Dear Friends,

Recently it is quite quiet for me as a sales...even not many inquiries from buyers...i am wondering if i have failed to make good use of Alibaba.....indeed, besides posting products and send messages to buyers, what can we also do to boost our sales and intrigue the interests of buyers to your products?

Moreover, even if i have replied the buyers with the quotation of products' prices, they simply ignore or even go away and never reply back......which is quite disappointing...

so, may i ask, how to make good use of Alibaba to boost your sale? observing those "successful case" in the frontpage of Alibaba, i am wondering if other users enjoy the same fruitful experience?

Honindco

Replying to [honindco]:i do not know what to say , i am also an user of Alibaba, it makes me dissapointed sometimes , few enquiries and fewer effective enquiries , i do get several orders from these enquiries , but no final buyer , most of them are trader , this way i have to wait and wait .

You can't expect a flood of inquiries right away - you have to work hard at developing a name for yourself, creating as many new relationships as possible, and once people know about you, then you can expect more inquiries (as long as you do all the other things right)!

Replying to [ChurchillUK]:good point.maybe I can try to do it !~~~~~

i am also an user of Alibaba, it makes me dissapointed , few enquiries and fewer effective enquiries!

Patience people, patience! In English we have the saying "Rome wasn't built in a day".

Replying to [ChurchillUK]:

Thank you very much for your advice.

However, i am wondering, how can people establish their good reputation in Alibaba?

Please kindly suggest

Honindco

I have been in alibaba for almost a year and I can say that our enquiries are seasonal. Sometimes we had quite periods and other time a flood of enquiries. This may be also due to our industry which focuses on metallurgy and also door hardware. We recently developed an Invisible automatic doors closing device which supports door weighing up to 150 kg. We even had a businessman coming from India who took a look at our drawing machine (for sale) and our innovation (The Invisible Automatic Door Closer). we are still waiting for his second arrival in Malta, nonetheless, I think that Company Presentation is quintessential and also follow up with the prospect. I try to not be a hard seller but also not so soft. I just want to prove my intentions and the genuinity of the sale

Although we have not upgraded yet, Upgrading to premium membership will inevitably boost your company image as well

Alibaba is an advertising stand in a very big marketplace. You need to shout to get noticed. It is great for buyers as they can make contacts quickly and easily for new products/services to add to their ranges, it is bad for them as they have no real idea as to the authenticity of the suppliers (Trustpass and Gold status help) or the reliability. From a supplier point of view you have the potential to get noticed by people who would normally have no idea you existed. Simply paying up and putting products on the site won't do it for most people. Word of mouth (WOM) is the most powerful tool in marketing so build relationshps with people you meet in alibaba and get them to recommend you to people they know who are not on alibaba. To do that be clear about what it is you are selling and who you are looking for in terms of a new customer.


Should buyers be ignoring you then a number of situations may have occurred.

1) They need to compare quotes and evaluate the information which takes time in most organisations.

2) They may have had too many replies as an example we posted a buying lead for ladies lingerie and received over 300 unique replies of which half sent at least two messages. We are simply not geared up to cope with that level of interest so it has taken a long time to deal with some of the replies. So check out who your competition is in alibaba for our core business there are not too many competitors for lingerie/ladies apparel their are nearly 2000 members who do this type of product.

3) They have bought elsewhere

4) They were getting samples / information for a future purchase.

5) Your approach initially put them off.

6) Your pricing is too high and you have been knocked out of the sales process already.

What you really want to know is are you still in with a chance of getting the order and if there is really an order in the pipeline. So ask the buyer questions that answer these qustions. When is delivery likely to need to happen, what currency will the transaction be in, which port do they wisj=h the goods to be shipped to, are they or you responsible for the shipping and its cost. Which bank will the letter of credit be drawn on. Can you do a credit check on their company. an you talk to them on a video link like skype. You et more out of a video link than a message link. If you are doing a video link make sure you have a female at your end and after the conversation ask them what they think. If you do not understand this then contact me directly. In sales terms these are called test closes they are phrases and questions designed to lead to a close for the sale.

I can not give more specific advicec without knowing what business you are in and what you are trying to acheive.

Hope this helps

Replying to [Trollslayer]:hello , this is Apple , i read your reply to the above tropic, could you pls add me into your contact list ?

Email removed by Admin. Do not post contact details.

Quoting from [honindco]:


However, i am wondering, how can people establish their good reputation in Alibaba?


Please kindly suggest

I think establishing a good reputation on Alibaba isn't it's main purpose. As you know, if you rip off a customer, or look like you might, then you quickly get attention in the forums. If you are a bad company, the truth will quickly be revealed. If you are in fact a reputable company, then maybe some of your clients will post messages verifying that you are in fact a reputable company.

Use Alibaba primarily to boost your contacts and network effectively, and once you have made these contacts, use traditional methods to maintain a good reputation.