Chapter 5
Counter-offers
Section I. Warming-up Questions
◆ After the offeree receives an offer, will
the business come to a conclusion? If not,
what steps would perhaps be involved
then?
◆ Are there any thing in common
between the process of counter-offer
in foreign trade and bargaining in our
daily life?
Section II. Basic Knowledge
•
When an offer is received by a buyer, there would be
three possible consequences：
– the first one is that the buyer agrees with the quotation or the
offer informs the offerer of concluding the transaction;
– the second one is that the buyer rejects the offer and replies with
suggestions of his own terms for possible further discussion;
– the third one is that the buyer agrees with the offer, yet some
additional terms are proposed by him as the pre-sumption of his
agreement. Both the latter two situations involve total or partial
refusal.
• To sum up, the consequences of sending an offer would
be like these three possibilities as
follows：
•
Entire acceptance
Sending an offer
Concluding the business
Singing the contract
Declining the offer
Counter-offer
Conditional acceptance
Strategies of refusal in counter-offer
• The counter-offer is very common in negotiation
before an offer is finally confirmed, thus to
master some strategies and skills of writing a
counter-offer is very essential. A skilled writer of
the counter-offer can successfully persuade the
potential customers to accept his terms and
conclude this transaction, while an
inexperienced writer may irritates the customer
and the possible deal might be totally canceled.
Considering counter-offer is all about decline or
refusal, so it is vital to know some strategies of
refusal.
• Direct refusal 直接拒绝
例. We feel we must point that our listed
prices have already been cut to the
minimum possible, thus we will not accept
this counter-offer.
• Indirect refusal 间接拒绝
• Showing thanks 表示感谢
– 例Thank you very much for your prompt offer,
however, the price is on the high side.
• Stating reasons 阐述理由
– 例Considering the quality of the chips offered, we do
not feel that the prices we quoted are at all expensive.
• Making apologies 致以歉意
– 例We regret that we cannot entertain any orders with
the price given.
• Proposing suggestions 提出建议
– 例 We are of the opinion that if you could increase
your order to 10,000 items, we
would agree with your requirement of 10% discount.
• Making promises 做出承诺
– 例 Our products are of the best quality and of vast
popularity in major European countries.
The structure of a letter of counter-offer
Firstly, the beginning part is to express thanks for the
offer. Here, the information about the offer, namely the
date when the offer was sent, must be stated clearly,
which would be a good reminder for the offeree.
Secondly, the middle part is to state where you disagree
and what new terms and conditions you can put forward.
Arrange them logically in separate paragraphs if needed.
Thirdly, the final part is to convey your hope for a prompt
response and business
success.
Section III. Scene Simulation
Ms. Wang is the sales manager of Qingdao Blue
Bird Company, and Mr. Brown is the purchasing
manager of American Broadway Trading Co.,
Ltd. After the contact on May 3, 2013,
surprisingly, they met in Canton Fair in October
of 2013. After the specific introduction of the
products given by the salesman of Qingdao Blue
Bird Company, Ms. Wang decides to give a firm
offer to Mr. Brown. However, they haven’t
reached agreement on the price, commission,
discount, and minimum order quantity. The
conversation is as follows.
Section IV.
Specimen Letter
Specimen Letter 1:
A Counter-offer on Price
Notes:
1. Out of line with 与……不一致
2. Such being the case 既然如此
3. Come to terms 让步，达成协议
4. Say 10% 比如、例如
5. At sb’s convenience 在某人方便的时候
Specimen Letter 2:
A Reply to the Counter-offer
Notes:
1.Apart from 除了……
2.Inferior 次的，差的
3.Raise 提高
Specimen Letter 3:
Counter-offer on Discount
Notes:
1.counter-proposal 反建议
2. See one’s way clear to do…设法做某事
Specimen Letter 4:
A Counter-offer on Commission
Notes:
1.Definitely 肯定地，明确地
2.Domestic 国内的
3. Keep advantage of 保持优势
4.Profit margin 利润率
5. Halt 停止
Specimen Letter 5:
A Counter-offer Asking for a
Reduction of Minimum Quantity
Notes:
1.Compromise 妥协、让步、折衷
2. Contribute to 有助于
attribute to 归因于，归功于
3. Demostrate 显示，证明，展示
Specimen Letter 6:
A Counter-offer on the Minimum
Quantity
Notes:
1.MOQ 起订量，最低订单数量
2.Prospective 预期的
3.Entertain 接受
Specimen Letter 7: A Counter-offer
Asking for Earlier Delivery
Notes:
1.Make out 说明，填写，辨认出
2.Shift 移动，转变，转化
Specimen Letter 8:
A Counter-offer for Total Rejection
Notes:
1. Initially 最初的
2. Margins 利润，保证金（金融）
3. Overhead 企业一般的开支，日常杂项费
用等
Section V.
Useful Words & Expressions
Section VI.
Exercises & Case Study