Find the stage where your deals die
Rasp International maps and rebuilds export sales funnels. Most exporters know two numbers: enquiries received and orders won. Everything between is a fog. When conversion is poor they conclude they need more enquiries, when the actual problem is that 80 percent of qualified buyers vanish at the sample stage.
More traffic into a leaking funnel produces more leakage. Fixing the leak costs less and works faster.
The export funnel and where it leaks
1. Stage mapping
We define the real stages your deals pass through: click or first contact, enquiry, qualification, sample request, sample shipped, sample evaluated, quote issued, negotiation, terms agreed, order confirmed. Then we measure how many enter and exit each. The stage with the worst drop-off is where your money is.
2. The sample stage
This is where export funnels leak most and it is the stage exporters manage worst. Samples get sent and then nothing. No tracking shared, no confirmation of arrival, no structured follow-up, no scheduled check on evaluation. Sample cost gets absorbed, the buyer goes quiet, and the deal is written off as a time-waster when it was actually a process failure.
3. Quote follow-up
The second worst leak. Quote goes out, buyer says they will revert, exporter waits. Silence is not rejection in export, it is usually a buyer who is busy, waiting on their own customer, or comparing. Structured follow-up at defined intervals recovers a meaningful share of these.
4. Qualification gate
A funnel without qualification clogs. Everything gets a quote, capacity goes to buyers who were never going to purchase, and real buyers wait behind them. A short qualification step early costs minutes and saves days.
5. Speed at first contact
Response time at the first stage predicts conversion more than almost anything else. Buyers contact multiple suppliers. The first credible responder frames the comparison and often wins on that alone.
6. Measurement
Once the funnel is instrumented you stop arguing about opinions. You can see that quotes convert at 30 percent but only 20 percent of samples reach quote, which tells you precisely where to spend effort.
What we typically find
- Samples sent, never followed. The single most expensive habit in Indian export sales.
- Quotes issued, never chased. Second most expensive.
- No qualification. Capacity consumed by enquiries that could never close.
- Slow first response. Losing to a competitor who replied faster with a worse product.
- No stage data at all. Decisions made on feel.
- Blaming lead quality. The convenient explanation that prevents anyone looking at process.
What changes after the work
You get a documented funnel with conversion rates at each stage, a follow-up cadence that runs whether or not anyone remembers, a qualification gate that protects your quoting capacity, and enough measurement to know next quarter whether anything improved. Most of the gain comes not from new tools but from someone finally deciding what happens on day three after a sample ships.
Who this service is for
Exporters with reasonable enquiry volume and poor conversion, exporters who send many samples and win few orders, and any exporter who cannot state their sample-to-order conversion rate.
Frequently asked questions
Where do export deals usually leak?
The sample stage, by a wide margin, followed by quote follow-up. Samples get sent, then nothing. No tracking shared, no confirmation of arrival, no scheduled check on evaluation. The buyer goes quiet and the deal gets written off as a time waster when it was actually a process failure.
How do I know if my funnel is the problem?
If you have reasonable enquiry volume and poor conversion, it is the funnel. A quick test: can you state your sample to order conversion rate? Most exporters cannot, which means the leak is invisible to them and they respond by buying more traffic into a leaking system.
How long should I keep following up with a quiet buyer?
Longer than you think. Export cycles run three to twelve months and buyers go silent for reasons that have nothing to do with you: their season, their inventory, their own customer. A buyer resurfacing at month seven is normal. A domestic style thirty day cutoff throws away real deals.
Do I need new software to fix my funnel?
Usually not. Most of the gain comes from someone deciding what happens on day three after a sample ships, and then that happening every time. The CRM is just where the discipline lives. Tools do not create process.
Related services and resources
- All export growth marketing services
- CRM setup for export enquiries
- Export lead generation
- WhatsApp API automation
- Market specific landing pages
- Buyer outreach campaigns
How to engage Rasp International
Tell us your rough enquiry volume, how many samples you send monthly, and how many orders result. We will confirm scope within one business day.