Several tips to help newcomers in foreign trade quickly understand products

For newcomers to the field, “familiarizing yourself with the product” is undoubtedly the first challenge to tackle. Only by fully understanding the product you are selling—including its features, selling points, and advantages—can you earn the trust of customers and drive sales. So, how can you quickly gain product knowledge? In this guide, we've gathered some practical tips to help new professionals get up to speed!


 
Make Full Use of Company Resources
 
Product Manuals and Guides: These are essential resources for in-depth understanding of the product, containing usage instructions, key features, and technical specifications. Reading product manuals allows you to quickly grasp the basics.
 
Training Materials: Most companies provide dedicated training materials or videos to help new employees understand the company’s products quickly. This is a great opportunity to learn the overall framework of the products.
 
Colleagues and Technical Departments: Actively engage with colleagues in the production and R&D departments and listen to their detailed explanations, especially regarding technical challenges and unique selling points. Regular discussions with technical staff can deepen your understanding of product features and provide professional support for future sales conversations.
 
Experience the Product Personally
 
Whenever possible, try using the product yourself to better understand its application scenarios and user experience. This not only helps you answer customer inquiries more confidently but also highlights potential benefits and possible user pain points. Additionally, if possible, visit the production facilities to learn about manufacturing processes and quality control standards—this can be very helpful when addressing customers' questions about production processes.
 
Understand the Product's Market Positioning
 
Analyze past customer feedback to identify key concerns and common issues, and observe how your sales colleagues address these challenges. Also, study competitors’ products to understand their selling points and advantages. Through comparison, you can pinpoint your product’s unique strengths and differentiation, allowing you to promote it with more confidence.
 
Develop a Sales Script
 
Once you've mastered the product knowledge, organize a complete sales script, including answers to common customer questions (such as price, quality, shipping, delivery time), summaries of product advantages, and after-sales support. Having a prepared script helps new sales professionals quickly get into the role and handle customer inquiries more effectively.
 
Advanced Techniques
 
To further advance in the industry, some advanced skills are also essential:
 
Process Knowledge: In many factories, mechanized production is common, so understanding the production process is also important for sales. For instance, if your company makes plastic products, you should be familiar with the types of film-blowing machines on the market, how different machines impact the product, and common production issues that may lead to quality defects. While this knowledge doesn’t directly determine orders, it can give you a professional edge in negotiations.
 
Cost Composition: Product costs comprise raw materials, labor, machinery, rent, utilities, and more. Though you don’t need to know precise calculations, understanding the cost structure helps you be more proactive.
 
Specifications and Packaging: Different markets have specific requirements for product specifications and packaging. Knowing these standards ensures that your product meets the needs of the target market, enhancing customer satisfaction.
 
Secondary Development: Secondary development can focus on aspects like appearance, functionality, and use cases, tailoring new selling points to customer groups. Often, secondary development can lead to new breakthroughs in product profitability and significantly boost profit margins.
 
The type of product and industry will shape which sales knowledge to prioritize. Newcomers should study product knowledge thoroughly based on product characteristics and industry traits, aiming to be professional and comprehensive in order to provide superior service to customers.