Global expansion: How top companies reach beyond their borders
Lessons from business leaders who successfully navigated the pitfalls of international expansion — and those who didn’t
One of the most important changes expanding companies need to make? Patience. In their home markets, many ambitious, fast-growing companies thrive by acting boldly and moving quickly. These tactics don’t always translate well in new markets.
A few years ago, one of Wilson’s U.S. clients at Osborne Clarke set its sights on Germany. Eager to land customers, the company built a Berlin-based sales team. But after three months, they had closed zero deals. Leadership in the U.S. grew frustrated. “They concluded they had hired the most useless sales team,” Wilson recalls. “In reality, they hadn’t done their homework. Germans would tell you that a six- to nine-month sales cycle is completely normal for market entrants.”
In the U.S., competitive employee packages often include healthcare plans, stock options, and unlimited PTO. But these perks don’t always resonate in Europe. Many European employees already have public healthcare and many prefer higher immediate salaries over the uncertain future payoff of stock options. In some countries, like Switzerland and Belgium, employees are even taxed on the initial value of stock grants, making them a far less attractive incentive.
As for unlimited PTO, “if you tell someone in Europe they can take as much time off as they want, you may never see them again,” jokes Wilson. “Downtime and family time are deeply valued, and that’s also why you may not get email replies on holidays.”
Databricks took a similar approach. After expanding into Singapore in 2019, the company sent VP of Sales Heather Akuiyibo to the country for a year in 2021 to help instill the Databricks culture in this important market. She focused on hiring and training local sales reps, ensuring they understood how to highlight Databricks’ value proposition effectively. “She made sure they were pitching correctly and really understanding the product’s impact. She had a huge influence,” says Patterson.
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