Selling Business-to-Business
You can break down business-to-business (B2B) selling into the broad categories of products and services: The large product categories of B2B sales in China are
| ✓ | Product components |
| ✓ | Raw materials |
| ✓ | Capital equipment (such as factory machines and telecom equipment) |
On the service side, businesses are commonly selling other businesses the following:
| ✓ | Consulting |
| ✓ | Software/IT outsourcing |
| ✓ | Financial services |
Businesses’ purchasing decisions are more complex than consumers’. If you’re selling to state-owned enterprises (SOEs), you have to sell at multiple layers of the same organization. That’s because SOEs have a number of people involved in making purchasing decisions. Therefore, building good and trusting relationships with these people is important.
Private companies’ purchasing decisions are generally all made by one person — the owner. Don’t waste time pitching to middle-level employees. Employees usually have little empowerment in Chinese companies.
In open, competitive industries (such as garment industries), companies are used to and are reasonably receptive to cold-calling. However, in certain industries dominated by large companies that the government highly regulates and protects (such as in oil production), you need introductions to get in the door because they operate in a more “members-only” type of environment.
Here are some tips for courting B2B sales:
| ✓ | When selling to businesses, have a nice, glossy brochure. Fortunately, you can print them in China for a good deal less than in the West. |
| ✓ | Chinese companies are open to speaking with your existing customers for references. If possible, make that step easy for them and bring them around to meet some of your customers. |
| ✓ | The Chinese are beginning to enjoy traveling. Organizing business/leisure conferences for large customers can be effective, and this method is becoming more common. |