Whether you are based in Bangalore, Beijing or Bacalod City, one of your biggest challenges will be selling your outsourcing services to Western buyers. It doesn’t matter if you are offering IT, BPO or KPO services, you will need to overcome language, cultural and geographic barriers in order to generate sales. Following are some sales and marketing strategies that every offshore outsourcing vendor should consider:

1. Hire a Western website company to fine-tune your corporate site. Many offshore outsourcers create English websites, for example, with bad grammer and punctuation. Most Western visitors will be put off by this, interpreting your lack of communications skills as a lack of sophistication and professionalism. It is always wise to have a Western website company, or even freelance copywriter, review and fine-tune your site for a Western audience.

2. Pay attention to branding and messaging. Westerners expect strong branding and clear messaging. You should typically have one logo, one company name and one slogan that clearly conveys who you are and what you do. Many outsourcing vendors have multiple company names, confusing acronyms and grandiose slogans that detract rather than add to their websites and brochures.

3. Hire a translator for your website and collateral. If you have not translated your website or brochure into a Western language, you need to do this immediately. Unless you are working as a dedicated subcontractor in your native country, you will never be able to reach out to Western buyers without an English, German, French, etc. version of your marketing materials. Even if you are a freelancer or startup, you need to create materials that Westerners can read and even hold in their hands.

4. Establish a Western sales office. Most savvy outsourcing vendors already have a Western sales office to field sales calls and distribute marketing materials. This may seem like a major hurdle for a small outsourcing company in the middle of India or China, but it can be done with relatively little pain. Start by contacting your consulate or trade representative in the countries you are targeting. Many vendors also network within their expatriate community, finding partners to provide an onshore address, contact phone and even staff.

5. Network with Western professional services companies. Often, one of your best bets for Western business is a US, UK, Canadian, etc. professional services company with overflow work. Many successful outsourcing vendors got their start by networking with these firms and establishing long-term relationships. Attend their seminars and webinars, comment on their blogs, send your marketing materials to different partners within their organization…do whatever it takes to break in. Sometimes it takes a year or more to get noticed, but that is the tuition you have to pay.

6. Network at tradeshows. Industry events are a good way to meet both buyers and other service providers who may have overflow work. It is often worth the plane ticket, even if business opportunities take a year or more to develop. Don’t worry about having a booth. Often the most effective form of marketing is walking the floor and exchanging cards with everyone who will talk to you. Be bold and you will be rewarded.

7. List your company in online and offline directories. Many outsourcing vendors, despite their high-tech service offerings, are surprisingly bad at basic marketing. One of the simplest first steps is to get listed in as many directories as possible, including Web directories, trade magazine directories, yellow pages, and government directories. Online directories, such as DMOZ, Yahoo and Outsourcing.org are especially helpful.

8. Participate in online forums and blogs. A good way to meet prospective buyers and partners is on outsourcing forums and blogs. A good practice is to post interesting topics that will stimulate conversation or debate. The more you get people talking and exchanging ideas, the more opportunities will arise. A bad practice is to leave your “calling card” by simply copying and pasting the same text in every forum and blog post you visit. This is a lazy way to market and is not appreciated by the posters or the moderators of the sites.

9. Bid on projects at project auction sites. There are many project auction sites on the Internet now. Most charge a commission, however some are free, such as Outsourcing.org Projects. While you won’t find large enterprise projects on these sites, you will find some solid projects with good payouts. Make it a habit to check the project listings every day.

10. Buy business lists and prospect the old fashioned way. While there is a lot of rejection in cold calling, it can lead to good prospects. Start by buying a business list from a reputable list broker. If you intend to use email, hire a professional email marketing firm to email your collateral materials and then follow up with all prospects that open your email. If you have a Western sales office, it is probably better to physically mail your collateral, avoiding spam filters and bulk email folders. When cold calling, use a sales person who speaks English, German, French, etc. well. Cold calling requires connecting with your audience quickly and establishing trust or credibility. A bad accent will lower your odds considerably. As I mentioned above, be prepared for rejection and adjust your expectations to a long sales cycle of 6 to 9 months.