Doing business in Italy

3POSTS

8 years ago

Ciao, everyone.
I am still living in the UK and planning my permanent move to Italy in the next two years. I run an international coaching and training company working with clients throughout Europe. I would like to develop more contacts and work prospects in Italy, where I can offer programmes on Leadership, Team Development and Personal Effectiveness. What is the best way to secure these opportunities? I am grateful for any advice and interest.
Many thanks. Tim

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RyanCoombes New member

4POSTS

8 years ago

Hi Tim,

I believe networking events and fairs would be useful to advertise your services in Italy, as well as using tools such as LinkedIn. (Meetup.com is a useful resource for finding business events that you could attend)

I think a good working knowledge of Italian is a must and I would translate your website and LinkedIn profiles to Italian.

If your Italian is not to a good standard, consider using Italki.com to find a native tutor, I would also recommend using Duolingo, Memrise and consider looking at Benny Lewis - Language Hacking books.

Also, when marketing your services in a foreign country I think it is important to take into consideration the cultural change as marketing tactics are not always transferable overseas in different languages. I would consider the option of using marketing or advertising agencies in Italy to help you.

While my post is a bit vague and I expect some of this information is not new to you, I hope it helps.

I've always been interested in consulting/coaching myself, so I'm very interested to know how you get on with your move!

Regards,

Ryan

Tim Lambert Member

3POSTS

8 years ago

Dear Ryan

Thanks for taking the time to offer me some advice. I really appreciate it.

Whilst I don't expect to deliver programmes in Italian, it is essential that I work to get a good grasp of the language. Translating the website is a great idea, not least because it helps me with language learning.

My intention is to build up a portfolio of international clients with Italian offices and sites so that I can gradually absorb the cultural nuances, and reflect this in the way I construct and deliver training programmes. Its a big project but one worth pursuing.

Kind regards

Tim Lambert