Trade mission truths

Wade Barnes didn’t have high expectations when he agreed to join a Manitoba Trade and Investment Corp. trade mission to Russia—a market that wasn’t even on his prospect list. He had no idea then that the trip’s structured meetings, networking opportunities and site visits would lead Farmers Edge Precision Consulting Inc., his agricultural-mapping firm, to its next great growth market.

Today, not only is Russia Farmers Edge’s second-largest market (after Canada), it represents almost all the growth of the Winnipeg-based firm. And it wouldn’t have happened if Barnes had chosen not to participate. “What we accomplished on that mission would have taken us three to five trips to do otherwise,” he says.

Like Barnes before his trip to Russia, most entrepreneurs don’t know how these packaged tours of international commerce really work, or how effective they can be. If you’re looking for foreign growth opportunities, take in this quick tutorial on trade missions.

They’re an exporting fast track: Perhaps the biggest benefit of participating in a trade mission is strength in numbers. A group of Canadians tends to get far more attention at a foreign trade show or convention than an individual firm could garner alone. Plus, many participants find immense value in the networking they do with each other, particularly between mission veterans and newbies.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade runs the most high-profile trade missions, but there are many other organizing bodies. Great sources to investigate are provincial trade-promotion organizations, regional chambers of commerce and industry associations. Many of these run SME-friendly missions, usually planned to represent a particular geographical region or industry.

As mission planners, these organizations typically handle the logistics of the trip, including travel arrangements and meetings. They usually also provide market information to participants ahead of the trip, and will often set up and hold “virtual” trade missions in advance, helping delegates lay some groundwork for the in-person trip.

The cost? Organizers almost always subsidize it. While the expense varies wildly, depending on the location and types of activities, it’s not unusual for an entrepreneur to cover only his or her travel and accommodation costs.

They’re great prospecting tools: The mission to Russia allowed Barnes to see farms in action and talk face to face with potential buyers about their needs—prospecting that’s difficult to do remotely. (Conversely, the mission experience can also demonstrate that a target market is not a good fit.) But it’s relatively rare for a deal to take place on a trade mission. “It’s a first introduction into the market and to potential business partners,” says Brad Michnik, executive director of trade development at the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership in Saskatoon. “Most business happens subsequent to the trip, not on it.”

Politicians play second fiddle: “The preconceived notion is that a trade mission is a bunch of people following a politician,” says Michnik. “We run 40 missions a year, and may have a politician on one or two.”

And when government types do join a mission, it’s usually to open doors that would otherwise be closed in countries (e.g., China) or industries (e.g., energy and defence) in which businesses are carefully policed, if not controlled by government.