Find clients and develop your business in the United Kingdom

Finding clients abroad is always a challenge, and business development in the United Kingdom is not different. You need the right contacts and once you reach the decision maker, you need the right sales pitch.
A lot of companies that want to enter the market in the United Kingdom, do this with their general sales pitch. However, if you don’t know the local regulations, pricing levels and your competition’s product, sales meetings may be difficult to conclude successfully.

Connect directly with a trusted export advisor in the United Kingdom

Our local consultant can advise you on the best way to identify and approach potential clients with a customized proposal. He can act as your local respresentative.

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    How to sell your product or service in the United Kingdom?

    The United Kingdom is one of the larger economies of Europe, although not being part of the EU any more.

    As of 2024, the United Kingdom’s population is estimated to be approximately 67.96 million. The population has shown a modest growth rate of around 0.35% from the previous year. It has a diverse set of overseas born populations, with the largest contributing countries being Poland, India, and Pakistan.

    The UK has a mixed economy, which is the sixth-largest national economy in the world by nominal GDP. It is characterized by a highly developed and market-oriented sector. The largest city and capital is London, which is a major global city and financial center.

    WHAT ARE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM?

    Foreign direct investment (FDI) to the UK slumped during the economic crisis. Fortunately, it has been improving significantly. In 2014, UK ranked as the 11th largest recipient of foreign direct investment. Main sectors that attract FDI are:

    • Financial services
    • Professional, scientific, technical services
    • Mining
    • Metal products, machinery
    • Computers, electronics, optics
    • Food, beverages, tobacco

    WHERE THE ACTION REALLY IS IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS IN UNITED KINGDOM

    Respectively, imports and exports make up 25.8% and 19.2% of the total economic output. This is a country that should be included in your marketing plan. The top five imports and exports are as follow:

    Imports % of total Exports % of total
    Machinery 13.2 Machinery 14
    Oil 11.3 Oil 11.2
    Vehicles 11 Vehicles 10.6
    Electronic equipment 8.9 Gems, precious metals, coins 10.3
    Gems, precious metals, coins 5.2 Pharmaceuticals 6.6

    THE UNITED KINGDOM ICT MARKET: E-COMMERCE, E-HEALTH, IT SECURITY

    According to the European Information Technology Observatory, the UK offers the largest ICT market in Europe. Areas where imports are expected to grow include tablets, cloud-computing, real-time data analysis, and business software.

    The UK is a market for new technology and design along with a sophisticated group of consumers who are patrons of new innovations in technology and well established channels for distribution.

    Do your first approach with instantly

    If you target people in the United Kingdom in a specific industry or with a certain role in the company (like HR directors) you can do an easy first trial yourself.

    With the tooling of our partner Instantly.ai you can define your target group, whether it’s 50 or 50.000 people. Send them a sequence of emails, directly in their inbox, for typically under 10 dollarcents per persoon.

    Translate your website and check your SEO

    Even if your business is really international, it may be wise to set up local website translations and check whether your text aligns with the culture. 

    This also counts for the United Kingdom. People prefer reading in their own language and also search most of the time in their own language. Therefore you need to include the relevant keywords in your texts, and these may not be a direct translation.

    With regards to content, my personal experience is that if you have a successful blog topic in one language, it is likely to do well also in other languages. Don’t reinvent the wheel, just make a proper translation.

    Translate your Wordpress site with WPML

    For targeting the United Kingdom you may need website translations that goes beyond Google translate. You can do this with WPML.

    WPML is a Wordpress plugin that helps you set up different translations of your web pages. This can be with automated translations, but you can also choose to have manual or adjusted translations or even specific content on the language pages.

    Shipping your products

    If you sell physical products, you need them to get delivered into the United Kingdom. Depending on the country you are in, this can be a challenge.

    First of all you may have to pay import duties or settle VAT. This can be complex if you don’t have your own legal entity in the country. 

    There may also be non-financial bariers, like certifications or approvals to be obtained. Especially for food, cosmetics or medicine this may be the case. Check this in advance, even before you invest in your marketing.

    Customs clearance for the United Kingdom

    Getting your products imported and delivered in a specific country can be a challenge. I have good experience with Tecex, who can act as your importer of record and even physical distributor. If you leave your details, they will contact you. 

      Your first name

      Last name

      Your company email

      Mobile number

      What is your company website?

      Where is your company based?

      This site is protected by reCAPTCHA, our privacy policy, the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

      Frequently asked questions

      First determine who can be the end-users for your product or service. From who do they purchase now? Interview a number of key players in the value chain how they perceive your offering and ask them who is your competition. Only then you can position your product or service and effectively approach potential buyers.

      In the United Kingdom, just as many comparable countries, this all depends on your offering and the way you organise your sales. If you offering already sells in other countries, you have good chances, but you still need to figure out the market structure and the sales channels that perform best. We always recommend to do interviews with key players first.
      Yes, the United Kingdom is certainly open for international business, the country has trade relationships with many other nations and although there may be import duties, certification and other customs regulations, you can certainly sell your goods there.
      First of all adhere to the local business culture and follow local ways of making appointments and structuring them. Also in the United Kingdom, companies want to make profits so if you can show how your product or service contributes to that, then the interest will be not different than in other countries. Where possible, work with local partners or have your sales supported by an international business consultant.

      Yes, we can certainly do that, because we have experienced business developers in the country. Of course it is important that your product is good, well documented and you have discovered the best sales processes already in your home country.

      Business development in specific countries