*We cannot disclose company names here,
but please ask us if you wish for more details.

The company’s biggest setback was their lack of reputation in China. As traders, their competitors include other companies who trade the same products as well as producers who sell them in China directly. And who would buy from an unknown company when they could get the same products with a familiar one?
LITAO purchased data from Chinese customs on the biggest importers of best-performing meat products in China and contacted their sales and managers one by one to research best practices. Prior to representing the company at the SIAL Shanghai food exhibition, we developed various sales leads, registered and implemented a corporate WeChat Official Account for branding, set up a virtual office and data management system, and hired and trained loyal sales staff.
We knew our target clients were up-and-coming and relatively inexperienced Chinese sellers and importers, not huge established companies with their own networks, so we focused on selling to smaller companies. This meant targeting clients who did not speak English, who wanted easier cross-border payment solutions including WeChat and Alipay, who needed more explanations; we even provided them with B2B2C advice so they could market products better to their own consumers. The other risk with emerging companies, as always, is trust—Chinese clients usually pay upon product arrival, but through constant communication and follow-up, we convinced them to pay at least 30% upfront.

Key Takeaways:

In the month following the SIAL exhibition, our client made USD 500,000+ of turnover in China—a figure that truly came from nothing. They also left with 200+ workable contacts through the WeChat account, some of whom bought containers directly at the exhibition and some who later became loyal clients.