Phase 2 · Strategy & Planning · From Idea to Executable Plan
Export Readiness Assessment
The businesses that fail in international markets are rarely undone by the market itself. They are undone by entering it before they were ready for it.
Export readiness assessment is the structured evaluation of a business's preparedness to sell into international markets — examining the product or service's international transferability, the operational capacity to serve overseas customers, the financial resilience to sustain the investment before revenue arrives, and the leadership team's international experience and commitment. We produce a clear readiness picture and a prioritised plan to address the gaps that matter most before the first international commitment is made.
The Pain We Solve
You may recognise yourself in one of these.
Three audience scenarios · because the same service produces a different transformation depending on where you are in the business journey.
Scenario 1
The business that has received unsolicited international interest and does not know whether to act on it
An enquiry has arrived from overseas. The instinct is to pursue it — but the business has never assessed whether it has the capacity, the compliance, the pricing model, or the operational infrastructure to serve an international customer reliably. Acting without readiness is expensive.
Scenario 2
The ambitious SME whose leadership team wants to go international but is not sure the business is genuinely ready
The domestic market is strong. The international opportunity looks compelling. And the board has not yet had an honest conversation about whether the business is ready for the complexity that international trade introduces — from regulatory compliance through currency risk to the operational demands of serving customers in a different timezone.
Scenario 3
The business that has attempted international sales and retreated because the costs and complexities exceeded the early revenue
The first international attempt was unsuccessful — not because the market was wrong but because the business was not prepared for the sales cycle length, the upfront costs, the compliance requirements, or the cultural differences in how business is done. The readiness assessment would have identified all of those in advance.
The Impact It Creates
The Moment You Will Feel the Difference.
International readiness gaps identified before the first investment in overseas markets
Market entry decision made on evidence of readiness rather than opportunity alone
Resources and focus directed to the markets and routes that offer the highest probability of early success
Risk managed through systematic preparation rather than discovered through expensive experience
What You Receive
The Specific Deliverables.
Tangible outputs · documented, dated, and yours to keep.
- Export readiness scorecard — product, operations, finance, and leadership
- International transferability assessment of the offer
- Market prioritisation framework — which markets first and why
- Gap analysis — what must be addressed before international entry
- Readiness development roadmap
- Export support landscape — available grants, advisors, and government programmes
The Outcome
Where You Will Be on the Other Side.
The business enters international markets at the right time, with the right preparation, targeting the right markets — having addressed the gaps that would otherwise have made the international venture an expensive lesson rather than a commercial success.
Primary Focus
Assessing the business's export readiness across product, operations, finance, and leadership to inform a prepared and evidence-based international entry decision.
KPI Measurement
- Readiness score improvement before market entry
- International sales success rate vs non-assessed peers
- Time to first international revenue
- Cost of international entry vs plan
- International customer satisfaction score
Investment & ROI
Pricing Engineered Around the Value You Create.
Every engagement is sized against the value we believe we can create with you · the fee is always a fraction of the outcome. Four tiers · so the investment matches your stage of business.
Tier 1
Foundations
£5,000 – £15,000
Right for
Pre-startup, startup, and micro-business founders ready to build on evidence rather than instinct.
Typical Value Created
£100K+ in sharper resource allocation and avoided strategic missteps
Engagement
4 – 8 weeks
Target Return
5 – 10× ROI
within 12 – 18 months
Tier 2
Acceleration
£15,000 – £50,000
Right for
Growing SMEs and established small businesses ready to scale a working model into the next revenue band.
Typical Value Created
£500K – £3M in faster execution and pipeline acceleration
Engagement
8 – 16 weeks
Target Return
5 – 10× ROI
within 12 – 18 months
Tier 3
Transformation
£50,000 – £250,000
Right for
Medium enterprises and scale-stage businesses ready to commit to a multi-quarter, organisation-wide shift.
Typical Value Created
£2M – £20M in strategic value through repositioning, model redesign, and growth-system installation
Engagement
3 – 9 months
Target Return
5 – 10× ROI
within 12 – 18 months
Tier 4
Enterprise
£250,000 – £2M+
Right for
Large enterprises, global operators, and complex organisations ready for a multi-year strategic partnership.
Typical Value Created
£10M+ in major strategic initiatives, capital deployment efficiency, and competitive repositioning
Engagement
12 months and onward
Target Return
5 – 10× ROI
within 12 – 18 months
Why We Price This Way
Every engagement is sized around the value we believe we can create with you. The fee is always a fraction of the outcome · typically 10 – 20% of the expected first-year return.
This is how we make sure pricing aligns with results. The conversation is never “what does this cost?” · it is always “what is this worth to your business?” We answer that together in the first call, transparently, and decide the right tier from there.
If we cannot articulate a credible 5–10× return for your specific situation, we will tell you in the first call. That honesty is part of why our clients trust us with the work that matters most.
Why This Conversation Matters
“The difference between international success and international failure is almost always preparation. The opportunity is rarely the variable that decides the outcome — the readiness is. We assess it before it costs the business the chance to find out.”
A 90-minute structured strategy session · produces a usable roadmap whether you engage further or not.
More in Phase 2