How to use RFQs to attract more buyers

With over 20 million active business buyers on Alibaba.com, finding the right ones for you and your business can seem like a daunting task. That’s why you have access to a suite of tools built specifically for B2B trade to help you connect with buyers. And one of these tools is RFQ.

What is RFQ?

RFQ stands for Request for Quotation. It operates similarly to inquiries but not quite the same. An RFQ means a buyer comes to Alibaba.com with a product in mind — but no seller. They submit a post to our seller base, describing the product they want made, and you have the option to reach out and provide a quote.

Every month, 20 RFQs are uploaded into your account. These do not roll over, so you’ll want to respond to these before the end of the month to ensure you don’t miss out on a business opportunity. Additionally, each RFQ a buyer posts can be answered by up to 10 sellers who want to pursue the business opportunity. This includes US and international sellers.

You can search on the marketplace for RFQs, but if you take the time to customize the RFQs you’re looking for, we’ll tailor a list for you in your account that only shows the most relevant ones.

How to customize RFQs

You can subscribe up to 5 categories and 24 keywords. Choose the most relevant categories and high-converting keywords within your Alibaba.com catalog or elsewhere. This is because the most popular keywords will have the most RFQs coming in.

To show up on your personalized list, the RFQ will have the keyword you selected. Let’s say you’re looking for apples and simply subscribe to the keyword “apples.” You’ll receive any RFQ containing that exact keyword. But let’s say you’re looking for red apples, or an Apple Watch, you’ll need to subscribe to the full phrase to get relevant RFQs.

Tip: Only capitalize the first letter of your keywords, and don’t use any symbols, punctuation, or hyphens in your keywords. This will help you receive the most relevant RFQs.

Once you subscribe to all 24 keywords and 5 categories, your RFQ list will change. It becomes more tailored to your specific preferences while pulling in the most recent RFQs on the marketplace.

Finding the the most relevant RFQs

It’s important that you keep an eye out for a few things to make sure you respond to the highest quality RFQs:

• Location of buyer: you’ll see the listed country of the buyer who posted the RFQ. Be sure it’s in a market you serve.
• Title of RFQ: be sure the keyword you subscribed to appears in the RFQ. It will either be in the title, or in the RFQ description.
• Stars: buyer RFQs are scored similarly to star rating. Stars that appear next to certain RFQs denote that the buyer is actively using the feature and consistently uses the RFQ tool for business opportunities.
• Popularity of the RFQ: the number of sellers who have responded to each RFQ will be displayed. If there are only 2 slots out of 10 left, this could be a good sign that the RFQ is high quality.

RFQ messaging

So, you’ve gone through your RFQs and found a lead. Now what? You’ll want to open up the RFQ and get the exact product specifications. All the different details will be displayed on the left hand side of the screen. In the center, you can write out a message stating all of your unique selling points.

Tip: You’ll want to write out everything that makes you unique in this section. Tell the buyer how quickly you can ship, how much you have in stock, if it’s made in the US, and so on. The more detail you give the better. Remember, it’s still a competition with other sellers.

You can send one of your product listings to the buyer so they can take a look at just the relevant part of your catalog — or you can send your entire catalog so they can review all of your products.

Accessing your tailored RFQ list

1. Sign into your account.
2. Click on “Communications” in the menu displayed on the left hand side
3. You’ll find your RFQ list under “RFQ Market”



Now that you know more about RFQs, finding buyers on Alibaba.com shouldn’t feel as daunting. This powerful tool gives you more exposure and can help you win new business you may not have otherwise found.