International Trade

Every sound business in international trade begins with one clear customer and one clear problem. In São Paulo and the wider state, demand is real but crowded, so a small, well-described customer group wins before a broad one.

• In international trade: Match a buyer's exact need and market rules before you quote; verify the buyer exists.
• Write the customer in one sentence: a buyer or seller abroad. Add the place, the moment of need and what they use today.
• List five rivals or substitutes within reach. For each, record price, strength, weakness and how people reach it.
• Interview at least eight real customers with open questions. Record exact words, not your summary.
• Count the market in units: how many shipments could one area buy in a month? Use two public sources and your own count, then take the lower figure.
• Choose one first segment and say why the others wait.

Activity. Write the one-sentence customer, a five-row rival table and eight interview records. Share them with a peer for a challenge round.

Standard to meet. Define a specific customer, build a rival table with prices, and trace every claim to an interview or a source.

Brazil asks every trader to be visible and accountable. Know which register, tax regime and sector rules apply before the first sale, and check each against the current official text.

• In international trade: Customs, classification codes, export licences and tax treatment apply; use a licensed customs broker where required.
• Choose a legal form: micro-entrepreneur (MEI) only if your activity appears on the official MEI list, or a company registered with a CNPJ. Regulated activities need their sector authorisation first. Check the current limits and lists on the official portal.
• Learn the tax regime that fits your size and write down which taxes you will collect and pay, and when.
• Find the sector rules for international trade: licences, inspections, professional registers. List each with the office that issues it and the renewal date.
• Personal data of customers falls under Brazil's data protection law (LGPD). Collect only what you need, say why, keep it safe, and name who answers questions.
• Consumer law gives buyers clear rights on information, returns and complaints. Put your terms in plain Portuguese.

Activity. Build your own six-line compliance table for your first location. Mark what is done, what is pending and who confirms it.

Standard to meet. Cite an official source for every line, assume nothing, and date every pending item. Local law always wins over this course.

An offer states what the customer gets, how well, by when and at what price. For a cross-border sale or purchase, the offer must make the quality visible and the next step easy.

• In international trade: Offer terms using recognised delivery terms so cost and risk transfer are clear.
• Describe the core offer in three lines: what is delivered (a cross-border sale or purchase), the standard it meets, and the time it takes.
• Add one proof for each promise: a sample, a test result, a guarantee or a customer record.
• Price from cost upward and from customer value downward, then pick a price inside both.
• Write a simple one-page terms sheet: what is included, what is extra, how to cancel.
• Create two options at most, so choice stays easy.

Longer notes. Pick one product group and one route, such as machine spare parts arriving by sea, and write the chain from factory gate to shop shelf: supplier price, incoterm, freight, insurance, import tax, clearance and inland delivery. Request quotes on two routes and compare them by landed cost per shipment, not by invoice price. Choose the incoterm that matches what your team can control. Show the client each cost line in plain words with the exchange rate and its date. Hire a licensed customs professional where the rules require one. Confirm the current customs and tax rules for your tariff code before any quote leaves the office.

Activity. Write the offer card, the proof list and the terms sheet. Test them with three customers and note every point where they hesitated.

Standard to meet. Check that promise, proof and price are consistent, fit the terms on one page, and record three customer reactions.

Good operations make results repeatable. For international trade, write each step so a new person could follow it on their first day, and measure each step.

• In international trade: Follow the order: quote, contract, payment security, production, inspection, shipping, customs, payment.
• Map the process from first contact to paid and closed. Typical stages: enquiry, quote, preparation, delivery of the shipment, check, payment, follow-up.
• Name the key resource at each stage: correct customs papers. Note what happens if it is missing.
• Write a one-page standard procedure per stage: who, what, tool, time, record.
• Choose three measures: speed, quality (errors per 100) and customer rating. Review them every week.
• Fix the cause of a defect, not the symptom. Ask 'why' five times and record the answer.

Activity. Draw the process map and write procedures for the two riskiest stages. Run each once and time it.

Standard to meet. Write procedures a stranger can follow, record weekly numbers for each measure, and trace one defect to a root cause.

The most serious risk in this field is a rejected consignment or a payment dispute. A calm, written risk routine protects people first and the business second.

• In international trade: Payment default and rejected goods are main risks; use secured payment and pre-shipment inspection.
• List ten things that could go wrong. Score each for how likely (1 to 5) and how serious (1 to 5). Multiply and sort.
• For the top five, choose a control: remove the hazard, replace it, guard it, train people, or use protective gear, in that order of preference.
• Write who does what in an emergency, and rehearse it once a quarter.
• Keep an incident and near-miss log. Near-misses are free lessons.
• Check that insurance and legal duties match the risk you actually carry.

Activity. Build a ten-row risk register and a one-page emergency plan. Run a ten-minute drill with a peer and note two improvements.

Standard to meet. Rank controls by preference for the top risks, run the drill, and start the log. Where a regulation applies, follow the official rule.

People deliver the promise. Define roles, train to a standard and give feedback in the open.

• In international trade: Train staff on documents: invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, transport document.
• Write a role card for each person: purpose, five tasks, the standard for each, and who to ask for help.
• Train by showing, doing with support, then doing alone with a check. Record sign-off per task.
• Set service rules for answering customers: reply times, tone, how to apologise and fix.
• Hold a ten-minute team check each day: yesterday's problem, today's plan, one risk.
• Build a growth path: what a new person can do in week 1, month 3 and month 12.

Longer notes. Assign each shipment one document owner and one backup. Hand a trainee a finished sample file and ask for the invoice, packing list and transport document to be rebuilt from the order alone, then compare line by line. Teach the double read of names, quantities and tariff codes, since one wrong digit can hold a container at the port. Keep a shared tracker with dates, owners and the next action. Draft short, polite messages to suppliers abroad that respect their time zone. Sort every error by type each week, such as weight, code or consignee, and keep a log of every promise made.

Activity. Write two role cards and a training plan for one new hire. Role-play a hard customer conversation twice and review.

Standard to meet. Write role cards with measurable standards, show the sign-off steps in training, and write the service rules in plain words.

A business lives or dies on a few numbers. Know your contribution per unit, your fixed costs and the volume you need.

• In international trade: Include freight, insurance, duties and exchange-rate movement in the price.
• Contribution per shipment = price minus variable cost. Fixed costs are paid whether you sell or not.
• Break-even units = fixed cost divided by contribution. Plan to pass it by a safe margin.
• Make a 12-month cash plan. Cash timing matters as much as profit: customers may pay late, suppliers may want money first.
• Keep money for business and money for the owner apart.
• Test the plan: what if sales fall by a quarter, or cost rises by a tenth?

Activity. Build your own table: price, variable cost, contribution, fixed cost, break-even and a downside case at 75% of sales. Show it to a peer or mentor.

Standard to meet. Calculate correctly, give every figure a source or mark it as an assumption, and show a downside case.

Growth should follow proof. Measure, learn, then add; and keep returning to the customer.

• In international trade: Grow by repeating with one buyer well before adding many.
• Pick one growth lever at a time: new customers, a higher repeat rate, a better price, or a new offer.
• Set one measurable target for 90 days, such as 'raise repeat customers from 20% to 30%'.
• Ask each customer how they found you, and record it. Spend more where the record shows results.
• Review monthly: numbers, defects, complaints, cash. Write three decisions each time.
• Plan the renewal of licences, equipment and skills a year ahead.

Longer notes. Compare plan and actual landed cost on every shipment and write the gap in reais and in percent. Track days from purchase order to shelf, share of shipments with a problem and margin per product. Set a price-update rule tied to the exchange rate, for example review when the dollar moves five percent from the quoted day. Score suppliers on defects and delay, and renew only those above your line. Meet your main client each quarter to propose a consolidated shipment or a cheaper route. List the products to drop, and promise the client no fixed margin while the dollar moves.

Activity. Write a 90-day plan with one target, three actions and a review date. Present it in five minutes and take questions.

Standard to meet. Set a measurable, dated target, break the actions down small enough to start this week, and put the review date in the calendar.