How To Request A Factory Quote & Get A Reply With 9 Point Sourcing Letter
When you email a factory and don’t get a reply – I guarantee it’s because you didn’t sound like a serious candidate. Most newbies write an inquiry letter.. like a newbie – your vocabulary and wording reveal it all! And newbies are a lot of work as customers because they have unreasonable expectations and require a lot of hand holding. They often don’t have a lot of money too and want to start small, with no viable plan to sell those products. Can you deny it? 😉
In this 5 min video I will list 9 things you should include in your REQUEST FOR QUOTE to a factory you are sourcing sent via email OR spoken over the phone. At the end of the video I will tell you 4 questions you can ask them as well to move the process forward
Click link to watch: https://youtu.be/uK3OnA_pN9I
If you want a sincere and speedy factory reply – you need to sound like a legit customer – ready to buy. The benefits of a well written letter will be:
- an actual reply from a factory
- knowledge that will help you decide if they are the right fit for you to work with
- better answers from a factory so you can move quicker
The key to a good factory inquiry that earns a reply is being 1) TO THE POINT and 2) TALKING IN INDUSTRY TERMINOLOGY 3) GIVE THEM ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS UPFRONT.
PROJECT SCOPE
In summary of the video you will need to address these things in your letter:
- Describe the product
- Volume in weight and size
- Packaging (and the video explains what elements to include)
- Features or callouts
- Quantity of your desired first order and annual volume
- Pictures of product
- Any special ingredients or piece parts
- Desired launch date
- Where you will sell it
P.S. This can also be used as a checklist in your notes when sourcing to be sure you have everything figured out between your different options.
QUESTIONS
There are also questions you can ask that will help you determine if a factory is a good fit, which will also indicate to them you are a good candidate. You can hear 4 of my suggested initial questions at the end of the 5 minute video I recorded (https://youtu.be/uK3OnA_pN9I) but the main thing to keep in mind is the importance of terminology. For example if you were selling a house as a Realtor – you would expect sincere and eager buyers to ask you about crucial information like about the quality of the schools, if the foundation had been checked for cracks or when the roof was last replaced. Those types of questions show they are aware of risks that could slow them down from picking the best house for them. People who are “just walking through to look” and have no intention to really buy quickly will not necessarily ask those type of questions. Write out some good questions using industry terms to increase the chance you get a reply.
The key to a good factory inquiry is being 1) TO THE POINT and 2) TALKING IN INDUSTRY TERMINOLOGY.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion the most important piece to getting a good reply and finding the right factory is being 1) to the point and 2) talking in industry terminology. If you craft a GREAT clear email and still don’t get a reply – they are probably too busy to talk with you right now. It could be busy season OR they could have employee transitions OR they already know by the info in your email you won’t be a good fit. You can either take it as a sign you need to search elsewhere OR consider emailing them back at a later time. Either way this list will help you find your ideal factory MORE quickly in the future. Happy hunting and I wish you the best going from START TO SOLD! Let me know how it goes in the comments!
