Your first foreign customer — what to do today

The first foreign inquiry is exciting, and the temptation is to reply immediately with a yes. Resist that. A rushed first reply often commits you to terms you would not have agreed to on reflection — on price, on payment, on shipping, on timeline. The buyer is not going to lose interest in the twenty-four hours it takes you to send a measured reply.

Send a brief acknowledgement within one business day — "Thank you for your inquiry, I will send you a full response by [date]." Then take the time to qualify the inquiry, decide on terms, and quote in writing. The acknowledgement buys you the time to do this properly.

Before quoting, confirm the basics:

• Who they are. Company name, location, role of the contact. A quick check of their website is usually enough.
• What they want. Product or service, quantity, configuration, timeline.
• Where it is going. The destination country and, for goods, the delivery address. This affects shipping, duties, sanctions screening, and required documentation.
• Why you. How they found you. This is useful intelligence for your own marketing.

If any of these are unclear, ask. It is normal and professional to send a short qualifying email before quoting. Most serious buyers expect it.

If the destination country is on a sanctions list or subject to export controls, stop and check before proceeding. See Pre-export compliance checklist.

Send a written quotation — a proforma invoice or a structured quote — that includes:

• Product or service description, with quantities and unit prices.
• Currency (state it explicitly: "All prices in Canadian dollars").
• Incoterm — who pays for shipping, insurance, and duties. For first-time cross-border sales, "DAP" (Delivered at Place) or "DDP" (Delivered Duty Paid) is often easiest for the buyer; "FCA" or "EXW" places more responsibility on them.
• Shipping method and estimated transit time.
• Payment terms — deposit, milestones, balance, and accepted payment methods.
• Validity period of the quote — typically thirty days.
• What is not included — installation, training, customs duties, taxes in the buyer's jurisdiction.

A written quote protects both sides. It is also the document the buyer will use to apply for an import licence, arrange foreign exchange, or secure internal approval, so getting it right matters.

For a first cross-border sale, the safest structure is a deposit of thirty to fifty percent on order, with the balance due before shipment (for goods) or before delivery of the final deliverable (for services). This protects you against non-payment and is standard practice in international trade.

Accept payment by wire transfer to your business bank account, with the buyer bearing any transfer fees. For smaller amounts, a credit card or a payment platform may be acceptable; understand the fees and chargeback risk before offering them. Avoid open-account terms (payment after delivery) for a first sale to an unknown buyer — this is a common way to lose money.

For larger transactions, consider a letter of credit. See Letter of credit basics. For repeat business with a trusted buyer, export credit insurance can let you offer open-account terms without taking the full risk yourself — see Export credit insurance.

Once payment is in place, ship and document. For most first shipments, the documentation package includes:

• Commercial invoice.
• Packing list.
• Bill of lading or air waybill (issued by the carrier).
• Certificate of origin, if the buyer needs it for preferential tariff treatment under a free trade agreement.
• Any product-specific certificates — health, phytosanitary, conformity, sector-specific.

If you are shipping goods of any value, work with a freight forwarder. They will handle carrier booking, documentation, and customs clearance on both sides. See Choosing a freight forwarder and Customs documentation checklist.

After the sale, take ten minutes to record what happened. Use a simple log — customer, market, product, value, channel, what worked, what didn't. This log is the input to your export readiness self-assessment when you decide whether and how to grow.

The log also matters for tax and customs purposes. If you make a second sale to the same market, you will want to know what documents you produced the first time and what they cost. If you later apply for export finance or government support, you will be asked for evidence of past activity. Recording it now is cheap; reconstructing it later is not.