Tractor Trucks to African
How We Sold 6 Heavy-Duty Trucks to an African Client – A Real Case
The Beginning: A Random Inquiry
It started with a simple email. Nothing fancy. Just a guy from Nigeria saying he needed 6 units of 6x4 tractors for his logistics business. No company logo, no fancy signature, just a Gmail address.
Honestly? I almost deleted it.
Most inquiries from free emails turn out to be time-wasters. But something made me reply – maybe because he mentioned specific axle configurations. That told me he actually knew what he was talking about.
The Back-and-Forth: It Took 3 Months
This wasn't a quick deal. We went back and forth for almost three months. Here's what that looked like:
Week 1-2: Technical Specs Hell
He kept asking about engine brands. Sinotruk or Weichai? Gearbox – FAST or Sinotruk? At first, I thought he was just fishing for prices. But no – this guy had a spreadsheet. He compared our specs against two other Chinese suppliers line by line. He even pointed out that our tire size was different from what we listed on the website.
I had to get our factory engineer on a WeChat call at 10 PM to verify the tire specs. That was the moment I realized – this guy is serious.
Week 3-4: Price Negotiation – The Painful Part
His first offer was 15% below our rock-bottom price. I can only give you Not remanufactured and no A/C.We went back and forth maybe five rounds. In the end, We reached a consensus.
Week 5-8: The Payment Drama
He wanted 100% on delivery. I wanted 30% deposit, 70% before loading. We were stuck.
Finally, we agreed on 30% TT in advance, and the remaining 70% against a confirmed Letter of Credit. This was his first time importing from China, so he was scared of getting scammed. I sent him photos of our factory, our previous export orders to Ghana and Kenya – even a video of our production line with his name on a whiteboard.
He directly paid the deposit.
RO-RO vs. Container Shipping
We usually do Roll-on/Roll-off (RO-RO) – just drive the trucks onto the ship. Simple and cheap.
