TheConfusionofagree

irisyanjuan2003：The Confusion of a green hand in interna
Under the recommendation of a businessman who is from alibabba, i came to this manufactory one month ago. With great expectation and enthusiasm, i accepted all the terms that they provided me which included that i have only one day off duty each month, and work begin 7:40 am.
However, the situation is not so simple. Graduately i learnt that all the office stuffs in this company are living under the same roof, the boss, his wife, his wife's sister, his best firend,the sales manager, his son,his daughter-in-law, and so on. It's a big headache for me to remember the complicate relationship net. Fortunately a week later, i have had a general idea about it.
What tortures me most is that at the beginning i don't know what should i do. They just told me to learn their products first. But no one would tell me where,when, and with whom i should learn. Sometime, the colleagues in the office would suggest me go to the workshop. So i entered without purpose. Looking the workers busy for their own work, i had no idea what can i do. So i walked arround and watched them working, some of them would cast me a curious look now and then. I was used to be a very timid girl, never talk with others initially. But in this case, if i went on keep silience, i would learn nothing even if i spent a whole year in the factory. After struggling with myself, i finially took courage to talk with them. But due to language difference,(their sichuan dialect) i can't completely understood them. Also it's a very depressing thing that some of them can't understand me. Of course some of them were very hospitable and patient.
After i spent a whole week in the factory, they brought me a Leneovo computer (mainly because the alibaba has opened to us, as the boss told me that we should take advantage of everyday to ensure our big investment does not waste), so my work place turned from the factory into the office building.Everything went well at that moment, everyday i can recieve a few inquiries(of course they are all system automatically matched inquiries), what made us very optimistic about our international business was the inquiry of a Turkish with who i chatted in Trade Manager. Few days later, he began to ask for proforma invoice. It's a really big news for all our company. But meanwhile, many problems have occured, we have no export license. So i had to look for intl trade agents from websites. I called them and visited them personally. When all the things were clear, and i made a proforma invoice to him and expected his official order. Few days later i got no reply. So i sent a reminder to him (My Indian friend told suggested me to do so). But what surprised me most was that he asked for our official company papers and a detailed drawing about our products. After all customers are our god, so i hurried to prepare all he asked. But i am only an international businessgirl, what i can do is to find customers and prepare the documents that they required. I can't make any draw, which should be done by our engineer. So i turned to him for help, but our engineer was busy for his own newly products design, and had no time to intervene my work. Even so, everyday i would urge him to finish the drawing, he agreed to do it tomorrow, but after several tomorrow, the drawing was still pending. A week later, in the noon, he asked me to come to his office, and said that he would finish it in two minutes. My god, i nearly fainted, two minutes? what's kind of drawing can he make?

irisyanjuan2003：i am off duty now, so i will continue tomorrow.

vivtoral168：your english is wonderful, awaiting for updating your story!

irisyanjuan2003：Deeply hurt by his negligent attidute, i felt the end of the world coming. Fortunately, my friend told me not take it too seriously, he comforted me for hours. Finally i calmed down. I though that i have done what i can and what i should, so if i can't bring them order, it's not my fault. Althought i said so to my friend, my heart was pinched and i felt suffocated. No way out, i sent the customer what i can collect. But till now, i didn't receive any reply from him.

jerry1983：if your thread has been posted in the englsih version of this forum
i am sure there will be more people read it

lafue：sorry i don't have patience to read over it. it's too long and the letter is not big enough

ben276115002：could i make friends with you,you english is very good,i want to communicate with you .that will be improve my ability.
MSN:dean.amoyline@hotmail.com
hope you can add my MSN,THANKS

捷克：
这样吧，英语好了也不能浪费，你还是去英文版本发挥一下。

irisyanjuan2003：Actually before i sent the drawing, i sent a mail telling him that our engineer's computer was attacked by virus, so his design which took him a whole night was lost and we were repairing his computer and planning to make another draw for him. Immediately i have received his reply, in this letter he revealed his doubt toward our company and said that our company seemed to be a small company with a small factory and we have started just recently to have a foot in the market with no standard drawings and no company papers and one computer and no computer experiance. I was completely shocked by these words and didn't know how to reply. After an hour, i still decided to send him a mail and gave him an explanation, At the moment, i hdidn't have any confidence to win my first order, or even i didn't want to send him the drawing at all. But the great expectation of our company forced me to go ahead.
Now a week has past. The customer never sent me a word. Almost i can see him in the Trade Manager everyday , and i always tried to talk to him, but he never paid any attention to my greeting. Once, i felt so depressed that i sent him some sentences in Chinese. Of course i didn't mean to curse him, it's just a way of relaxation for me. But it seems that everything is over between us.
No words, nor tears, i departed this story quitely. Maybe it's a turning point in my career. Now i came to realization that i should be more practical. After all there is only one month for me, and only these who are blessed with luck and inspiration can win their customers in their first month. So i should make full preparation to struggle foranother two month.
Although i didn't get my first order in the first month, I still feel very rich, after all i get acquainted with someone who are engaged in international business whether chinese or foreigner. Meanwhile i have obtained the basic knowledage of practicle international business.
I clearly know what i have done this month, but how about my boss and other colleagues who are in complete ignorance of international business. One of my colleagues likes to ask me "do you find any customer today?", while other one would stand behind me and watch me posting the products then says "it's really boring for you to surf in the internet all the day, and it seems that you are never anxious about anything". My God! I am not anxious? their words like a sharp dagger stabbed into my heart. While i have no words to retort upon them. It's not their fault, for they have no knowledage about the job of an internationl businessman. Also this means that i can't get their comprehension in the future if i didn't get any order. Alas!
Tomorrow is the beginning of a new month, but i suddenly lose my way. I have no idea what should i do. Still posting products in the websites, or just sitting idly and waiting the inquiry which is sent by alibaba? Only one thing is clear, that is no one would lead me how to overcome these difficultes or obstacles.
My friends please look forward to my October!

irisyanjuan2003：晚上没事做,所以跑过来continue。 没想到这样的文章也有人看啊！真是惊喜交加！其实我只不过是写篇总结或者说检讨书而已。这是我工作第一月的感受和心得。写得有点乱。路过的各位请不要介意。我只是一个外贸新人。什么都不懂，这文章只是写给自己的。保留做个纪念而已。

sinda22：Your english so excellent and when i reading your story i still in sweating,maybe that's just your begain and it will be more better in the furture,at first,i just like your situation.however,i haven't got any order last month,in nationaltrade the lcky maybe most important,but that not mean everything,i have been meet a bad customer from turkey,more worse then you,let me very very angry,i nearly want to said to him you are the son of the bitch,however,i just said to him,i will never want to do business with you,sinere i have been sent the samples to him totally free,but now all is OK,and i never give him a greeting to him now,also he want me quotate for him,but i know i will gian nothing from him,so i not want to sapek any words,he ,for me ,just a rabblish!i will never need that customer.

liujiaxiaoxin：我来过，耐心的看完了