A mid-sized company in Germany needs a consultant with experience in UK market entry. The operations director finds an independent consultant in London whose case examples fit perfectly. She sends a message in German, then a shorter version in English, late in her afternoon. The consultant sees it the next morning, replies in English and suggests a call. By then, the director has already spoken to another consultant who replied the same day.
International prospects are an opportunity. Time zones and language make them easy to lose.
Why international prospects matter
Many consultants now work remotely with clients across borders. International engagements can be larger, and they open new markets. Prospects looking abroad often want specific expertise they cannot find locally.
What international prospects ask
- Do you work remotely?
- Which time zones can you cover?
- How do you invoice, and in which currency?
- What contract terms apply?
- Have you worked in our market or sector?
- Can you travel if needed?
- Can you work in our language?
Scoping across borders
Scoping is just as important for international enquiries, as described in consulting enquiries that need scoping before a call. International prospects may also be running formal procurement processes, so it is worth asking early, as described in proposal requests from prospects who are just browsing.
Time zones
Prospects write in their own working hours, which may be overnight for the consultant. Handling this is covered in serving customers in other time zones. Capturing the enquiry and replying first thing keeps the prospect engaged.
Answering in their language
SpideyChat for consultants replies in the prospect's language, using your own pages, and captures the brief: organisation, problem, timeline and budget range. You can then follow up in English or arrange a colleague who speaks the language.
Prospect (in German): Do you work with companies outside the UK? Assistant (in German): Yes. The services page explains that the consultant works remotely with clients across Europe, with visits where needed. Could you share a little about your company and the project, so the consultant can reply with relevant thoughts?
Recruitment and other cross-border services
Recruitment agencies face similar challenges with international candidates, as described in international candidates and multilingual enquiries. The lesson carries across: answer in the language people write in, and be clear about practicalities.
Contracts and invoicing
International clients often have their own procurement rules, contract templates and payment terms. Explaining how you usually contract, which currencies you invoice in and your standard payment terms helps prospects check whether it fits their process. It also prevents delays later, when a promising engagement stalls for weeks because the contract terms were never discussed.
Visits and remote work
Many international engagements mix remote work with occasional visits. Explaining how that usually works, and how travel costs are handled, answers a question that most international prospects have but rarely ask in the first message.
Practicalities on the website
A short section on working with international clients, covering remote working, time zones, currencies and contracts, answers most questions before they are asked.
A reply they can forward
International prospects often need to share the consultant's reply with colleagues or a board. A clear written summary of the approach, timing and costs, sent soon after the first contact, makes that easy and keeps the engagement moving.
Testing it
Write to your own website in another language and see what happens. Then add an international clients section. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about multilingual replies on the features page.