First do a discovery call:

B2B calls

Step 1 – Go to company website and confirm what they sell

Step 2 – Call as potential retailer customer in Canada and introduce yourself that way – Know a product in case they ask.  Once they think you are a potential customer they will answer your questions;

• Do you ship to Canada often? How often?
• How do you get product to stores in Canada? What carriers?
• Where do they ship from in the US?
• If they have product in Canada, ask how many of their SKU and what happens if they don’t have your order there?
• How is the customs clearance handled? Do they charge for duties and taxes up front or does the Canadian customer have to pay it?
• If they say the Canadian customer is responsible for customs, ask why can’t they clear it for you and why they do it that way?
• Ask how they would get LTL to you in Canada vs small parcel?
• Ask who you would need to talk to if you have more logistic questions? Do they have a warehouse manager you can contact

B2C calls

Step 1 – Go to company website and confirm what they sell place a dummy order if available before calling to learn carrier, transit can cost

Step 2 – Call as potential customer in Canada and introduce yourself that way – Have a product in mind in case they ask.  Once they think you are a potential customer they will answer your questions;

• Confirm how they ship to Canada? Confirm carrier and try to understand where product goes once it leave they facility.
• Ask how many Canada orders do they ship each day/week?
• Where do they ship from in the US?
• If they ship from Canada confirm location.
• How is the customs clearance handled? Do they charge you for duties/taxes up front?
• If they say the Canadian customer is responsible, ask why can’t clear they clear it for you and why they do it that way?
• Ask how they would get a large shipment to you in Canada vs small parcel?

Discovery call goals for northbound calls:

1. Find out how often they ship to Canada
2. Find out how they ship to Canada (carrier information)
3. Find out how the goods are cleared? Who is the customs broker and who pays the duties and taxes?
4. Find out the person’s name you are talking to and what department

Once discovery call takes place call to ask for a meeting.  Here is how to talk to each type of contact we would want to meet AND leverage the above information that you already know.

VP or Director of Sales – Tell them you want to show them how their other US companies do it and achieve over 10% of their overall sales in Canada.  Treat Canada like it is simply a region of the US.

Script example:  Hi Tom, I was speaking to Sara in your customer service department last week and I know you guys ship to Canada using UPS daily and that your Canadian customer is responsible for paying duties and taxes when they receive your product.  I want to show you how a different way to sell to Canadians that will allow you grow market share in Canada… 

Logistics VP, Director or Manager – Try to understand their pain first and tailor your call around that.  If they route everything to ON and transit is an issue explain that we can ship overnight to Winnipeg and cut 2-3 days off their transit times out west.  If it cost, explain that we treat small parcel and LTL all the same and can consolidate that into Canada to reduce costs by 25-40%. 

Script example:  Hi Jim, I was talking to Tony in your sales department I understand that you guys LTL to your dealers in Canada almost daily.  I am working with your sales team to explore some ways to increase your customer base in Canada, but I was hoping to come see you and discuss how to consolidate LTL and small parcel and ultimately reduce your overall cost on Canada orders…

Warehouse Manger – Tell them I will be in their area anyway on “x” day and when ted to stop in to explain how we ship to Canada.

Script example:  Hi Victor, I was talking to Tony in your sales department about your northbound shipments to Canada, and he thought it might be a good idea for us to meet with you.  We think we can help reduce your costs by possibly consolidating your shipments and reducing your processing time on Canadian orders.  Are you around next ____ at ___ is we stopped in…

Key terms to use on calls:

NRI (Non-Resident importer):  Treat Canada like it is a region of the US instead of a separate country becoming the importer of record.  Becoming an NRI requires non-resident to obtain a business number and GST number.  Frontier can assist with setting those up at no cost.

DDP (Delivery duty paid):  DDP is the technical or actual incoterm when referring to how goods will ship.  It is a fancy way of saying landed cost = Cost of goods, freight, duties, provincial tax (GST/HST – Canadian tax).  Providing DDP incoterms or a landed cost allows US companies to sell to Canadians as though they are a Canadian company and provide a landed cost.