Congratulations. You’ve received a sales lead from a Chinese buyer through Juwai.com. Now what? How can you convert your sales lead into a deal? Here are some general tips that will help you when you’re dealing with Chinese buyers.

At Juwai we have three types of leads; unverified, verified and recommended

If your lead is unverified it means we have not yet been able to contact the buyer. This could be for any number of reasons, however, you should still try to make contact with the buyer.

A verified lead should be treated as a priority and happens when we have made contact with the buyer and gathered more information about their requirements. This information is included in your email and also includes a Buyer Readiness Score (BRS). This will be a figure between one and three that will indicate the readiness of the buyer to move forward with the buying process. 

A recommended lead means it the buyer's interest was verified and details forwarded to Juwai's recommended partners,

BRS Score: 1
This indicates a verified buyer with a high level of interest in international property purchases however, they are at the earlier stages of investigation and not clear on their goals and specifics.
 
BRS Score: 2
A verified buyer with a CRS score of 2 indicates a buyer with a high level of interest in international property purchases, as well as having some clarity and preparation - but not for every element of the transaction.

BRS Score: 3
This is the highest score and indicates a verified buyer with a high level of interest in international property purchases, as well as being well prepared and clear on their own intentions and goals.

When you’re dealing with Chinese buyers, we strongly suggest you download WeChat. This will help with your communications with Chinese buyers. WeChat is a powerful app that is very similar to WhatsApp or Line, for example, but it’s very widely used throughout China. It will prove to be a perfect tool to assist with communicating with Chinese buyers.

Our experience suggests the best times to contact potential Chinese buyers is either between 12:00 and 13:00, or between 18:00 and 21:30 (China time).

Especially if you use WeChat to communicate, it’s good to send images and words as opposed to an external URL which may not be viewable within China. Chinese buyers expect this approach because it’s one that’s used by domestic real estate agencies.

Don’t be surprised by what might appear to be unusual email addresses. One such as 1234567890@qq.com is a common structure in China. QQ is owned by Tencent, one of the largest organisations in China that offers email accounts.

Communicating in Mandarin would be very appreciated by Chinese buyers. An initial Chinese language email will also stand more chance of being read versus an English language one. Remember too, we are always here to help with communications. When you’re communicating with a potential Chinese buyer, here are two introductory sentences you might want to use.

Chinese:  æ‚¨å¥½ï¼Œæˆ‘是来自(enter your company name)公司的(enter your name). 我从居外网Juwai.com得知您对我们公司的房源感兴趣。不过很不幸的是，我不能说中文，如果您愿意使用微信（带翻译功能）和我开始沟通，您可以搜索微信号：(enter your WeChat ID)加我，在验证信息栏备注“居外客户”.

The English translation for the above is: Hi, my name is XXXX from XXXX, Juwai.com has informed me that you are interested in some of our offerings or properties. Unfortunately, I am unable to speak Mandarin, however if you would like to use WeChat to begin with, you can add me on (WeChat ID), and specify “Juwai Client” on the Friend Verification Request.

An alternative for an email would be:

Chinese: 您好，我是来自(enter your company name)公司的(enter your name). 我从居外网Juwai.com得知您对我们公司的房源感兴趣。不过很不幸的是，我不能说中文，所以我附上了一些相关信息供您查阅.

The English translation is:  Hi, my name is XXXX from XXXX. Juwai.com has informed me that you are interested in some of our offerings or properties. Unfortunately, I am unable to speak Mandarin, however I have attached some information for you to review.

Juwai has a wealth of information about dealing with Chinese buyers, including …

How to get more leads from your property listing.

Three quick tips to win Chinese buyers.

… as well as a wealth of cultural information to help you work more efficiently with Chinese property buyers.