How to Sell Overseas, No Matter Company Size

According to the release, the 25-employee company provides equipment and services to remanufacture 22 off-highway mining trucks for the Australia's Downer EDI Mining -- a sale that is the largest in Royal Equipment's history.

The bank has plans to approve $30 billion in total small-business transactions. (As of Sept. 1, transactions totaled $13.2 billion.)

Top export markets for U.S. goods, as measured by the largest annualized increase in purchases by the Export-Import Bank, were:

■ Turkey (51%)

■ Panama (36.3%)

■ South Africa (36.1%)

■ Argentina (35.1%)

■ Peru (33.8%)

■ Brazil (30.2%)

■ Thailand (29%)

■ Hong Kong (28.8%)

■ Taiwan (28.5%)

■ Egypt (26.8%)

Still, exporting is not for everyone. A pizza shop on Long Island is not about to start selling their product internationally.

Smaller companies with annual revenue between $3 million and $50 million are typically in good position to expand into exporting, says Mark Luppi, head of business banking at HSBC Bank USA, a subsidiary of HSBC (Stock Quote: HBC). (The international company also works with midsized firms and large corporations.)

"They've got their operation up and running and are looking to grow it to another level," Luppi says of businesses at that size. "From an industry perspective it runs the gamut."

"The key here is to do your homework. You really need to think about: 'How am I going to get paid? How do I make sure those dollars are really here before I send that product? Do I understand the trade rules of a specific country? Things like that are crucially important," Luppi says. "It's helpful to work with a bank that has the expertise that can walk you through the details of that and make the process much simpler for you."

HSBC launched Business Without Borders on Monday to help small businesses expand to international markets with news and tools such as the Global Opportunity Tool, which allows users to identify prospects for expansion by specific countries.

"The tool can help identify that and where they have needs for your particular product or service," Luppi says.

Expanding internationally can put a small business on "equal footing with these larger corporations," Luppi says. "Small businesses can also be more nimble and cost effective in providing services overseas. It really creates a more level playing field in the international space."

It's also easy for a small company to fail if it expands too far or to a market that has no demand," Hamm notes.

"Small companies need to have a clear plan and a really economic justification for going global. It is not as easy as selling in this country. It is not as easy as shipping in this country. And you better have something special to offer another country that for the most part that marketplace can't acquire locally," Hamm says.