Having little knowledge of the Japanese market on the announcement of a major defence opportunity we had little time to engage with stakeholders such that they could recognise the value we could bring to the programme. With Simon's help we planned an engagement strategy that moved us from "...who are you..." to "...you are our preferred partner..." in the eyes of the major stakeholders within a 12 months period.

This was achieved very cost effectively, utilising Simon's knowledge of the correct cultural approach and breadth of stakeholders that we needed to engage in order to gain consensus regarding our offering and approach.

This methodology clearly works as on the other end of the scale with a small R&D project we managed to move from " ...industry does not approach the government like this with unsolicited proposals..." to the Japanese Government and industry opening up engagement and funding for a potential joint project.

These are just two examples of the opportunities that we managed to gain engagement on in a very short period of time, however we recognise that as with many defence markets, and possibly more so with Japan, that we need to sustain relationships over a long period of time. The flexible business model offered by Chelton Consulting allowed us to move at our own pace, whilst encouraging a route for us to grow an independent local presence in the future.