Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Michael Savage has accompanied a delegation of nine businesses on a Trade Mission to Dublin, as part of the Sales Acceleration Programme.
The Sales Acceleration Programme is a collaborative initiative between Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council. It provides assistance to SMEs to explore, target and convert new sales opportunities in the Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland or Great Britain markets, via workshops, 1:2:1 mentoring and trade missions.
In total the businesses conducted 33 sales meetings during the Trade Mission to Dublin. Prior to the trip, sales prospecting was conducted by each of the businesses to secure pre-arranged meetings with Dublin based businesses. Mentoring was then provided to the participants to help with pitching their products or services to the potential clients.
Chairperson, Councillor Michael Savage said, “Trade Missions are a fantastic opportunity for businesses to meet potential new contacts and forge links for the development and growth of the participants. I am delighted with the engagement of all involved and particularly the skills and confidence the business owners have developed. Having spoken to the businesses, they are very much encouraged by the future cross border trade they have secured as a result of their attendance.”
Civic duties conducted in Dublin included meetings with Dublin Chamber of Commerce and an appointment with Lord Mayor, Alison Gilliland at the Mansion House, in a bid to explore the potential to maximize business opportunities. Given the geographic links Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has as a border region, it is keen to promote new opportunities with Dublin based businesses and continue to forge links to promote growth and development in readiness for exporting.
With 99 businesses already benefiting from the Sales Accelerator Programme to date, 50 are based in Newry, Mourne and Down and aim to create 121 jobs within the district. For more details on the Sales Accelerator Programme see https://nmdbusiness.org/sales-accelerator-programme. Alternatively, call 0330 137 4000 and ask to speak to a member of the Business Development team.
The Sales Accelerator Programme is part-funded by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, Invest NI and the European Regional Development Fund under the Investment for Growth & Jobs Northern Ireland [2014 – 2020] Programme.
