You have a general idea of the place-you may end up there, but you can waste a lot of time, gas and frustration-everything can be avoided if you spend more time preparing.

Now imagine that in a bad car without insurance, it's almost empty, and you're not even sure what your destination is. This is the way to try to export products on a global scale without an export plan. Your export plan is your adjustment car, your fuel, your GPS, your destination address, and preprinted, rotating driving instructions.

In the test and error of global exports, it is easy to waste a lot of time and resources. In today's highly competitive market, many companies are likely to achieve digital export growth and make these sales an important part of their sales base. But to do this, you need to have a very clear understanding of your goals and the resources you need. Successfully increase your export sales (like the achievement of most goals) requirements (1) focus, (2) commitment and (3) consistency.

   Note: If your company plans to seek any form of export financing assistance, it usually requires an export plan.

Creating an International business plan helps you gather facts, identify constraints and available resources, set priorities, goals, and milestones, and develop the underlying processes needed to export success. Like all business plans, it should be a living document that changes and expands as you learn to gain experience.

More importantly, well-designed export plans define the corporate resources needed to implement the plan. This helps to ensure that export targets are achieved without exceeding expectations, to establish management support for time, money, and other corporate resources, and to create alignment throughout the organization. Managing export business requires the support of various functions in the company. Without their commitment, it is difficult to achieve your export sales target.

Export planning is also a powerful startup tool when contacting distributors and service providers in the target market. It highlights your company's desires, strengths, and shows that you have good development and reasonable goals. In short, it shows that you are serious about expanding your export business.

In the beginning, keep your export plan simple. As long as it is a clear and useful management tool, it is enough. Over time, it can be refined with market data, other studies, and including other countries. More importantly, you have a plan, not a start. Don't let export plans become a barrier to global sales.

Here are our top 10 reasons, if you want to export, you should have an export plan (or why you should develop one, even if you have started exporting without plans):

I. Clarity. An export plan provides a clear, concise roadmap, your target market, your entry strategy, the resources you need to get there, and a reasonable timetable to achieve your goals.

II. Market priority. A good export program helps companies choose the best countries for their products. Without a clear plan, you may miss out on better opportunities, or spend your time and resources in too many markets.

III. Efficiency and effectiveness. Your people and money resources are limited and you want to use them in a way that most likely gives you the quickest and best return. Marksmanship or proximity to export opportunism is unlikely to provide the best return.

IV. Minimize risk. Export risk-no payment or late payment risk, choice wrong market or wrong dealer, unsuccessful investment in dealer training, product and packaging localization, and bad sales results may affect the entire company. If you do not study, think and plan for an export plan, you will greatly increase these risks.

V. Measurement. Export programs allow you to measure your progress and success. The plan creates a snapshot of where you have started, sets milestones to any good project management plan, and draws key milestones and the steps needed to achieve those goals.

VI. Organization alignment. With a good plan, everyone in your organization, as well as your export partners-your freight forwarders, your customs agents, your distributors or agents, and your entire organization-will be aware of the goals and timelines for achieving these goals.

VII. Control. In order to effectively export, the company must demonstrate a solid manufacturing capability or source, quality control, financial capability to meet orders and reliably deliver it on time and in good condition, and solid process to collect receivables.

VIII. Better partners. Just as your company is more likely to choose to specialize, organize, and focus on supporting your business partners, the best export partners may choose to work with a company that appears to have clear, deliberate goals. A company that can offer clear, professional, and detailed business plans shows that it concentrates on its business activities, considers and deals with risks, and controls its finances, rather than blindly operating, without the ability to fulfill its promise with real ideas.

IX. Competitive advantage. The number of smaller exporters is growing rapidly, and in fact, doubling exports of small companies is a clear goal of the Obama administration. Your competitor may have exported or planned to export. If you develop and follow a good export plan, your company may be more successful than those who have no strategy or focus on export business.

X. Increase the likelihood of success. This is the most important advantage of the export plan. Just as driving without clear destinations and maps reduces opportunities, you will get your destination without a lot of wasted time and effort trying to build an unplanned export business that greatly reduces the likelihood of your successful growth in global sales channels with minimal resources.

  So now that you have your refueling car, your keys, your map, and a clear destination, you and your company should be better prepared to make the global expansion journey.