5 Steps to Build International Sales (Without a Manager)

5 Steps to Build International Sales (Without a Manager)

Introduction

Expanding beyond your local market is exciting, but it can feel overwhelming without a dedicated sales manager. The truth is, you don’t need a full sales department to start selling internationally. With the right structure, you can build an international sales process that attracts global clients, builds trust, and delivers results.

In this article, we’ll break it down into five actionable steps you can implement immediately.

👉 Don’t forget: Join our Thursday meeting where we’ll discuss real case studies of companies scaling their international sales.

Step 1: Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Before reaching out, know exactly who you want to sell to. Define key details such as:

  • Industry and company size

  • Region and time zone

  • Buying triggers (e.g., need for cost savings, scaling fast)

📌 Related: Why Asian IT Companies Struggle to Expand Globally

Transition tip: Once you know your ICP, moving to the next step becomes much easier.

Step 2: Map the Buyer Journey

Your buyers don’t decide overnight. They go through:

  1. Awareness (discovering your service)

  2. Consideration (comparing vendors)

  3. Decision (choosing a partner)

By mapping this journey, you can create content, case studies, and demos that meet them at each stage.

👉 Resource: Qualtrics’s Guide to Buyer Personas

Step 3: Build a Repeatable Outreach System

Consistency beats luck. Even without a sales manager, you can:

  • Use LinkedIn to send 20–30 personalized invites per week

  • Write follow-up emails with clear value propositions

  • Track all activities in a free CRM (HubSpot, Zoho, or Notion)

Transition tip: After you create a system, you must make sure it scales smoothly.

Step 4: Create Scalable Sales Collateral

Don’t reinvent the wheel with every lead. Prepare:

  • A short intro deck about your company

  • Case studies proving results

  • A simple ROI calculator for prospects

Step 5: Set Clear Metrics and Feedback Loops

Finally, measure what works. Track:

  • Response rates on LinkedIn and email

  • Meetings booked per week

  • Conversion rate from demo → closed deal

Even without a sales manager, you can review these numbers weekly and adjust. Over time, this process becomes your company’s playbook for international sales.

Conclusion

To summarize, you don’t need a big sales team to win global clients. Instead, you need structure. By following these five steps — from defining your ICP to setting metrics — you can build an international sales process that works, even without a sales manager.

👉 Ready to take action? Join our Thursday meeting to see these strategies in real-life examples.