Practice makes perfect. Receiving overseas customers is a challenging job. Even experienced cross-border e-commerce salesmen must be cautious and not take it lightly. For novice salesmen, it is necessary to be highly focused and careful. It is completely understandable that you are both excited and nervous when participating in the reception of overseas customers. Especially for small-scale cross-border e-commerce companies, there is often no detailed and standardized formal business reception business process. On the one hand, novice salesmen have to rely on the company boss or business manager to personally impart some experience, and on the other hand, they have to participate in the formal business reception throughout the process. In practice, they actively cooperate with the members of the reception team, actively communicate, and constantly explore, accumulate and summarize. These are all effective means to improve comprehensive business capabilities.
In cross-border e-commerce business, there are generally two basic processes for the formal business reception of overseas customers: one is to conduct formal business talks after visiting the factory; the other is to focus on formal business talks.
1. Pick up at the airport and check in at the hotel
One or two days before the arrival of overseas customers, confirm relevant information with the customers to ensure that there will be no omissions when we pick them up at the airport. When meeting the customer at the airport, you must arrive at the airport in advance and prepare the pick-up sign. Do not let the customer wait for a long time at the airport. After meeting the customer, greet him/her, send him/her to the hotel, assist him/her with the check-in procedures, check in and rest, and communicate with the customer about the subsequent itinerary arrangements.
2. Formal business talks
(1) Meeting etiquette for formal business receptions.
After the customer arrives at the company, the two parties will have a formal meeting. Formal meeting etiquette requires great attention. Formal meetings usually start with a welcome ceremony. The welcome ceremony can be large or small depending on the situation. If conditions permit, a ceremony of appropriate scale can express our attention and courtesy to overseas customers and make overseas customers feel respected.
During the formal meeting stage, personal image preparation is the first priority. Appearance should be neat and generous, optimistic and calm. Be friendly, natural, kind and patient, and keep smiling. Women can wear light makeup and perfume appropriately, but heavy makeup and exaggerated clothing are strictly prohibited. Salesmen should dress appropriately in formal meetings, and should not exceed three colors on their body. They should be polite and courteous in speech, professional in language, clear in articulation, steady in speech speed, and fresh in breath. Whether standing, sitting, or walking, they should be dignified and steady, and maintain a reasonable distance in communication. In particular, they should avoid some bad little movements, such as frowning, squinting, and picking their ears.
In the formal meeting stage, appropriate titles are a reflection of cultivation and professionalism. How to address overseas customers is a relatively important matter. Inappropriate titles can easily make people uncomfortable and even lead to negative emotions. When dealing with overseas customers, you should especially address the other party as Mr. or Ms., such as Mr. or Ms. Handshake is an indispensable courtesy in the process of welcoming overseas customers. The order of handshakes should follow the principle of “the most respected one comes first”, that is, overseas customers should make a handshake first, the elderly should make a handshake first, women should make a handshake first, and those with higher positions should make a handshake first. As our reception staff, we don’t need to extend our hands before overseas customers extend their hands, so as to avoid unnecessary embarrassment. When shaking hands with others, you should smile, make natural and friendly eye contact with the other party, and warm greetings are also essential. A tight handshake is of course impolite, but a firm and strong handshake can express the initiative and positive attitude of cooperation.
When handing out business cards, there is also a sequence. Generally, people of lower status take the initiative to hand over business cards to people of higher status, men take the initiative to hand over business cards to women, and young people take the initiative to hand over business cards to older people. If the visitors are a team, you should take the initiative to hand over your business card to those with higher positions or older people. If you really can’t tell the position and age, you can hand over your business card according to the seating order, giving one to each person present on the other side, so as not to favor one over the other. Of course, when handing out business cards, you should smile, face the name on the business card to the other party, and present it with both hands. When accepting a customer’s business card, you should also stand up or bow, smile, take it with both hands, and read the business card carefully from beginning to end in silence, intending to show your attention. You should take the initiative to ask the other party for help if you don’t know the words. If necessary, you can also read out the important content on the business card. Generally, you need to read out the other party’s position, title, and professional title to show your admiration. Then solemnly put it in the business card holder and express your gratitude.
(2) Visit the office.
After the overseas customer arrives at the company, the first thing to do is to take the customer to visit the office environment. While visiting each department, explain the responsibilities of this department and let the customer understand the company’s office process. The purpose of visiting the sample room is to allow customers to personally touch the company’s products, fully understand the company’s products, and truly perceive the advantages and characteristics of the products. Among them, the layout of the sample room, including the lighting effect, the way of displaying samples, such as placing them on a special sample cabinet, using special sample packaging, and providing Chinese and English instructions, will affect the impression and feelings of overseas customers. At this time, you can introduce the after-sales service provided by the company to overseas customers, and clearly tell customers how to solve and deal with problems if there are any problems with the product, so as to reduce customers’ worries and concerns. Next, if the factory is in production, you can take the customer to see the raw material warehouse and product production workshop to let the customer see all aspects of product production and packaging. When visiting different areas, you should grasp the time and rhythm, take a proper rest during the visit, and do not let the customer feel that the visit process is rushed.
(3) Formal meeting process
The process and details of the formal meeting with overseas customers are shown in Figure 5-3 and Table 5-2.
The meeting process of overseas customers generally includes the introduction of the company’s development history and current situation, the company’s PPT presentation and video presentation, business cooperation negotiation, etc., and also includes visiting the product sample room and visiting the factory. These parts can be staggered or carried out at the same time, but the following points should be noted.
First, after the overseas customers and all the participants are seated, the business personnel who receive the overseas customers are often the host of the meeting. They should stand up and introduce themselves first, then introduce other leaders and colleagues of the company to the overseas customers in order of rank, and then introduce the overseas customers to the company leaders and colleagues.
Second, the host of the meeting will explain the theme of the entire meeting. At this time, relevant personnel should be arranged to translate for the overseas customers so that the understanding and cognition of both parties are consistent.
Third, the company introduction link. Generally, a company profile presentation report based on PPT is adopted. During the presentation or explanation, if conditions permit, a video presentation can also be made. When introducing the business project to be negotiated, you can slow down your speech speed, especially the key content, and give customers enough time to think and understand; when introducing the company’s advantages, especially successful business cases, the speech speed must also be slowed down, and when introducing unimportant content, the speech speed can be accelerated; during the explanation process, you must listen carefully to the questions raised by customers at any time and give timely answers. If you are not sure about the questions, you can ask the leaders and colleagues present to answer them, and at the same time provide translation assistance.
Fourth, new overseas customers usually introduce the relevant situation of their company after the host introduces the relevant situation of our company. At this time, the salesperson should do the corresponding translation work.
Fifth, project negotiation. This link is the top priority, aiming to maximize the satisfaction of overseas customers with this trip and confidence in future cooperation or in-depth cooperation. This link can also be used for certain exchanges and communications during the period of leading customers to visit the sample room. However, the final project confirmation must still be carried out in the conference room. Keep the atmosphere of the meeting relaxed and pleasant. There should be staff at the scene of the meeting to provide professional services at any time, assist in providing tea, coffee, information, auxiliary equipment playback, etc., and conduct on-site filming and video recording. The process of formal business negotiations is also a good opportunity to deeply understand and analyze the types of overseas customers, and accordingly adopt corresponding negotiation strategies (see Table 5-3).
3. Visit and inspect the factory
When overseas customers visit, they are likely to ask to visit and inspect the factory. When overseas customers visit and inspect the factory, they mainly review or evaluate the factory according to certain standards, look at the factory’s production equipment, production lines, labor conditions, product quality, etc., to determine whether there is sufficient production capacity and performance capacity. Generally speaking, when overseas customers visit and inspect the factory, it means that they are very interested in the product and hope to cooperate. Therefore, the salesperson must carefully prepare the arrangements for the factory visit and inspection. When accompanying overseas customers to visit and inspect the factory, the focus is on the factory’s production capacity, products, various production equipment and other content closely related to production. The main task of the salesperson is to pay attention to the reactions of overseas customers, answer their questions in a timely manner, and eliminate their doubts. The process of receiving overseas customers to visit and inspect the factory is shown in Figure 5-4.
According to the itinerary plan, after accompanying overseas customers to the factory, the salesperson must accompany them throughout the whole process. It is best to visit the factory in the order of the production process, which will help customers understand the entire production process more clearly. The reception details for visiting the factory are shown in Table 5-4.
Overseas customers are most concerned about the product. The factory visit should focus on the product. The factory’s quality control process and details, processing process and details, testing equipment used, product performance and technical parameters may all be the focus of customer attention. Of course, the factory’s safety precautions and health and hygiene are relatively intuitive. When understanding the factory’s production experience, history and current situation, customers can mainly understand the product production line, production experience, production capacity and scale, the appearance of the sample, the quality of the internal structure and components, packaging methods, container capacity, various certifications obtained by the product and the cost-effectiveness of the product. In addition, if conditions permit, customers can also be arranged to observe the operation and testing process of the product, such as from the loading of raw materials on the machine, to semi-finished products, to product delivery, while watching and explaining, or overseas customers can be invited to personally test the product on site, so as to fully demonstrate all the details of the product that customers care about, and fully reflect professionalism and dedication. Of course, some overseas customers may also come to the factory to understand the factory employee management situation, such as whether the working hours, wages, benefits, etc. are standardized.
During the on-site visit, the paper materials shown to overseas customers should be bound as beautifully as possible. When communicating with customers, if there is something they don’t understand, ask the customer to repeat or slow down or write it down with a pen, and don’t ignore any details. If it is time to eat when visiting the factory, you can arrange a simple meal nearby, but you must communicate well with the customer and respect the customer’s religious beliefs and eating habits.
4. Formal banquet
For overseas customers who come from afar, generally speaking, after a formal business meeting or visiting the factory, you should do your best to host a banquet for overseas customers. When hosting a formal banquet, you should pay attention to the following points.
① The restaurant must have an elegant environment, Chinese characteristics, safety and hygiene.
② It is best to ask overseas customers if they have any taboos or allergies when choosing dishes. Some overseas customers are vegetarians, and these special situations should be taken care of.
③ In addition to chopsticks, tableware should also be equipped with knives and forks. Many overseas customers do not know how to use chopsticks, which can avoid embarrassment. Special situations should be taken care of.
④ Desserts and drinks. Do not force overseas customers to drink. Beer or cola are fine according to their preferences. Pure juice is also a good choice. The choice of overseas customers should be respected. It is best to order some desserts or fruits after the meal.
After the formal banquet, if the overseas customers are interested and time permits, some leisure and entertainment activities can be arranged, such as visiting nearby special attractions, inviting customers to taste tea, etc.
5. Farewell to overseas customers
The return journey of overseas customers should also be properly arranged to make good connections with the next itinerary. Before the overseas customers leave, or within one or two days after the overseas customers leave, be sure to organize the records of the factory visit and the minutes of the formal talks, and follow up with the overseas customers. In short, everything should make the overseas customers feel that our reception is decent and comfortable. Finally, send an email to express your sincere greetings and thank the overseas customers for their visit. Send factory visit records, meeting records, photos, videos, etc. to customers and follow up in time to lay the foundation for future cooperation and development.