Export Sales

Vermont ExporTech™

An export sales acceleration system and process for entering or expanding in global markets

Do you believe your product has international sales potential but don’t know how to get started? Have you received international inquiries, but haven’t fully capitalized on them to generate significant sales growth? Would you like to shift from a “reactive” to a “proactive” strategic approach to identifying your best prospects to expand and accelerate profitable international sales? All of this while saving you many hours of unnecessary work and minimizing risks, costs and potential big headaches?

ExporTech™ provides a systematic process for entering and/or expanding in global markets, and it connects companies with the best international business experts in the region. This is a proven, step-by-step national program, held locally in Vermont and now in a growing number of other states across the U.S. It is the ONLY national program that helps each company / enterprise develop a peer-reviewed international sales growth plan. The sales growth plan is usually completed in just 12 weeks with local coaching support. Companies / enterprises are able to quickly move from planning to closing sales, and no company or enterprise is “too small” to export.

This program gets results!

On average to date, each participating company / enterprise has initially generated $770,000 in new sales. And many companies begin generating profitable sales within just three to six months. The unique ExporTech™ program series involves an innovative combination of three (3) one-day group workshop sessions led by content experts, plus individualized company coaching between each workshop designed to lead to the development of a customized company international sales plan before the final training session, where expert feedback is given on each plan. Early registration is recommended, as space is each ExporTech™ series is limited to a maximum of just eight (8) companies, with up to four (4) company executives / leaders included in each company’s single registration fee.

ExporTech™ Success Stories

Read what five companies who experienced the program learned, walked away with and where they are today in their exporting planning process.

Caledonia Spirits

Hayward Tyler

Norwich University Applied Research Institutes

Liquid Measurement Systems

Superior Technical Ceramics

View two-minute video featuring Mike Stone of Stone & Associates, facilitator of ExporTech programs throughout the US, including six in Vermont! Also, check out this Export Assistance Resources recording from our summer 2021 Noontime Knowledge series. 

And read, too, what other companies are saying about their ExporTech™ experience:

“Thank goodness we did the program when we did. Our original collective thinking was that we were not ready to start doing international sales. Even while we were completing the program and the follow-up, we were asking ourselves if we were getting ahead of ourselves. However, there came a moment when we did start to export, following the program, and suddenly we needed all of the information that we had received during the courses and conversations with the other businesses and resources that were provided. We were very thankful to have the resources available. If we had not completed the program, we would have been driving blind, not knowing which issues we were going to face and what was important in regard to international trade. For example, we might not have known the best and most effective way to register our trademark internationally, which is very important for our growth, whether we are trading in all countries or not. I recommend that companies learn and prepare for international expansion before they think they are ready.” – Abbott Stark, Co-founder, Ogee 

“ExporTech™ certainly gave us confidence to sell our products outside the United States and information for the best way to do it. In addition to the US and Canada, we now sell to the UK, France, Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Spain, Italy, Japan, United Arab Emirates, and Australia.  It also connected us with other Vermont companies trying to grow and expand into other markets.  International sales were $300,000 in 2018 and we expect that will more than double in 2019.”  – Kevin Coleman, CFO, Ann Clark 

“ExporTech™ has opened many doors for our company. In addition to the knowledge we have gained during this experience, we have acquired resources that will continue to aid us as we grow our export sales business.” – Sarah Gallant, Supervisor, Export Logistics – Agri-Mark, Inc. Cabot Creamery

“ExporTech™ has gathered together in one place the State and Federal government resources that are available to help small Vermont companies supply export markets. It was an eye opening experience to see first-hand the help ready to support Vermont business succeed. Interacting with the other participating companies emphasized that we are not alone in the struggle to be successful at exporting. Hearing the stories of their experience, successes and mistakes, was an important factor in the success of this program.” – Simon Doran, Sales Manager, Superior Technical Ceramics

Companies Who’ve Successfully Completed the VMEC ExporTech™ Program

Winter / Spring 2014 – Agri-Mark/ Cabot Creamery, Liquid Measurement Systems, Superior Technical Ceramics, Trow and Holden, Vermont Precision Tools, Vermont Teddy Bear Fall 2014 – HearthStone, LEDdynamics, Manufacturing Solutions, Newport Furniture Parts,  Numia Medical Technology LLC, Turtle Fur Company, Vermont Natural Coatings, Way Out Wax Spring / Summer 2015 – Country Home Products, Hayward Tyler, Norwich University Applied Research Institutes Winter/ Spring 2016 – Caledonia Spirits Inc., Newmont Slate Company Inc., Semiprobe Inc. Winter/ Spring 2017 – Ann Clark Ltd., Bike Track Inc., Cabot Hosiery Mills Inc./ Darn Tough, Green Mountain Antibodies, Hubbardton Forge, Ogee Inc. Winter/ Spring 2018 – Mamava, Northern Reliability, Skida, VT Smoke and Cure.

The ExporTech™ program has been brought to Vermont by VMEC, with assistance from the following partners and sponsors:

• State of Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Vermont Global Trade Partnership (VGTP)
• Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC)
• State of Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets
• Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA)
• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
• NIST Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)
• U.S. Commercial Service
• FedEx
• Stone and Associates

Please contact Lisa Henderson, VMEC Director of Client Services, (802) 299-1456 or [email protected], for additional information on the program.  Let us know of your desire to grow your international sales by doing it right – developing a plan through VT ExporTech™.  Also, be sure to check out our ExporTech™ blog post, “Opportunities Beyond Our Borders”.