Now that you have your Go-to-Market Strategy, start by going to the market.

As crucial as it is to develop your Go-to-Market strategy, there is still plenty of work to be done. If you haven't started visiting the new market already, plan to do so. Regularly. There will be many nuances, critical to executing your GTM strategy, which you will not pick up without being on the ground.

If you are relatively new to cross border business development, you will find yourself repeatedly encountering head-scratching interactions. Yes, some of that will be the result of language barriers. Despite English being the default language of international business, it will often be a second language for many people.

But, beyond language barriers, a lot of the head scratching will probably flow from how you perceive things—the result of the unconscious cultural lens through which you interpret the world. Ingrained assumptions about communication, negotiation, relational hierarchies, relationship-building, and professional interactions are deeply rooted in your native cultural context.

It will take time to acclimate and reshape your cultural lens. One way to accelerate and augment this learning curve and, ultimately, support your ability to execute your GTM strategy is to find help. That may be a consultant, a local hire, and eventually, a local partner. You will be looking for people who are culturally fluent in both camps. Bonus points for industry knowledge and experience, a deep rolodex, and a strong track record.

But it all starts with you getting on a plane and diving in.