As a foreign trade person, you don’t even know how to classify and respond to inquiries?
Inquiries are usually sent by buyers to sellers to inquire about the price of a product. In a negotiation transaction, although the inquiry itself is not legally binding, it is a way to contact customers and an important means for us to investigate and explore market trends.
International trade negotiations are mainly conducted through emails, unlike domestic negotiations which are mostly conducted through telephone calls or face-to-face interviews. After all, emails are not as convenient, and emails are also a form of written proof.
I often hear foreign trade salesmen complain that "the quality of inquiries is not high", "there are inquiries but no conversions", "some Indian customers just come to compare prices" ... I believe everyone is familiar with it!
But are there only platform and customer problems? Are there really no problems with our own handling? What are the common problems that foreign trade salesmen encounter when responding to inquiries? Today, the editor will talk to you about:
People who do business are the same. When they receive an inquiry from a buyer, they will be very happy and reply to the other party immediately. However, many people are too happy and lack a systematic analysis process when replying to emails in a hurry, resulting in the content of the email being not well considered and the information not clear. Therefore, it is recommended that you spend 30 minutes to analyze the buyer's inquiry and the buyer after receiving the inquiry.
When doing business, we first classify the customers we come into contact with , such as end customers and traders, or big customers and small customers. The advantage of doing this is that we can make different quotations according to different customers .
Usually, for end customers, they pay more attention to the quality of the product rather than the price. For traders, the price may be what attracts their interest in the product.
Usually, after receiving an inquiry email from a customer, I will spend some time to visit the customer's website to understand what specific products the customer makes, and then give the customer a quote based on some of the highlights.
Nowadays, some salesmen are not willing to spend time to make a complete quotation when quoting, especially experienced salesmen, who often simply give a price to customers. However, customers often want to know more from the quotation, and they hope that you can send a detailed and complete quotation as much as possible . If you just perfunctorily do it, it will make customers stay away from you.
When doing business, you can't just rely on your own imagination. You have to think from the other party's perspective and what they will pay attention to. Don't just deal with the buyer, and don't write false information. Answer all the buyer's questions positively and completely, clearly state what you can do, and also state alternative solutions for what you can't do.
Many foreign trade salesmen do not do well in this regard. After quoting the price, they just sit and wait. Sometimes the customer is snatched away by others while you are waiting . Therefore, you must follow up with the customer in an organized manner after quoting the price. The customer may not reply because he did not receive the quotation, or because he thought the price was too high and did not reply, or because he received too many quotations and forgot about it.
In fact, inquiries also need to be classified and processed. How to classify inquiries? How to respond to different types of inquiries?
1. With a title - This is a more careful and polite guest who will add the recipient's title.
2. He tells you clearly what product he is interested in and asks you for a quote. He may be specific about the quantity, specifications, packaging, origin, quality standards, delivery time, relevant certificates, arrival port, etc. This means he is sincere in buying things.
3. Briefly introduce their company background - this shows that he is interested in arousing your interest and is willing to let you know more about him.
Buyer analysis:
Buyers who send this type of inquiry must have very clear and strong purchasing intentions . They understand the product and industry, and their requirements for suppliers must be professional . They are sensitive to price and also pay attention to product quality. So when replying to inquiries, you must show your professionalism and understanding of the product everywhere.
Response points:
1. Learn about the buyer's information indirectly through the buyer's introduction to you, such as searching the other party's company name on the Internet, checking the other party's website, and looking for clues on social media platforms to find out about the buyer's size, nature, business scope, etc.
2. Quote the actual price directly . With the development of e-commerce, it is rare for an inquiry to be sent to only one supplier. It is normal to shop around. Buyers don’t have time to bargain with you. If your price is too high for the same quality, then this inquiry may not be followed up.
3. Make sure to answer all the questions asked by the buyer in the inquiry.
4. Basic information that the buyer did not ask about should also be reflected , such as: product pictures, product names, product numbers, parameter specifications, certification information, unit price, quantity, payment methods, packaging, delivery period, transportation time, etc.
5. If the product the buyer is inquiring about has several models, you can quote separately for each model and do your best to allow the buyer to make the most worry-free choice.
6. Use more professional terms related to products and trade to show that you are professional and buyers can rest assured when buying from you.
7. Respond quickly . If you are a step slower, others may get there first.
8. Ask the customer to give you a response regardless of whether the price is acceptable or not , as this will help you understand if there is anything you need to improve (try to be as tactful as possible here, rather than flattering).
Tell you clearly what product you are interested in and ask for a quote, but no other information.
This type of buyer is often on the sidelines and comparing prices , and is not eager to purchase. Or they are not very professional buyers, and may just be new to the industry and need your guidance. This type of inquiry can be placed at the second priority, but do not underestimate Class B inquiries. When buyers determine their needs, your efforts in the early stages will bring you good results.
Buyer analysis:
If you are only clear about what products you want, it is often the stage of exploring the market and understanding the market situation. If it is a dealer, he must not have received orders from his customers. This type of buyer needs you to guide him, set up multiple-choice questions, and let him choose. Don't wait for the buyer to tell you what he wants. I believe that he has also sent this inquiry to N suppliers, so this is another time to test your response speed. The earlier you reach the other party's response, the more business opportunities you will have.
Response points:
1. Don’t assume that if the buyer is unclear about the quantity, you can be lazy and just quote a price. A professional quotation is a plus in the eyes of any buyer.
2. A gradient quotation can be used , with different purchase quantities and prices, to help buyers decide how much to purchase.
3. Recommend 1-2 similar products, give a brief quotation, and inform the buyer that if the buyer is interested, you can provide a detailed introduction and strive for a second contact opportunity.
4. Please respond to any needs of the buyer.
5. Be prepared for such inquiries. It is very likely that you will not get a response for a long time after you quote. Don't be impatient or disappointed. Please give the buyer time, because he needs to make a choice, or wait for the response of his customers, or prepare for future purchases. You can send another email 1-2 weeks after the quotation to inquire about the situation and express your attention to him.
Just tell you, I am interested in your product , please send me a quotation, similar to the second type of inquiry, but more vague in the direction of purchase. But please believe that customers who send inquiries must have a purpose, no one will send a few inquiries for fun, but he himself does not know what he wants. This type of buyer is often a dealer in the industry. What to purchase depends on what his customers want, so he needs your professional introduction and guidance, and then introduce it to his customers. If you want to win orders from this type of customer, you need to spend more time.
Buyer analysis:
Usually they are local dealers, and they don’t even have a specific industry, they just sell whatever makes money. This type of buyer needs your recommendation, and then recommends it to his customers. Since they are not professional, you need to be more considerate in introducing the product.
Response points:
1. You can introduce your company in more detail and tell him what products and services you can provide.
2. Recommend your most advantageous products to him , such as the ones with the best price, the best quality, the most suitable for the local market, the fastest delivery time, etc. Make a detailed introduction for each one, including product pictures, models, parameter specifications, certification information, unit price, minimum order quantity, packaging, etc. Make a form for him to sell to his customers, saving him effort.
3. Express that if you need a sample , please let you know and try to get in touch with them a second time.
4. This type of inquiry requires a longer waiting time than the second type of inquiry. When following up for the second time, do not directly ask about the last quotation, as this will make the buyer feel that you are forcing him to make a decision. In fact, at this stage, he is still waiting for his client's decision. You can greet him and tell him by the way that if there is any news, please let you know as soon as possible. If there is any demand for other products, please let you know as soon as possible. If you have a new product during this period, you can introduce it by the way.
1. Ask for samples, invitation letters, investment information, etc. right from the start .
2. Don’t mention the product or your company.
This type of inquiry does not rule out the possibility of fraudulent samples and invitation letters
Buyer analysis:
It is highly likely that they are not real buyers. You can try to reply once. If the other party does not mention the product and only wants an invitation letter or samples, you can basically give up and do not waste time on such inquiries.
Finally, buyers from different countries have different concerns. For example, European and American buyers pay attention to product quality and certification, so when quoting, put the product quality information and certification information first, and emphasize that your quality is better than others. Middle Eastern and African buyers pay attention to low prices and don’t care about quality, as long as it’s cheap, so when replying, quote the cheapest product to them, with the price at the top.
Finally, please note that when responding to inquiries: Reply in time! Reply in time! Reply in time! But don’t respond hastily! Don’t respond hastily! Don’t respond hastily! There is an essential difference between the two.
Because if you fail to respond in time and other suppliers grab the business opportunity, the order that originally belonged to you may slip away.
There are methods to follow in foreign trade. If you think that foreign trade depends only on experience and skills, then you are wrong. Foreign trade has a set of professional processes. Inquiries and responses have their own routines . As long as we are familiar with a few sentence patterns and remember the high-frequency words of foreign trade, foreign trade will be easier to get started.
As a foreign trade salesperson, you should pay attention to the points mentioned above every time you deal with customers. When you truly master the above techniques and turn them into habits, your inquiry response skills will be greatly improved.
