Doing Business in China

Import Export Businesses (Cold)-Calling All Clients Desperately Seeking Imports Selling Yourself

(Cold)-Calling All Clients
Cold-calling, so-called because you call a potential client "cold" without any warming up by prior contact, is an alternative to the direct-mail approach. The good news is that, if you're calling locally, it's usually cheaper than direct mail. The bad news is that it requires much more perseverance to be effective. The other good news, however, is that, done properly, a cold call can be much more effective than direct mail.

Before you make your first call, be sure you know what you want to say and how you want to say it. Some experts recommend writing out a sort of "script" that you can follow during the course of your call. This is a good starting-off exercise to help plan your spiel, but be aware of the fact that following a script has its drawbacks. The main one is that the person you're calling doesn't know he's supposed to be following the script, too, and when he gets off track, so do you.

How do you go about finding goods to bring stateside? You have several options:

Travel abroad on an import search mission.
Wait for foreign manufacturers to contact you.
Attend trade shows.
Contact foreign embassies' trade development offices.
Contact the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Association.
Track down leads on the Internet and in trade publications.

Selling Yourself
You've located foreign manufacturers or suppliers whose products have U.S. sales potential. Now you have to sell them on the idea of entering the U.S. marketplace and convince them that you're the person to usher them in. How do you do this? Basically, the same way you'll pitch domestic manufacturers, with a direct-mail campaign. Only in this case, you'll do better to think of it as a direct fax letter. Although many traders rely on international mail, unless you're sending to regions or countries with highly developed infrastructures, such as Canada or Western Europe, you'll be much more assured of your missive reaching its destination if you send it by fax.

In your letter, outline the various opportunities available in the United States for the product and highlight that you'll handle all import logistics with little cost to the manufacturer. It's very similar to the export letter, with two exceptions:

You should address the letter recipient. For example, use Monsieur (abbreviated M.) instead of "Mr." if the recipient is French. Even though your letter is in English, this little touch shows that you do know something about the French language and that you've taken the care and courtesy to address the recipient in his own tongue.
Check to make sure you've eliminated any slang that may be confusing to non-natives.

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