Your product or service, reputation and capacity to profit are on the line every time you enter into a business agreement with a new client or customer. It is a good idea to determine the credibility of the individual or firm with which you are dealing.

Many countries have the equivalent of a better business bureau, credit bureau or a chamber of commerce that can provide you with some reassurance or references. You may also find some local business information from bank branches in the target market. If the unsolicited order is sufficiently lucrative and you have the time and resources, you can seek out additional intelligence, including legal and financial information, from research firms and competitive intelligence consultants possessing expertise in the target market.

Some well-known credit agencies are listed below:
Dun & Bradstreet (D&B)

Coface Group

Asian Company Profiles Ltd (ACP)

HSBC
Risk Factors

An order may look compelling on paper but you must consider all the types of risk that can have an impact on the viability of the transaction. Political volatility or economic shifts are examples of country risk that can disrupt your export venture. Foreign exchange risk can quickly turn a profitable deal into a debt when a transaction is agreed to in a currency other than Canadian dollars. Commercial risk – the buyer forfeits on payment, goes bankrupt or initiates a dispute regarding the order, the terms of payment or any number of factors – is always a possibility. Again, it is important to know with whom you are dealing and to state the terms of the deal as clearly as possible.


You now have a sense of the diverse factors that may influence the viability of a transaction. Clearly, you cannot respond accurately to an unsolicited order without analyzing the risks, determining the export costs and devising a pricing strategy. Calculating the landed cost for your goods or the preparation and delivery costs for your service will help you evaluate your capacity to respond to the order and profit from the deal.