If the foreign trade company and the customer are “equal”, then the network is the matchmaker, and the factory is the most crucial link to promote this good marriage. However, be careful that the person who finally helps you “make the final decision” may also dig into your wall and turn your partner away. Many people say that the relationship between foreign trade companies and factories is like fish and water. However, this is not the case. Foreign trade companies can not leave factories, but factories can leave foreign trade companies and have “private intercourse” with your customers, which has a myriad of relationships.
How to make foreign trade companies not wear this “green hat” and how to make your customers not “come out of the wall” depends on how you maintain good relations with suppliers.
The author has been in a foreign trade company for four years, and I think there are three stages of preparatory work:
1、 Preliminary preparation
1. Establish one’s “irreplaceable” position
When I was doing foreign trade, I always met with a very bad factory, and I didn’t want to accept your order on the pretext that your order was too small and the delivery time was too short. In general, they will think that you are a dispensable customer, and even want to skip you and communicate directly with the customer. In this case, you should let the factory know that you have many customers on hand and the list is very large. But how can you make them feel your importance without revealing it? Generally speaking, you can communicate more with the factory in the early stage, increase the number of enquiries or quotations, etc. This will make the factory feel that you can bring him a lot of customers and are very strong, so that he will not rob customers, because he is afraid of offending you, and the result will not be compensated.
2. A soldier is a crafty man
Many times, guests ask to see the factory for inspection. As a foreign trade company, how can you steal the day? In this case, all materials related to the factory name can be removed and some samples can be printed in advance; Take some photos in advance and hang them in the factory, so you can know it’s your own person; If conditions permit, take a photo of your own office and hang it in the factory. You can temporarily hang it when you go to see the factory, or you can make a sign yourself, write the company name and hang it in the factory.
3. Cooperation between the inside and the outside
When visitors visit the factory, they must not be accompanied by the factory’s sales personnel, especially those who can speak foreign languages. Instead, we should go to the management personnel, ask them to arrange personnel, and tell the factory that this customer is brought by other companies, and do not get involved. Moreover, we must communicate well with this personnel before the customer comes. Even if he understands the meaning of the customer, he cannot answer without authorization. He must understand our translation before answering; In addition, we should also have a good relationship with the interpreters. This is an emotional marketing process.
2、 Interim work
1. Follow one’s shadow
Generally speaking, there are two people in the factory or in the inspection. If a customer needs to go to other places under special circumstances, I advise you to follow him, even if you go to the toilet. Maybe your customers were taken away by the salesmen who went to the factory to “hush hush” when “people have three urgent needs”. If you find a foreign trade salesman approaching, you must give a timely warning. You can usually say: do you have anything to report? I have customers here. I’ll talk later. If it’s urgent, you can go to the boss.
2. Put an end to “many people are polite but not strange”
It must be emphasized here that never shake hands with people in the factory. Why? Have you ever seen people in your company shake hands when they meet? This also gives the customer the false impression that they are the same company.
3. Many people have great power
When taking guests to the factory, don’t accompany them alone, because when you serve the master with tea and water, the “Hunter” of the factory may have already targeted your “prey”. It’s best that you get familiar with the factory environment before the guests come. It’s best to sit in the same familiar feeling as in your own home.
4. Be careful. Walls have ears
If the customer wants to quote on the spot after reading the factory, he should inform the factory in advance and add his own Commission. And it’s better not to be in front of the factory’s sales personnel, so as not to let them sit down and start the next cooperation after knowing the profit.
3、 Post work
After the guests leave, the foreign trade company must take the initiative to reflect the situation of the guests to the factory, which is to express that it is on the same line with the factory and is beneficial to share. It is also convenient to make inquiries from the factory or show the customers to the factory in the future.
The former foreign trade company of Xiaobian often went missing after asking the factory for the price. When the customers had objections to the price, they inquired and discussed with the factory, and then there was no news again. The factory hates this kind of behavior and feels that it is just a quotation tool. In fact, they say it’s difficult to find customers. In fact, it’s very difficult to find a factory that works well with them and maintain good relations.
Post time: Aug-26-2022