I am away from Pakistan for last three years now and i am working in GULF, here what i have experienced and seen is, our EMBASSY (PAKISTANI) is just working as a Point of Contact to the government(or probably i m calling for more)

While when we look at our competitive neighbor who is whopping ahead of us ONLY FOR ONE BIG REASON, that is .. “THEIR EMBASSY IS ACTIVELY PURSUING THE INTEREST OF THEIR INDUSTRY ACCORDING TO THE LOCAL MARKET REQUIREMENTS”

here are some of the important steps they have taken

1. They have websites working under the control of embassy, which provides all information about job seeking to accommodation to every thing.

2. You face any problem just goto embassy they have committees formed (OUTSIDE EMBASSY STAFF) to help the residents in the region.

3. The ambassador and his team is actively working on HOW TO MARKET THEIR HUMAN RESOURCE IN THE EMERGING DEMANDS, THEY GO TO SEE BIG MULTINATIONALS AND LOCAL TYCOONS TO ASK THEM PERSONALLY THAT WHAT KIND OF LABOR OR PROFESSIONALS ARE REQUIRED and THEY MAKE THEIR DEMAND

4. THE HELP OF EMBASSY IN ACTIVELY HELPING COMPANIES SPECIALLY IN IT PRODUCTION FIELD, IS AMAZING

now

i just want to ask the GOVT, or the concerned authorities when they are ready to learn ?? this is not a big deal, this is just about taking an initiative. They can join in Symposiums, they can help in calling local Pakistani companies to join the FAIRS and other events, PSEB can sponsor them to come and market the products and i am very very sure that Our professionals ARE NOT LESS THAN ANY ONE ELSE IN THE WORLD (IF NOT BETTER) and i have seen products sold near million $s are actually CRAP just nothing else..

Good luck to us

Certification assistance is both good and necessary but not sufficient to help the industry realize its immediate potential.

The most immediate challenges are to be found in regard to sales and marketing. These challenges are often larger than individual company capabilities and resources.

The process of creating and maintaining sales and marketing initiatives at PSEB and at individual companies is neither quick nor easy. But it is absolutely necessary. Clients do not grow on trees. They come in through dedicated efforts over a long period of time.

The procurement cycle for IT projects can be 6-18 months after solid leads have been identified in Western markets, which itself is an expensive and time consuming activity. I would question our understanding of sales and marketing processes and our understanding of what is needed to be truly successful in those areas. I would also question the commitment of resources for sales and marketing assistance.

There are longstanding traditions of looking down on sales and marketing in favour of engineering activities. But without increased attention on sales and marketing, everything else is at risk of becoming irrelevant.

Let us identify deficiencies and move to correct them.

Correction does not and cannot involve the types of activities that were in vogue several years back. The last two years have seen substantial changes in sales and marketing methods, supply chains and ROIs for different activities.

In Pakistan, approaches to sales and marketing in the IT sector are not out of place with the approaches that would have been used to sell products and services in the B2B field 80 years ago. They are labour intensive, relatively low-tech and frequently ignore how international business is conducted today.

As Oprah would say, it’s time for a time-warp makeover in Pakistan.