TOP 100 COMPANIES
good conversion rate. Once a warm lead is identified our Business Development Director in the relevant overseas office will work to convince the company to visit Northern Ireland to see what we have to offer. That can take many months. Sometimes we get lucky and contact a company just when it is about to embark on a project and they’re interested to know what Northern Ireland can offer. We also get unprompted requests for information from companies that want to find out about Northern Ireland as part of their global trawling. And occasionally we get a phone call from a company because a member of their staff has been involved in an investment in Northern Ireland when they worked somewhere else, and has been impressed enough to advocate for us. Usually however, it’s about convincing people to come and visit. TAILORING VISITS Every year we get over 100 visits from potential investors and each of these visits is tailored for the company. Depending on its nationality and interests we’ll involve politicians, the universities, other government departments, property developers, and specialist Invest NI staff. If the company is Indian we’ll involve representatives from the Indian community here and the same with Chinese and other nationalities. We’ll ensure that the company representatives see all the areas of Northern Ireland that meet their needs so that they can decide for themselves which region best suits. It’s also very important to involve other companies that have invested here so that they can share their experience of operating here. Their testimonial is hugely important to convincing investors of the benefits of setting up in Northern Ireland. Often the biggest challenge is getting past the cultural perceptions investors have about Northern Ireland, fuelled by negative media coverage. They need to be sure that this is a stable, business friendly environment and that there is no risk to them financially or to their brand.
Invest NI identified the data analytics sector early, leading to Deloitte’s decision to create 177 jobs.
Visits can take up to two days, but inevitably the companies go away impressed by what they’ve seen, and this first visit may be followed up by many others. Of course every visit doesn’t result in a project any more than every sales call results in a sale. However, if we succeed in impressing potential investors, that may result in an approach from them years down the line. KEEPING UP THE CONTACT Because it’s a long-term process our overseas people are working in a number of ways to keep the Northern Ireland profile high. Our overseas offices run roundtable events featuring expert speakers. By inviting companies along to these events we get to talk to them in a non-sales environment and that‘s very valuable in cultivating their awareness of Northern Ireland. Our politicians also play a key role during their overseas trips when they will visit companies to reinforce a positive image of Northern Ireland. We’ve also joined with Northern Irish Connections to get involved in a diaspora initiative to develop links throughout the world with Northern Irish people and people who have worked here, who can play a part in promoting this region.
“Typically it takes 18-24 months from first contact through to getting a signed investment agreement.”
REELING IT IN Having made the approach, got the visit and hopefully impressed the company we get down to the nitty gritty. We might start out being in competition with several other countries but gradually the company will whittle down the number of regions they are interested in. At this stage our investment managers will negotiate with the company on all the financial and non financial support that’s available. We operate under stringent EU guidelines so we need to get a balance between what the company wants and what we want. We want value for money for the tax payer so the potential investor must present a project that is viable and sustainable without our support. Our assistance is about convincing them to do more, faster. It’s important that we challenge the company. We’re looking for long-term sustainability not short term fixes. It’s about us proving that this location is viable for them, while they prove that their project is viable for us in the long term. So we do a lot of due diligence on new inward investors. Typically it takes 18-24 months from first contact through to getting a signed investment agreement. But that’s not the end of the story. Now our client teams take over and our account managers work to maintain the momentum and nurture the relationship that we’ve built up. This customer care helps to ensure that the investor has a good experience here and that often leads to reinvestment. For the international investment team it’s back to the start in the quest to secure the next investment for Northern Ireland.
AUGUST 2013 81