Export sales teams on Alibaba.com, Made-in-China, trade shows and their own websites receive inquiries that range from a serious buyer with a specification to a one-line "price?" from a competitor. The usual replies are either a long company introduction nobody reads or a price with no questions asked. This skill reads the inquiry, judges its quality, and writes a reply that answers what was asked, qualifies the buyer and moves to a quotation, in English for the buyer and Chinese for the team.
Write the reply in English unless the buyer wrote in another language, with a Chinese version (Chinese reference) and the analysis in Simplified Chinese. For the formal quotation sheet, use cn-trade-quotation. Export controls, sanctions and destination restrictions are checked by the company's compliance process; this skill flags them but does not clear them.
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided, otherwise infer and label the assumption:
- The inquiry: the full text, the platform or channel, the buyer's name, company, country and email domain
- Product: model, specifications, certifications (CE, FCC, RoHS and so on), MOQ, lead time, capacity
- Pricing position: an indicative price range and Incoterm, or "do not quote yet"
- Company facts: factory or trading company, years, key markets, sample policy
- History: first contact or a follow-up; previous replies
Output Structure
1. Inquiry Analysis
| Dimension | Assessment | Basis | Inquiry quality (specific or generic), likely buyer type (importer, distributor, retailer, end user, sourcing agent, possibly a competitor fishing for prices), urgency, red flags (free email with a big-company name, unrealistic volumes, requests to pay fees or click links). A priority: High, Medium, Low.
2. Reply Email (English)
- Subject line that repeats the buyer's product and adds one concrete point
- Opening that answers their question directly in the first two lines
- Two or three relevant facts (not a company history): certification, capacity, a similar market served
- Three qualifying questions (quantity, target price or market, required certifications, delivery port and timing)
- A clear next step: samples, a call, or a formal quotation once the questions are answered
- Signature with name, title, WhatsApp or WeChat if used About 120 to 180 words. Plain business English; no "Dear Sir/Madam" when the name is known.
3. Chinese Reference
The same email in Chinese for the sales manager to check.
4. Pricing Strategy Recommendations
Whether to give a range now or wait for answers, how to anchor (quantity tiers, Incoterm choice), and what not to concede in the first reply.
5. Follow-up Cadence
| Day | Content | Channel | For example day 3, day 7, day 14, each adding something new (a photo, a case, a stock update), not "just following up".
6. Compliance Reminders (To Be Verified)
Flags for destination country, end use or product category that need a sanctions or export-control check before quoting, and a reminder to verify the buyer's company independently.
Quality Checks
- The reply answers the buyer's question in the first two lines
- At least three qualifying questions are asked
- The email is under about 180 words and specific to the inquiry
- Red flags and buyer type are assessed
- The Chinese version matches the English
- Compliance flags are raised where relevant and marked to confirm
Anti-Patterns
- The company brochure reply. Buyers skim; answer first.
- Quoting the lowest price immediately. Without quantity and terms, you set a floor you cannot raise.
- Copy-paste replies. Buyers send the same inquiry to many suppliers and can tell.
- "Just following up." Each follow-up should add value.
- Ignoring red flags. Fake buyers and phishing are common on trade platforms.
Example Trigger Phrases
- "An inquiry came in on Alibaba.com, the customer is in Germany, asking about LED strip prices and MOQ, how should I reply?"
- "The customer only sent one line: please send price list. How should I reply to get more information?"
- "Help me write an English email to follow up with a US customer who hasn't replied for two weeks."
- "This inquiry looks like a competitor fishing for prices, how do I judge that?"
- "Reply to this export inquiry in English with a Chinese version."