How to respond when a foreign trade customer asks you to "consider it"? 8 tips to save an order worth 800,000 yuan!

"I'll think it over" - this sentence that foreign trade people love and hate, is it a polite refusal or a signal of a deal? Mr. Li, the foreign trade director of Qingdao Runze (who won 4 million orders in one year), said: "When customers hesitate, it is the golden period for demand to be exposed. Grasping the pain points can reverse the situation." This article combines the practical experience of many sales champions to reveal the whole process of psychological warfare from "considering" to "placing an order"!

🔎 1. What do customers think when they say "consider"? (90% of foreign trade people misjudge this!)

Customers say "consider" ≠ reject! Four hidden truths behind it:

• Unresolved concerns : doubts about price, quality, delivery time, and trustworthiness (accounting for more than 60%)

• Long decision-making process : The team/boss needs to make the final decision (common for large customers)

• Compare suppliers : secretly compare prices or evaluate alternatives

• The demand is not urgent : the procurement cycle has not yet arrived or the budget has not yet been approved

Case : A customer of Shenzhen electronic equipment merchant Mr. Chen did not respond for 3 days, and the salesperson thought it was "no chance" and gave up following up. After taking over, the sales champion checked the customs data and found that the Brazilian customer made regular purchases in October every year and was in the price comparison stage . In the end, he used precise sales tactics to win an order of 800,000!

🗣️ 2. 8 efficient reply techniques for sales champions (with Chinese and English templates)

Tip 1: Uncover the real point of resistance - let the customer speak up and expose their core concerns.

Talking skills:
"I totally understand you need time. Actually, 70% of our clients did the same before ordering. May I ask if your main concerns are about cost, product effectiveness, or trust in our company?"
(“I completely understand that you need time to think. In fact, 70% of our customers do this before placing an order. Is your main concern cost, product effectiveness, or trust in the company?”)

Key action: After presenting the option, keep silent and wait for the customer to answer! Effect: Quickly identify more than 60% of the customer's real obstacles, such as price or trust issues .

Tip 2: Set a time limit - break endless procrastination and create a sense of urgency.

Talking skills:
"Makes sense. If I don't hear back from you by July 30, what's the best step for me?"
(“Understood. If I don’t hear back by July 30, what next steps do you suggest I take?”)

Key action: Clarify deadlines and guide customers to take action. Results: In the case of German machinery orders, the response rate increased by 40%. .

Tip 3: Go straight to the decision-making chain - find the key decision makers and avoid ineffective communication.

Talking skills:
"Since this decision likely involves your team, who else should I provide details to? Any talking points that would help you convince them?"
(“Since the decision requires team participation, who else should I ask for the information I searched for? What key points can help you convince them?”)

Key actions: Use for purchasing managers or technical supervisors. Effect: Accelerate the decision-making process of major customers and reduce internal resistance .

Tip 4: Ask about specific considerations – Help clients clarify their thinking and facilitate on-the-spot decision-making.

Talking skills:
"Interesting. Can I ask what specifically you'll be thinking over? How can I help you think through those points right now?"
(“I see. What exactly are you thinking about? Can I help you think about these points now?”)

Key action: Guide the customer to tell the details and avoid hesitation. Effect: It is shown that this method can reduce the "procrastination trap" by 50% and allow customers to shift from passive thinking to active decision-making.

Tip 5: Express your views honestly - point out potential losses and inspire motivation for action.

Talking skills:
"Honestly, if you don't solve this issue now, you might lose [specific loss, eg, $50k in delays]. Would you like me to show how we fix it?"
(“Honestly, if you don’t fix this now, you could lose [specify the amount of loss, e.g., $50,000 in delays]. Do you want to see how we can resolve this?”)

Key actions: Focus on pain points and use data to support them. Results: It is pointed out that this technique can reverse 40% of the "no need" illusion and promote decisions by emphasizing losses (humans are twice as sensitive to losses as gains).

Tip 6: Guide the client to the next step - decide on actions together and avoid deadlocks.

Talking skills:
"Should we schedule a call next week, or would you prefer to finalize details now? What's the best next step together?"
(“Should we schedule a call for next week, or finalize the details now? What next steps do you suggest we take together?”)
Key action: Provide a choice between two options to create a sense of cooperation. Effect: It is shown that this method increases the response rate by 35% when following up with silent customers, avoiding communication interruptions.

Tip 7: Identify stakeholders – ensure buy-in and remove barriers to decision-making.

Talking skills:
“To make this smooth, who else needs to be involved? I can prepare a summary for them with key benefits.”
(“Who else needs to be involved in order to move forward? I can prepare a summary of the key benefits for them to consider.”)
Key Action: Identify and support the decision-making team. Effect: Emphasize that this technique shortens the decision-making cycle in complex procurement by 20% and wins trust by providing "persuasive ammunition".

Tip 8: Set a follow-up schedule - proactively control the pace to prevent opportunities from being lost.

Talking skills:
"I'll follow up with you on July 31. If I don't hear back, I'll assume you've moved on—but I hope we can connect before then!"
(“I’ll follow up with you on July 31st. If I don’t hear back, I’ll assume you’ve given up — but hopefully I’ll get in touch before then!”)

Key actions: Make the next contact time clear and create gentle pressure. Effect: Data shows that using CRM tools combined with this method can increase the response rate by 65% and prevent customers from being forgotten.

More high conversion words at a glance :

Scenario	Key phrases in English	Chinese essentials
The truth behind customer silence	"Is 'think it over' a polite way to say no?"	Avoid wasting time
Price objection	"If price weren't an issue, would other concerns remain?"	Isolation price factor
Promote on-the-spot decisions	"Should I keep following up, or can we finalize now?"	Pressure of choosing between two options

🔄 3. Follow-up skills: 4 tricks to turn customers from "considering" to "ordering"

1. In-depth background check to predict customer needs

• Tools : AB customer customs data (purchase volume/cycle), official website analysis (company size), LinkedIn (decision maker background)

• Case : Qingdao Runze's foreign trade director discovered through the client's official website that the client mainly deals in high-end home appliances. He immediately displayed the patent certificate and Haier cooperation case , and completed 2.9 million orders in 2 months.

2. Multi-channel reach to enhance presence

• Combination punch :

  ▶️ Email delivery industry report (with product matching analysis)

  ▶️ Send production line video via WhatsApp

  ▶️ Mail sample + handwritten card 8

• Data : Using the EDM + WhatsApp combination of CRM tools (such as AB Customer ) can increase customer response rate by 65%.

3. Create scarcity and trigger a sense of urgency

• Talking skills :

  “Just got notified that raw material costs will rise 8% next month. If you confirm within 3 days , I can lock the current price for you.”
  ("Just received a notice that the price of raw materials will increase by 8% next month. If you confirm within 3 days , we can lock in the current price for you.")

• Principle : Humans are twice as sensitive to "loss" as to "gain"!

4. Provide value and surpass competitors

• practice :

  ✅ Calculate TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) for customers:

  “Although the unit price is $2 higher, the service life is extended by 3 years, and the actual savings are $12,000 per year.”

  ✅ Free training : equipment operation tutorial, after-sales maintenance guide

• Effect : A furniture foreign trade company won a long-term order with a 15% premium.

💼 4. Actual case: A miraculous reversal from "Think about it again" to "Contract sent!"

Background : Sam, a German auto parts buyer, repeatedly said "I need to think" and did not respond to free samples.

Steps to break the sales champion :

1. Digging deeper : Customs data show that its annual purchase volume is US$20 million , mainly imported from China;

2. Reach out to people through substitution : Use the CRM " deep digging " function to find the technical director's email address and send a parts optimization plan ;

3. Pain point attack : Point out that the original supplier's delivery delay caused losses of $500,000/year;

4. Video factory inspection : Live broadcast showing the automated production line and the entire quality inspection process .

Result : A $7 million order was signed in 7 days and we became long-term partners.

💎 Conclusion: Customer hesitation is the starting point of a transaction, not the end!

" Consider it " is a key signal flare in the foreign trade battlefield - it exposes the customer's decision-making obstacles and gives you the opportunity to strike accurately. Using the right words to dig out pain points, using tools to do background checks, and using value instead of price pressure is the underlying logic of the sales champion.

As one of the 800,000 order savers in Shenzhen said: "Before giving up on a customer, use at least 3 contacts, 2 communication methods, and 1 value proposition." When you go one step further than your competitors, orders will naturally lean towards you!