Jay Finegan

Reagan's Secret Export Program

 

When Freeman walked into the Commerce Department office in New Orleans, he was unsure if anyone would even be interested in his company, which has only $3 million in sales. Instead, he found a T-man eager to help. The T-man loaded Freeman up with all manner of trade literature, and he put him in touch with several other small Louisiana companies already in the export game. "That really boosted our confidence," Freeman says.

Then one day last year, a telex arrived from Robert Winship, the US&FCS man in the American Embassy in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. The government there was looking for a radio telephone system for its capital. The call went out to Freeman Engineering, and before too long, Freeman found himself in the export business with a $130,000 contract.

Mind you, the experience was not without its costs or its hassles. Freeman had to send someone to Port Moresby to make sure the bid papers were in order -- Canadian and European companies were after the job, too. Finally, after the system was shipped this summer, he had to dispatch a technician to the South Pacific to help with the installation.

But as things stand, Freeman couldn't be more pleased. At around the same time, he landed another export contract, this one with the People's Republic of China, for $330,000. And he began to advertise heavily in the international trade press -- a move that has generated inquiries from Africa and the Middle East. "Exporting gets in your blood," he explains. "It has been a delightful change of pace for us."

Lee Jones, in Skokie, Ill., would certainly agree. Jones is director of international sales for Powers Process Controls, a manufacturer of control valves. Last year, he traveled to the Low Countries on a trade mission sponsored by US&FCS. And since then, he figures his $2,500 in travel expenses and fees have netted him about $130,000 in sales.

"In each location, we got a briefing on the economy, trends, and opportunities," Jones recallas of the five-day trip. "Then we had rep-arranged interviews with prospective distribution agents. All those people had been prequalified by the U.S. Commerce agents over there, so it wasn't like you walked off an airplane and simply picked up the Yellow Pages. It is the best program I've ever been involved with in terms of breaking into a new market."

He continues, "I figure it saved us maybe a year in terms of identifying, interviewing, and assigning representation. The other intangible was that it was all done under the auspices of the American Embassies, which brought a tremendous amount of credibility to a small company like ours trying to break into those markets. Without that, we probably would not have received the attention we did."

But the nice stories Jones and Freeman have to tell will remain largely that -- nice stories -- if there aren't more of them. And there won't be more until the government begins to do a better job of selling its export services to the 30,000 businesses that could use them. Oh, sure, there are the racks of brochures on display at your local federal building, and the Rotary Club speeches, and the "Send Your Hearts to Seoul" newspaper and magazine ads that occasionally run for free in the business press. There may even be free television ads that will run on Sunday mornings. Add it all together, however, and it comes to a rather feeble and unsophisticated marketing effort for a program in which the government has already invested six years of development costs -- one that holds the potential for generating $1 million in additional tax revenue for every $100 million in sales that it generates overseas.

Is this any way to fight the trade war?

The follows who fight the real wars sure wouldn't think so. Over at the Pentagon, they're spending a couple hundred million dollars each year to advertise for fresh recruits. They hire several slick Manhattan ad agencies to produce effective TV commercials. And then they run them when people are watching -- like during the Super Bowl and the NBA finals. Expensive? Yes. Also effective: the military meets its recruitment goals year after year.

No one is suggesting that the government's export program be advertised during the Super Bowl. But any sharp marketer could suggest an aggressive program of direct mail, advertising, public relations, and special events that could be tested and refined in small markets before being rolled out nationally. That's the way any good business would handle it, and for an Administration that once promised to bring business skills to government, it's surprising it hasn't given it a try. Quite the opposite, in fact. At a recent congressional hearing, a Commerce Department official actually boasted of how little the department was spending on its promotional efforts.

Mike Stevens is right when he says that our economic security is every bit as important as our military security, and deserves a similar level of commitment as military programs. For if our trade deficit is not brought under control sometime soon, the United States will be in the unenviable position of having a military establishment second to none, protecting and defending somebody else's assets.

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