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Key takeaways
- An enquiry is a conversation, not an order. The order comes from screening the buyer, replying with proof, sampling on terms, quoting on a named Incoterm and securing payment.
- On a first order, quote FCA or FOB in one currency with a validity date. Avoid EXW and DDP until you know the destination market.
- With an unknown buyer, take advance payment or a confirmed letter of credit. Open account comes after a clean payment history, ideally with ECGC cover.
- Reply in the buyer’s morning, follow up on a fixed cadence and keep the trial order small enough to deliver perfectly. Repeat orders are where exporting pays.
Knowing how to get export orders is a different skill from finding a buyer. An enquiry is only a conversation; the order comes from how you screen, reply, sample, quote and secure payment. Here is the route from a first overseas enquiry to a confirmed purchase order, written for Indian manufacturers shipping their first order or their fifth.
How to get export orders from foreign buyers once an enquiry lands?
Treat the enquiry as a screening process, not a quote request. Qualify the buyer, reply with proof, send samples on clear terms, quote on a named Incoterm, secure the payment, then run a small trial order. Orders come from that sequence. They rarely come from one brilliant email.
Most first-time exporters lose the order in the gaps between those steps: a slow reply, a vague quote, a sample with no specification, a payment term nobody agreed. Before any of it you need an Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) from DGFT and the right HS code for your product. DGFT’s How to Export guide covers both, along with Incoterms and documentation. If you do not yet have buyers to convert, start with how to find buyers for export. This post assumes an enquiry is already in your inbox, whether it came from a marketplace, your website, a trade fair or outreach.
How do you qualify an export inquiry before spending money on it?
Ask six questions before you quote: who the company is, the end use, the country, the annual volume, the specification or target price, and who handles import clearance. A real buyer answers. A fake one dodges, pushes for a free sample or asks you to pay a third party first.
Three kinds of enquiry waste most exporters’ time. The first is the fake buyer: a free-mail address, no company website, an urgent large order and a request to pay for something up front, such as a courier or an inspection fee. The second is the sample collector, who wants free samples of everything and never orders. The third is the trading-company middleman. Traders are not scammers, but they quote your price to their own buyer and often want your name hidden, so ask who the end user is and decide whether you want to sell that way. Apply the same filter to a marketplace lead, a form on your own website and a LinkedIn message. Check the company in its country’s registry, look for a real team on LinkedIn, and ask what they currently buy and from where.
What should your first reply to a foreign buyer say?
It should prove you are real, capable and easy to work with, in one email. Answer the technical question first, then show certifications, capacity, two or three export references and a plant photo or video. End with questions that move the deal forward. Send it within the buyer’s working day.
Specifics beat adjectives. Name your certifications (ISO 9001, IATF 16949 for auto parts, AS9100 for aerospace, CE where the product needs it), your capacity (machines, monthly output, shifts), MOQ, standard lead time and the countries you already ship to. Offer references only with the customer’s permission, and sign an NDA before sharing drawings. A site that carries these facts lets the buyer verify you before they reply, which is the thinking behind manufacturing websites built for RFQs. Finish with three questions: the application, the annual quantity and the target delivery date. Those answers let you price properly.
Should you send free samples to a foreign buyer?
Not by default. Send samples against a written specification, charge for them or make the cost refundable against the first order, and have the buyer pay courier through their own account. A free sample with no spec is a lottery ticket for the buyer. A workable policy fits on one page:
- Spec first. Confirm model, grade, size, finish and packaging in writing before you make anything.
- Two identical sets. One goes to the buyer, one stays on your shelf, so you can compare when production starts.
- A small fee, credited back. It filters out collectors and is deducted from the first order.
- Written approval. The buyer’s approval email becomes the reference. Mass production must match the approved sample.
How do you quote an export order: Incoterms, price and currency?
Quote on a named Incoterm, in one currency, with a validity date. The Incoterm decides who pays freight, who carries risk in transit and where your responsibility ends. On a first order, FCA or FOB keeps your exposure limited. Avoid DDP until you know the destination’s duties and clearance well.
The ICC’s Incoterms 2020 rules define eleven terms; the table covers the ones first-time exporters meet most. Every quote should carry unit price, MOQ, packaging, lead time, HS code, Incoterm and named place, currency, payment terms and validity, commonly 15 to 30 days because raw-material prices move. Quote in USD, EUR, GBP or AED to suit the buyer, and say what happens if the rupee moves sharply. Ask a forwarder for current freight before you quote CFR or CIF.
| Incoterm | You (seller) handle | Buyer handles | Risk passes to buyer | First-order note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXW (Ex Works) | Goods ready at your factory | Loading, export clearance, freight, import | At your premises | Avoid: export clearance falls to the buyer, awkward from India |
| FCA (Free Carrier) | Export clearance, delivery to buyer’s carrier | Main freight, insurance, import | At handover to the carrier | Safest default for most goods |
| FOB (Free On Board) | Export clearance, loading on the vessel | Sea freight, insurance, import | When goods are on board | Sea freight only; widely understood |
| CFR (Cost and Freight) | FOB duties plus sea freight to the port | Insurance, import | When goods are on board | Freight cost is yours to estimate |
| CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) | CFR plus minimum cargo insurance | Import, onward delivery | When goods are on board | Common buyer ask; check the cover |
| DAP (Delivered at Place) | Freight to the named place, ready to unload | Import clearance, duties, unloading | At the named destination | Only with a trusted forwarder |
| DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) | Everything, including import duty | Unloading | At the named destination | Avoid on first orders: unknown duties |
Which payment terms are safe for a first export order?
For a first order with an unknown buyer, take advance payment or a confirmed letter of credit. After several clean orders, move to documentary collection, then to open account with credit insurance. Never ship on open account to a buyer you have not checked.
Advance payment carries no risk for you, though buyers resist it; a common compromise is a deposit with the balance before shipment. A letter of credit means a bank commits to pay when you present compliant documents, and an Indian bank can add its confirmation so you do not rely on the buyer’s bank. Documentary collection (D/P or D/A) is cheaper, but no bank guarantees payment. Open account means you ship and the buyer pays in 30, 60 or 90 days, which wins orders and carries the most risk. If you must offer it, ECGC, the government export credit insurer, covers buyer non-payment through its policies. Write the agreed term into the proforma invoice and the contract so nobody argues later.
A purchase order is a promise. A cleared advance or a confirmed letter of credit is money. On a first export order, wait for the money.— Murtaza Udaypurwala, DESENO
Which compliance documents does a foreign buyer expect?
Expect to supply a commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, bill of lading or airway bill and your product test or conformity papers. The buyer’s customs broker will name anything extra. Ask early, because a missing certificate stops a shipment as surely as a missing product.
Shipping documents are routine once you have an IEC and a forwarder. Market rules are what surprise people. Europe expects CE marking and a declaration of conformity for many product groups, and chemicals face REACH. Britain runs its own marking regime. The US regulates food, drugs and medical devices through the FDA. Gulf buyers often ask for attested certificates. Ask which standards apply in the buyer’s market, write them into the quote, and make sure the lead time includes testing.
How do you follow up across time zones and win the repeat order?
Follow up on a fixed cadence and time emails for the buyer’s morning. Ask a useful question on day 2, send a certificate or drawing on day 5 to 7, ask about timeline on day 14, and remind the buyer before price validity lapses. Then land a small trial order, because repeat orders are where exporting pays.
Time zones help if you use them. Send to Europe around midday IST and to New York around 6 pm IST, so your message sits at the top of the inbox when the buyer’s day starts. Our guide to quotation follow-up has the templates. For the trial order, agree the inspection standard before production, for example an AQL level or a third-party pre-shipment inspection, and keep the order small enough to deliver perfectly. If enquiries are too few to practise any of this, a verified outbound programme such as our B2B email outreach for manufacturers can fill the top of the funnel.
The bottom line
Export orders are won in the steps after the enquiry. Screen the buyer, reply with proof in their working day, sample against a spec, quote on FCA or FOB with a validity date, and take advance or a confirmed letter of credit first. Deliver a small trial order flawlessly, and the repeat order will usually follow.
Frequently asked questions
How to get export orders from foreign buyers?
Find qualified buyers, screen each enquiry, and reply quickly with specifications, certifications and capacity. Send paid or refundable samples against a written spec, quote on a named Incoterm, and secure payment through advance or a confirmed letter of credit. Deliver a small trial order perfectly. Repeat orders follow reliable delivery, clean documents and fast, clear communication.
How to get your first export order?
Get your IEC and HS code, pick two or three target countries, and build a list of real importers. Reach them through outreach, directories, councils or trade fairs. Expect months between first reply and first purchase order, because samples, approvals and payment terms come first. Keep the first order small, take secure payment and over-deliver on quality and dates.
How do you get export orders online?
Combine a website with spec tables, certifications and a quote form, marketplace listings, RFQ boards and direct outreach to named buyers. Online leads vary in quality, so screen each one with company, end use and annual volume questions before quoting. Fast replies in the buyer’s working hours convert far more online enquiries than a lower price does.
What is an export inquiry and how should you reply?
An export inquiry is a foreign buyer’s request for product information or a quote. Reply within their working day. Answer the technical question, show certifications, capacity and export references, state MOQ and lead time, and ask about application, annual quantity and delivery date. Do not send a final price until you know the specification and the Incoterm.
Which Incoterm is best for a first export order?
FCA or FOB suits most first orders. You clear the goods for export and hand them to the buyer’s carrier or load them on the vessel, and the buyer carries freight and insurance. Avoid EXW, because export clearance falls to the buyer, and avoid DDP until you understand the destination’s duties and clearance.
How do you avoid non-payment on an export order?
Check the buyer’s company details, take advance payment or a confirmed letter of credit on early orders, and put payment terms in writing on the proforma invoice. Move to documentary collection or open account only after clean history, and consider ECGC credit insurance for open-account sales. Never release full goods or original documents before payment terms are met.
How DESENO can help
