Procurement Skills | Things you must know to participate in the Canton Fair

The Canton Fair, also known as the China Import and Export Fair, was founded on April 25, 1957. It is held in Guangzhou, China every spring and autumn. It is jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce and the People’s Government of Guangdong Province and undertaken by the China Foreign Trade Center. It is a comprehensive international trade event with the longest history, the highest level, the largest scale, the most complete product categories, the largest number of buyers, the widest distribution in countries and regions, and the best transaction results in China. It is known as the “China’s No. 1 Exhibition”.

The Canton Fair’s trade methods are flexible and diverse. In addition to traditional sample transactions, the Canton Fair also holds online trade fairs. The Canton Fair focuses on export trade and also does import business. Various forms of economic and technical cooperation and exchanges, as well as commodity inspection, insurance, and transportation, Advertising, consulting, and other business activities. The Canton Fair Complex is located on Pazhou Island, Guangzhou, with a total construction area of 1.1 million square meters, a total area of 338,000 square meters of indoor exhibition halls, and 43,600 square meters of outdoor exhibition halls.

From October 15th to 24th, 2020, the 128th China Import and Export Fair will be held online for 10 days.

Who are the buyers participating in the Canton Fair?

After years of observation and analysis, the customers who come to the Canton Fair are roughly divided into the following categories.

1. A merchant who just started doing business.

I didn’t know much about Chinese products before, so I just came to look at the Canton Fair. Such customers usually come with a few people, take pictures of everything they see with their cameras, and often fuss and greet each other. You pay attention to what they are talking about. Most of them are saying: You see, this product bought by a certain company here…… This type of customer looks cheap at everything, but they are surprised at MOQ. (I will talk about MOQ later)

You have to fight for such customers to take them to the factory. According to my observations, merchants who have not visited China many times are looking forward to going to the factory. But don’t sell him wrong things, so you can only do business.

2. Foreign factories.

I have been producing in my country before, and for various reasons, I have to come to China to find the same products to continue the business abroad. Such customers are experts in the industry and very picky. They only look at their products and are not interested in other products. They are looking for excellent collaborators. MOQ is not a big problem for them, but they usually want to make a small order to inspect the supplier first.

Suppose we can understand the customer’s company (sometimes the customer has his product catalog, he may show it to you. Or when he receives the guest’s business card and immediately ask colleagues to check it online). In that case, we must put a long line to catch the big fish, and we must grasp the quality. It will be a long-term cooperation process if this kind of guest recognizes you.

3. Traders who have been in the industry for some time.

They have already paid a certain amount of tuition. (“Tuition” is understandable, right?) I will be very careful. When negotiating, you should ask more, “what do you think is better”, “we can follow your requirements,” and so on. In every aspect, he felt that he could control everything and would not repeat past mistakes.

4. Senior traders.

The purpose of their coming to the Canton Fair is:

A. How many people are selling their products, see if they are expensive, see if their suppliers are a better choice, and see new designs for similar products.

B. While consolidating one’s products, see if other products can be developed.

If you are doing it before, you must tap the potential and introduce new products to him for such a customer. The price of old products can hold him down to feel that you are genuine and want to cooperate with him for a long time. In short Of gaining his trust.

If a new customer has never been, this is the time to fight the bayonet. First of all, we have to observe from a short contact, whether he has made this product before. When inquiring, you can ask directly before answering him. Usually, the merchant will tell you. If he says he has done it, you have to bite your teeth and keep the price to the lowest level, so he regrets it! When he is still sighing, you immediately hand over the second product to him at a lower price.

If he expresses interest, immediately ask him to sit down and put the backpack on the ground, never let him stand! No matter whether he sits down or not, you should block the entrance at this time! I need to bring something to my colleague and resolutely block the entrance! According to my experience, a client can go out if he is standing, but he will stay for a longer time if he sits down.

5. Hong Kong agent of foreign company.

They usually come on weekends. These people come to collect information and make simple inquiries. If I treat these guests, I will close my eyes and report blindly.

6. Hong Kong people who bring guests.

I was treated as a senior trader.

7. Blacks and Arabs.

Some people think that the Canton Fair is the same as the Yiwu market, and some people hope that the Canton Fair is the same as the Yiwu market. They usually ask if you can ship to Yiwu. Note a few points:

A. Ask him where to deliver the goods first. If it is Yiwu, you will add a small price.

B. At the same time, tell him that we also sell them on the Yiwu market (though there are none), but we only sell the second-grade defective products to Yiwu.

C. Ask him if he has bought it before and where he bought it. If he tells you to be in Yiwu, refer to A and B. there is no big deal when the goods are delivered to Yiwu, it is nothing more than a tax refund, so add this profit. The customer has to pay for the shipment in Yiwu. If he has a certain amount, he can tell him that he does not need to ship Yiwu’s goods. We can ship the goods directly and say to him that he does not need to pay.

Impressions of the Canton Fair

I have been to many exhibitions in the world. It can be said responsibly that the Canton Fair is the best light industry exhibition globally, where you can find everything from a small needle to a car. The Vietnam-India threat theory that has been widely circulated in recent years is still not established. There is no complete industrial chain in those countries, and many accessories and accessories are often imported from China. Of course, there are some specialty products that China does not have.

In my opinion, this situation will not change within 20 years. The only thing that can be compared is the Yiwu market, where all light industrial products are available. Still, Yiwu products’ quality is incomparable with the Canton Fair, and it is more suitable for some low-end customers. I heard an exciting thing in Yiwu. In some places, customers asked for a kind of compression packaging, which is to use a machine to compress the goods tightly to save volume. This is something I can’t understand. We all want to package a product the size of a matchbox into the size of a TV to be sold.

About foreign trade company

Since China’s liberalization of import and export rights, the foreign trade industry has been talking about foreign trade companies’ futures. I think that there is no need to worry about this in a short period of ten years. The reasons are as follows:

The factory has a single product and a big appetite. Often, customers cannot meet the factory’s requirements. The current economic situation has caused more and more small-scale foreign retailers to purchase goods in China to earn the skin that was pulled out of the importers in the past. Most of these merchants require less quantity and more variety. Even foreign wholesalers need more types and fewer amounts to avoid taking up a lot of money. Usually, a foreign trade company has several factories under it. If the merchant buys some goods in each factory, the total quantity will be more objective. All customers of the same foreign trade company add up to a considerable amount for the factory.

about that product

Chinese factories have low innovation capabilities, and most of them are imitating or adding some changes to imitating. Very lacking in design, often imitated to the point that the skin is not bone. I think the important thing here is that what Chinese designers lack is artistic quality.

This was cultivated in elementary school. There are several courses in foreign elementary school courses. One is the making course. Very young children learn how to make clay figures, origami, and paint. At the end of each semester, the school has significant homework done by hand, which allows parents to help. I have been to see, every piece of work is full of art and creation; they use some simple processing of waste products to create stunning results. The second is the musical instrument class. Every child has to choose a musical instrument. There are often performances in the school, and the younger children brag about it, but they are severe, and the audience will give warm applause. In contrast, Chinese children pay more attention to learning Austrian mathematics and composition, and they are less artistic.

Domestic products are too artisan, while foreign countries pursue simplicity. For example, in ceramics, resin, wood carving, and other industries, foreign painters often draw a beautiful product with a few strokes, while domestic painters are more rigid. To change this in the short term, I think that the best way is to go out of the country and look at the outside world to understand what foreign countries need and don’t work behind closed doors.

I must pay attention to quality. Because there are too many factories in China, the products are similar, and every county and town makes the same kind of products. Often, the factory managers come out to open the factory by themselves, pull some old customers from the previous factory, and sell the good things that the factory sells to the customers cheaply, and the products are getting cheaper. Often factories still have to put pressure on their meager profits; they can only start with quality, reduce a little weight, use a little bit of recycling, etc. The quality is a mess.

We often sigh with emotion when we are abroad; almost no products produced abroad are of low quality because no one dares to do it. Different in China, some people in China dare to do everything. It is this short-sighted behavior that harms Made in China. I have seen merchants arguing at the Canton Fair many times, mostly for quality. In fact, for most customers, regardless of what he said, the price difference within 5% does not matter at all, but the quality must be good.

Some exhibition details that need attention

1. Good mental outlook.

Take a shower every day, especially washing your hair! I don’t know if anyone has the same opinion as me. I have been observing the streets of Hong Kong for a long time, and I wondered why they are also Chinese, and why Hong Kong people seem so energetic. Later, I concluded that Hong Kong people pay much attention to bathing, especially washing their hair. Some people in China may not have this habit. They don’t shower every day, don’t change clothes often, and ignore combing their hair. Their shirts are also wrinkled and look unconscious. I don’t know much about Africa and South America. Europeans and Americans get up and shower every morning, and they must be refreshed when they go out. Hong Kongers do too. This is the first impression given to customers, so you need to pay attention to it.

2. About perfume.

Many Chinese are not used to perfume. I want to say that if you choose to make foreign trade, I hope you still have to change some small habits. Europeans and Americans do not go out without perfume every day. This is respect for people. Girls should also pay attention to makeup; plain makeup is not the best. In particular, if the female compatriots wear clothes with exposed arms, please shave their armpits. This is very indecent abroad.

3. Smile.

I have noticed a problem, and I don’t know if anyone feels the same. The Chinese are not good at smiling, smiles from the heart, not the kind of smiles that show too many teeth trained by the etiquette lady; the kind is too fake. Also, don’t frown when you are speaking, or frown if you don’t hear a word. Europeans and Americans will make their eyes wider under the same circumstances.

Europeans and Americans have vibrant facial expressions, and you can tell what they are thinking from their faces. I have seen an issue that is none other than you. There was a girl who returned from Australia looking for a job and finally quarreled with the host. That girl is too much influenced by foreigners. Her expressions are completely familiar foreigners, and the host is like a villain. If someone looks for a second while passing by your booth, you immediately smile and say hello, hand over a business card and ask him to come in and look. Be careful, don’t flatter, be decent.

4. Good memory.

It is the few people in each country who may buy your products. If you don’t buy it this year, you won’t believe it next year. If you can’t guarantee it, you will buy it next year. If you get a business card and have some conversations, keep in mind the person’s character and appearance. When he passes in front of you the next day, staring in his eyes, nodding and smiling, shows that you remember him. Once he is born, and the other is cooked, three times if he appears from the aisle in front of your booth, if you can call his name, I don’t believe that he won’t stop by your booth.

5. Persist in exhibiting.

For a customer, he needs a vital supplier. If you participate in every session, you will give him the confidence to cooperate with you. Every time you see a customer you have met, you will hand over a catalog to deepen your impression and let him know that you are an expert in this industry, so your hopes are much more significant. Many people at the exhibition come to collect catalogs and let them see your record every year, just like an advertisement, continually telling him that you are an expert in this industry.

6. Be kind to everyone who comes to your booth, whether it is Chinese or foreign.

In fact, many Chinese companies are doing very well in many countries, especially in the import and export industry. If you want to judge whether a competitor is coming in, you can politely ask which market the comer is in, or ask for a business card. And if you have a little more experience, you can make some distinctions from dressing, speaking, and behavior. Don’t think that your products are national defense secrets. The market is now very transparent. You think it’s challenging to operate exclusively on outcomes. What you need to compete is soft power. Also, don’t reject people thousands of miles away when you see China’s face, as long as they have the buyer’s certificate hanging on their chests, you have to let people come in.

7. Treat guests as friends.

You need to understand the geography of the world and remember the capital and characteristics of each country. Imagine that if a foreigner comes to you and tells you which country he is from, you will say, oh, XX country, XX is excellent (such as sports, historical sites), it shows that you have a particular understanding of the country, not I have never heard of it. If you can say hello in their country’s language, the atmosphere of negotiation will open up.

8. You must be very professional.

You have to understand your product and market. Don’t spend so much time playing games. The current technology is advanced, and the information we can grasp within one minute is not available in the previous year. Here I recommend you to use GOOGLE. The search results are entirely different from Baidu. I can say that Baidu is rubbish.

If you search for the languages of your products on GOOGLE, you probably know the market situation. You also need to know the estimated price to quote it without looking at the price list. At least I like to deal with such people. I don’t understand that it’s good to write the price directly on the product, why use the price list? (I’m afraid that the buyer will know the reserve price. It can be expressed in traditional Chinese or a set of alphabetic rules that only you can understand.) Another thing I don’t understand is that many people crackle and press the calculator when they quote.

9. The price of the first product must below.

Even if it is lower than the previous few quotations, even if you don’t make money, you can make money after you get the order. The authority will always have some moisture to squeeze. The first thing the customer asked was tentative. It was often something he had bought in other people’s homes. He knew its price well, so he used it to ask directions. You should also quickly explain the price conditions you quoted, such as packaging and other added value, and tell the customer how much you can subtract if you need it, so that the customer knows that you can cooperate according to his situation.

10. Don’t expect to receive orders at the show.

Customers need to consider and consider again. Usually, they will not place orders on-site. Indians prefer to place orders on-site. They are often large and huge orders, and they will not be executed anyway. In fact, I think that the name of the Canton Fair is not very accurate. It should be at the Guangzhou Exhibition. What you have to do at the exhibition is to exhibit, to show your products better to the merchants. Once the guest feels a little bit of interest, he will hit the snake and follow the stick, observe his words and take the guest to the list; it does not matter if the guest is not on the road, you have to ask when he will return to China and tell him when you will contact him. As if this list has been discussed