How we work - FAQs
Q: WHAT IS THE EASIEST WAY TO GET STARTED?
A: We encourage every Lithuanian company to showcase their products on the Lithuanian Marketplace. All you have to do is register to become a supplier. If you Contact Us and mention that you're from Lithuania, we can email you a promo code that takes a lot off the membership price.
Q: AS A LITHUANIAN COMPANY, WE WOULD LIKE TO INCREASE OUR SALES IN THE UNITED STATES. HOW CAN THE LITHUANIAN TRADE COUNCIL ASSIST?
A: The Lithuanian Trade Council offers two basic solutions: (1) we could establish a simple Representative Agreement whereby the Lithuanian Trade Council is paid a commission on the sales activity that we close. For example, if we market your products to a major retailer or grocery chain, we will strive to close a sale on your behalf. The commission is typically a small percent of product sales or; (2) a company may pay the Lithuanian Trade Council a monthly fee to work on your business full time with dedicated staff.
Q: WE HAVE AN EXISTING DISTRIBUTOR SELLING SOME OF OUR PRODUCTS TODAY IN THE U.S. HOW WOULD A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LITHUANIAN TRADE COUNCIL AFFECT OUR DISTRIBUTOR?
A: As the trade council, we believe it is wonderful you have a distributor in the U.S. Our objective is to establish strategic house accounts for you through major retailers like Walmart, Target and the larger grocery store chains that operate hundreds of stores. In fact, if we needed to fulfill an order with anything less than a 40ft shipping container, we would prefer to channel those orders to your distributor which brings added value to the relationship. In addition, we could order our samples from your distributor when products are already located in the U.S. We believe having a distributor in the U.S. is a win-win for everyone!
Q: HOW CAN THE LITHUANIAN TRADE COUNCIL SELL PRODUCTS TO MAJOR RETAILERS AS A 3RD PARTY WHEN EVERYONE IS TRYING TO ELIMINATE THE MIDDLEMAN?
A: Our preferred method is to actually approach the customer under your business name. For example, we represent companies in Lithuania who have listed us on their corporate website under “Contact Us” as their official U.S. office, and as an extension of their brand. They provide us with an email address from their server along with business cards featuring their logo. We may propose to establish a dedicated phone number for the business and answer all calls as the brand. This enables us to transparently engage buyers as the supplier’s brand for all U.S. business activities. For other supplier’s, we also promote as the Lithuanian Trade Council.
Q: ARE THERE ANY UPFRONT FEES TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE LITHUANIAN TRADE COUNCIL AND WHAT IS YOUR CORE FOCUS?
A: No, we are dedicated to helping companies like yours do business. Our core focus is to develop exports for your company.
Q: WE WOULD LIKE TO ESTABLISH A FORMAL BUSINESS ENTITY IN THE UNITED STATES. HOW CAN THE LITHUANIAN TRADE COUNCIL ASSIST?
A: The Lithuanian Trade Council has an attorney on staff that could register your business and fulfill the role as Maryland Agent for Service. This would require him to write the Articles of Incorporation for your business and file the proper documents at the State court house. After receipt confirmation that your business has been approved by the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation, we can then apply for a United States Federal Identification Number (also called an EIN Number). The EIN enables the business to open a bank account and facilitate payroll tax deposits should you wish to hire employees. After completing this process, your new company is fully capable to enter into business agreements with national customers, obtain auto and business liability insurance and more. In most cases, we also allow our clients to utilize the Lithuanian Trade Council’s business address as their mailing address.
Q: AS A PART OF OUR INVESTMENT TO EXPAND TO THE UNITED STATES, WE WOULD LIKE TO RELOCATE ONE OF OUR EMPLOYEES FROM LITHUANIA TO BALTIMORE TO HELP DEVELOP SALES FOR THE PRODUCTS WE MANUFACTURER OR PRODUCE. HOW CAN THE LITHUANIAN TRADE COUNCIL ASSIST?
A: We encourage this type of arrangement. It’s always beneficial to have a company representative in the U.S. who is the expert for the products you manufacturer or produce. While meeting with customers, your employee can explain the company’s history, culture along with all aspects of product manufacture, production capabilities and award-winning industry certificates. We can help with finding them an apartment to live and office space, enabling us to work closely together to develop a sales strategy, follow through on joint sales calls.
Q: WHAT OTHER SERVICES CAN THE LITHUANIAN TRADE COUNCIL PROVIDE?
A: We can provide assistance on many different levels including:
Working with retailers to support product returns, product warranty claims and local customer service support, spare parts fulfillment, warehousing and transportation solutions.
Providing intelligence as to your competitors.
Assisting with obtaining UPC bar code symbols for product packaging on the item level, inner pack, case packaging and pallet.
Storage of product samples and more.
Building a dealer network and product repair solution for various types of equipment.
HOW CAN WE GET STARTED?
Send us an email at info@lithuaniantradecouncil.com or enroll in the Supplier Registration. Someone from the Lithuanian Trade Council will then contact you. Thank You