Austrade urges franchises to export

Austrade is urging professional service franchises to get into exports, with services now accounting for approximately two-thirds of the developed world’s economic activity.

To assist the sector benefit from this upward trend, Austrade has launched a new and free guide called From Contacts to Contracts.

“Austrade has recognised a need to increase awareness in Australia’s professional services sector of the potential to tap into opportunities as a result of continued exceptionally strong growth in service exports,” says Austrade global team leader, service exports, Lloyd Downey.

“International trade in services has risen over the past two decades from 18 percent of world trade to 23 percent. The global market for services is the fastest growing sector of world trade. In the majority of countries the contribution of services to GDP is well over 50 percent, and in Australia’s case it is 76 percent.

“Despite ready recognition of Australian expertise in the services sector in overseas markets, many Australian businesses have not fully recognised or exploited this advantage. It is important for businesses in the sector to understand that they are very competitive in the global marketplace. Australia is held in high regard for the quality of its services and highly skilled, professional workplace.”

Last year Austrade assisted over 800 service companies to make overseas sales, with some 220 of them being first-time exporters.

“If you have a quality service that’s popular in Australia, there may well be opportunities to grow the business by offering that service to customers in markets overseas,” says Downey.

“Many of the traditional barriers to trade have been lowered and through the advent of technologies such as the internet, the distance and difficulty of doing business in different geographical locations has been greatly reduced.

“For many people, the word ‘exporting’ conjures up images of container ships packed with physical goods, but there are also ways to export something that is intangible. A few export channels to consider include selling services direct to a buyer in an overseas market, having an overseas buyer visit Australia to receive or use services, appoint a representative or establish an office in an overseas market, or members of staff can travel overseas to provide the service,” he says.

The professional services sector is an important contributor to the Australian economy both in terms of employment and productivity improvement, and includes businesses such as lawyers, management consultants, education and training providers, software developers, architects, town planners, engineering consultants, accountants, interior designers, web developers, recruitment consultants, and event managers, among others.

Professional service providers may qualify for financial assistance through Austrade’s export market development grants (EMDG) scheme, Australia’s principal financial assistance scheme for exporters.

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