A successful negotiation is extremely important for foreign traders. If you have solid negotiation skills, you will definitely achieve twice the result with half the effort in negotiating with clients.
In the foreign trade industry, the initial communication, negotiation, and completion of transactions with customers are all mental tasks of fighting against their fighting spirit. Sometimes, even though I feel like I'm communicating with a highly interested client, after a round of back and forth discussions about pricing, the client suddenly has no further response; Sometimes when you encounter clients with strong negotiation skills and the other party is still making things difficult, you will be at a disadvantage and the chances of success will become very slim.
What would you do if you encountered these problems? If you don't have any skills to rely on, it's difficult to make customers choose you among numerous options. Today, we will share some negotiation tips commonly used by foreign trade experts through this article, which are worth collecting and learning. Study carefully, you will be the one who completes the order tomorrow!
Tip 1: Understand the industry and customer information
If you don't even know your own industry, how can you provide customers with products that impress them? Looking at it from a different perspective, assuming we are customers ourselves, would you be attracted to a product that can be easily searched online, or would you be attracted to a unique and innovative product?
So understanding your industry and knowing how to identify trends in popular products is the first step in starting foreign trade.
1. Have a clear understanding of the price level in the industry and where your company's products are priced within the industry.
2. Understand the strengths of your company's products and what are the more attractive aspects compared to similar products from other companies.
3. Have a thorough understanding of the customer's local customs, company size, procurement habits, etc.
4. Understand the customer base that your product attracts and use it as an additional service during negotiations.
It is recommended to develop a habit of collecting customer information to facilitate understanding and analyzing customers. Moreover, with sufficient preparation, it will be a great help for both early communication and later negotiations.
Tip 2: Understand customer needs and categorize customer types
For customers, what they care most about is not how you are, but other information such as product quality, price, and transportation methods. In the process of communicating with customers, obtain customer information and divide them into whether they want to buy now, are comparing prices from three different sources, or are looking for backup product companies.
I don't know how to distinguish? Take a look at these relatively simple judgments:
If the customer has a good understanding of the required product information, uses concise language in communication, asks for key information points, proactively informs about the specifications and other information they want to purchase, responds frequently to messages, and may even want to communicate with you by phone, then there is no doubt that they are sincere customers who want to place an order now.
If the customer's intention is clear and requires detailed information. I will inquire deeply about information about your side and have a purchasing tendency. If you search for the other party and find that the company information matches well, it is usually a genuine customer who wants to buy.
There is also a relatively simple one. If you show a strong willingness to purchase your product, but when it comes to sending samples, and the customer is unwilling to pay for the sample and shipping fees, then it is probably not very sincere or urgent to place a purchase order now.
In short, it is essential to observe carefully in order to grasp the key points and facilitate cooperation in communication and negotiation with clients.
Tip 3: Analyze Prices and Develop Strategies
Doing business is a process of communication and game between people, and it is a psychological negotiation process. Based on consumer psychology, if the same product is classified into high, medium, and low prices, most consumers will choose the middle price because the middle option looks more cost-effective and attractive, and the probability of being selected will greatly increase.
If your product price is higher than the market price, it is recommended that you list some points to let customers know where it is expensive. After all, some customers like to compare prices from three different sources. If they see that your price is inflated, they may think that you are treating them as a "scapegoat". On the contrary, you should also let customers know why the price is lower than the market price, and try to explain as much as possible that your product will not be "counterfeit", in order to dispel customers' doubts about the price.
When consumers are unable to evaluate the value of a product, they usually look for familiar things to compare in order to better understand and determine whether your value range is reasonable. At this point, you need to provide them with a reference point, preferably a specific value or price comparison, to amplify the value or value of your product.
Another simple point is to develop different pricing strategies for customers in different regions. Different regions have different demands for products, and the premise of reaching a deal is that customers have a strong need and a desire to purchase. Different pricing strategies are mainly tailored to different demands, which will also make you twice as efficient.
Tip 4: Change communication channels in a timely manner
I believe many foreign trade professionals communicate with customers through email, but email is only one of the methods of customer communication. After all, sometimes if your written expression is not so authentic or does not conform to the customer's habits, you can also use some other tools, such as: ChatGPT、 http://Snov.io The email AI assistant is here to help you complete email writing. Of course, you may also be sending back and forth emails, and suddenly the customer won't reply to your email.
You may not know where you said the wrong thing, what happened to the customer, what type of product to recommend to the customer, how to communicate with the customer in the future, and so on. So, sometimes we can switch communication channels appropriately, such as making a phone call to the customer. If you are not so confident in your oral communication skills, you can also practice a few conversations before making a phone call.
If the other party has left a message, you should also fully express your intentions and questions before hanging up the phone.
Tip 5: Don't give in too early
Have you ever made such a mistake before? In negotiations with clients, if you make significant concessions from the beginning and show your "trump card" early on, not only will the client not buy it, but they will also suspect that your product is of poor quality.
This situation will put you in a very passive position, and sometimes even if you place an order, your profits will be suppressed very low. So before negotiating, we usually need to prepare three different prices: above ideal price, ideal price, and below ideal price.
At the beginning of negotiations with clients, you can first promote the advantages of the product, present a price list higher than the ideal price to the client, and see their reaction to this price. If the customer is very dissatisfied, then you can negotiate the price with the customer based on this price, lower the standard appropriately, and propose the ideal price to see if the customer can accept it.
The ideal price is usually the normal price of this product in the market, which many customers are willing to accept. If the customer is still unwilling to accept, they can consider quoting the lowest price to the other party again.
Tip 6: Learn to exchange conditions during negotiations
During the negotiation process, we are all prone to encountering tricky clients, who may even make some demands that make you feel embarrassed.
At this point, the principle of "one for one" can be adopted: while meeting one condition of the customer, you can also propose another condition that you want to meet. For example, if there is a slight compromise on the price, customers can be asked to increase their order volume or make changes in payment methods. Both parties can achieve satisfactory results by satisfying customers without suffering losses.
Never unconditionally agree to the other party, or refuse them without even considering their request when they first make it. This will not only worsen your company's reputation, but also trap you in a "dead loop" - receiving clients but not being able to reach a deal, and if the deal is successful, the other party will give you a bad evaluation and never cooperate again in the future.
Learn to exchange conditions appropriately and achieve a win-win situation with customers!
Tip 7: Manage Customer Expectations Well
Managing customer expectations is very important, do not let customers have expectations that exceed the company's capabilities. Some salespeople do not understand how to manage customer expectations, such as promising customers from the beginning that the "lowest price in the bank", "the product is of the best quality", "as long as they purchase this batch of goods, they will definitely sell well", and so on. Although it may seem appealing to you, can you really guarantee that the promises you make to your clients will become a reality? And after saying such frivolous words, customers may also have a lower impression of you.
Even customers may think that you can offer a lower price than the lowest price, after all, in business, customers definitely hope that the higher the cost-effectiveness, the better.
So if you encounter a situation where you can't handle it, you can give a small gift to the customer, implying that I also want to give it to you, but I really can't. I hope the customer can understand you and also comfortably place an order with you.
Tip 8: Make the customer feel like they are taking advantage of you
The 'big bargain' here does not really mean that you offer customers very low prices, but rather that customers not only buy good products from you, but also enjoy good services.
When doing business with foreigners, they usually like to get along equally and be respected. Even if you are negotiating in "deep water", don't forget to respect each other, listen carefully to each other's demands, and answer each of his questions. If your price target is achieved in this negotiation, but the customer feels that doing business with you does not seem to have any benefits afterwards, and it is the same who to cooperate with for the same product, then it is difficult to say whether he will place an order with you next time.
Tip 9: Don't waste customer time
Have you ever tried not arranging a time in advance before communicating with a client, not preparing an outline of the content of your communication, resulting in a lot of blank time during negotiations, especially during phone calls, which immediately lowers the other party's expectations of you and basically eliminates the need for further discussion.
So we usually make arrangements in advance. If you want to talk to him on the phone, make sure to schedule a time with him. Don't rush to call him without thinking about it. Also, before making a phone call to communicate, it is important to have a thorough understanding of the products, prices, company advantages, and other aspects of this negotiation. It is advisable to avoid answering common questions by saying, "You asked a good question, and I will give you an answer next time
Wasting customer time is a big taboo, as it not only makes them feel that your company lacks sincerity, but also makes them feel that you are unfamiliar with the business and an unreliable company that will not be on their consideration list.
Summary:
The above are some negotiation skills related to foreign trade. If you are a novice in foreign trade, you need to study these communication skills more seriously, after all, whether you can make a deal or not is 70% related to communication skills; If you have been working hard in the foreign trade industry for many years, then you will definitely agree with the skills I have shared.
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