Going Global
Going Global: Women Entrepreneurs in International Markets – An Interview With Sydney Ryan
Supplemented by CanadExport
Business Description
Founded as a traditional answering service with two employees in 1966, Telelink Call Centre has grown to become one of the leading-edge call centres in North America. Over the years the company has maintained its focus on providing award-winning customer service while automating and expanding into new technologies ahead of the competition.
Exporting Tactics
With the drop in Telecommunication prices in the late 90’s, these three women entrepreneurs realized they could compete in the international marketplace and went about it by implementing a well-thought-out plan. They participated in a Newfoundland trade mission to Boston in May 2000, which turned out to be an excellent fact-finding opportunity.
“We went to Boston with the notion that Americans wanted the newest technology available, but we found out that what they really craved was a return to a more traditional client/supplier relationship with a focus on customer service, while still using modern tools,” explains Sydney. “That happens to be our strength, and a weakness of many of the larger corporations that dominate their market.”
Networking Strategy
Telelink has used many of the provincial and federal government services available to develop an effective exporting plan and access potential American clients. The Program for Export Market Development (PEMD) was especially helpful in the early stages. They also used the services of Export Development Canada (EDC) extensively in the beginning and continue to do so today. One of their U.S. accounts fell victim to the NASDAQ correction in the Fall of 1999. Had Telelink not been insured through EDC, they would have been in recovery mode for a long time. “All of our U.S. accounts are now insured – it lets us sleep at night.”
Favourite Exporting Moment
“Our trade mission to Atlanta, definitely. We attended functions with the Prime Minister and landed our first international contact – it was then that we knew we could compete internationally.”
Export Tips
Be focused and be prepared. “Once you get your strategy down, you may need to adjust it a little because of outside influences, but it’s important to stay focused on your objectives and not jump on every bandwagon that comes along.”
Build a strong team. “We built a phenomenal management team right from the beginning and we were lucky we did because they were prepared when our export sales skyrocketed.”
Utilize government resources. “Companies just starting to export shouldn’t be afraid to call the Trade Commissioners – it’s their job to help, and they’re good at it.”
Future Plans
For now, the women plan to continue pursuing the U.S. market over the next year. “We enjoy doing business with the Americans, and there are few cultural differences, virtually no language barrier and the growth rate is quite manageable at this point.”
