First, new freight forwarders often have the following problems in quotation: 1, ignorance of the market and blind quotation. Many newcomers don't have a good understanding of their products, prices, main target markets and peer quotations, and they don't know as much about customers as possible. This makes us lose the initiative to deal with customers. For example, when we robbed the phone, we didn't know the customer yet, so we called when we got the phone number. A phone call to brag about how powerful the company is. As a result, when the customer asked about the price, he didn't know how to quote, so he had to check the information or ask for an inquiry from his peers. This gives customers the impression that they are unprofessional and finally get nothing.
2, there is no effective way to find the gap. In the process of quotation, there is no specific analysis of specific problems, and we blindly pursue "one size fits all". I didn't classify customers by grades, I just scratched my beard and eyebrows. Finally, I ended up making a comeback, the price was quoted, and people ran away.
3. Do not dig deep into customers, lack of customer tracking. The main body of the market is commodities, and the owners of commodities are people, that is, people (businessmen) in the market, that is, what we call customers. Only by occupying customers will we occupy the market. However, we are behind the times in this respect. Almost none of the more than 20 customers we contacted followed through. After people asked us questions and answered them, they all stopped following up. Even if they followed up, they didn't dig deep. Causing customers to be unfamiliar with customers and acquaintances.
Second, how to make an inquiry:
There are tens of millions of freight forwarders in this market, many of whom are not transportation agents or gambling companies. How to get a good price to improve the competitiveness of our products is a big problem faced by every freight forwarder. In the face of peers, first, we should pay attention to the accumulation of relationships, the survival of the fittest, and selectively retain bookmakers with strong strength or special line advantages to keep in touch. Second, grasp the psychology of peers, be sure when making the order, and let him give the lowest price, but the simple inquiry should not be too thorough. Third, the delivery feedback after inquiry, this is an essential communication with peers, be honest with each other, analyze and solve problems together, and never let me give you the goods. It was my uncle's idea. It is best to become good friends with peers.
Facing shipowners, because the particularity of shipping industry determines the dominance of shipping companies, we usually choose to find shipping companies to direct prices and establish good cooperative relations in the off-season and when we have a certain amount of pallets in hand; . Second, when making an inquiry to the shipowner, it is necessary to provide detailed pallet information, deepen trust and grasp the psychological characteristics of the shipowner in the off-season. After the final inquiry, reply to an e-mail immediately to inform the inquiry details. Don't underestimate an email. Again, only if you value others will others value you equally.
Other places to pay attention to:
(1) Because our company's business focuses on agents and direct customers, it is inevitable to ask for regular prices, especially for the goods designated by agents, and the delivery rate after inquiry is bound to be relatively low, so we need to communicate with our partners, otherwise the other party will easily get bored and eventually ignore our inquiry and quote at will, which will push themselves to a dead end;
(2) Inquiry should pay attention to skills. For example, if a new agent asks the prices of all cabinets at a point with low delivery possibility, they will think that you are making a general inquiry and will not make a serious offer. At this time, you can try to ask a cabinet of your peers, and finally ask other cabinets by the way. Usually at this time, they will patiently quote you, and the price reliability is relatively high;
(3) Some quotations can refer to Maersk's website system, such as Chongqing freight rate. If you can't find the quotation of Chongqing freight forwarder at the moment, you can find the approximate barge cost from Chongqing to Shanghai through Maersk's website, and infer the basis of Chongqing freight rate by combining the price from Shanghai.
Third, how to quote:
A lot has been said above, and today's focus has finally come out, that is, how to quote customers. I think this is the most concerned point for the majority of newcomers.
Facing direct customers: we must remember the words fast, hard and accurate. Quick: The fastest response is the first magic weapon to win. If you are a guest, call the inquiry number and you will get the answer at that time. Do you feel that this salesman is very skilled in business? For such a company, you are naturally assured of shipping. Accuracy: An accurate understanding of the market is an important prerequisite for winning the initiative of quotation. Accurate quotation will definitely make you stand out from the competition with your peers. Perseverance: know yourself and yourself, and fight every battle! Fully understand the market and strive for maximum profit for yourself. Business is to make money, and Lei Feng has to eat. Since we are doing business outside, we should strive for the maximum profit for our bosom friends. In the actual quotation process, we can first find out the prices directly issued by 3-4 shipowners, and then go to the market to ask the prices issued by peers, plus appropriate profits to quote customers. Customers will know whether they are satisfied with the price, they have a high probability of success, and they can give customers effective suggestions or opinions.
Facing peers:
(1) Selectively accept the inquiry, and maximize the utilization within the limited time and market resources. Do not consider non-dominant routes or cannot find the best peer price in the market.
(2) Focus on making inquiries from foreign counterparts, and strive for business by using the asymmetry of information.
(3) The degree of freedom in grasping the profit of peer quotation is relatively low, depending on the timing.
Pay attention to the following points when quoting:
(1) standardize the quotation format, especially for foreign agents, and try to form their own set of formats, giving people a professional and clear feeling;
(2) When quoting, it is not necessary to be too detailed about some information that is not the key concern of the guests, such as the shipowner, so as to avoid the passive situation caused by the change of voyage price;
(3) The validity period shall be indicated when quoting. If you are not sure about the validity period of the freight rate, you can make a statement based on the final confirmation and try your best to take the initiative.
(4) It doesn't matter if the quotation is wrong. If the price difference is relatively small, you can stay put first. If the customer has further inquiry, you can make adjustments on the grounds that the validity period or surcharge changes; If the price difference is large, you need to quote the customer again at the revised price immediately and explain your mistakes reasonably.
(5) Having our own price list is an important factor for us to make a good inquiry and quotation, which requires us to accumulate enough freight rate information in our usual work to ensure the smooth flow of freight rate sources and always grasp the advantageous freight rates in the market!
Only by this article, I hope that the majority of colleagues will talk about your experience and complement each other. It is also a kind of help for newcomers.