How a Canadian exporter qualifies a Gulf buyer in 30 days: the questions, the order, the evidence
Most export conversations die politely. A qualification is the opposite: four questions answered with evidence by day thirty, or a clean no and the next name on the list.
The short answer
- A buyer is qualified when four things are evidenced: authority to buy, a current supplier they pay, a specification you can meet, and a route to deliver.
- Ask for the current specification and the current supplier in the first call. A buyer who cannot name either is a contact, not a buyer.
- Week one: ten names. Week two: five conversations. Week three: specifications and samples. Week four: the written counterpart brief or the no.
- Everything goes in the tracker, including the no. The no is what makes the next cohort faster.
The four questions
- Authority. Who signs the purchase order, and is this person that person or one step away?
- Current supply. Who do they buy from today, at what volume, on what terms? A buyer with a current supplier has a budget and a benchmark.
- Specification. What exactly do they buy: grade, pack, certification, shelf life, documentation. Can you meet it as written, or with one change?
- Route. How does it get there: incoterm, port, forwarder, who clears customs, who holds the import licence.
The four weeks
Week one. Ten names from portals, trade bodies, the showcase and introductions. For each: company, role, city, the product they buy, the source of the name. No outreach yet.
Week two. Five conversations. Twenty minutes each, the four questions in order, nothing sold. The tracker gets filled during the call, not after.
Week three. Specifications in writing, a sample where the product allows, a landed cost on the calculator so the price conversation starts with a number.
Week four. For each of the five: a one page counterpart brief (the four answers, the evidence, the next step and date) or a no with the reason. Two briefs out of five is a good month.
What counts as evidence
A forwarded specification. A current invoice line, even redacted. A named port and forwarder. A reply from the signatory. Not: a nice meeting, a request for a brochure, a promise to introduce you to the boss. The brief records only evidence, which is why it can be read by someone who was not in the room.
After day thirty
The briefs go into the second phase of the framework: structure and align. Specifications become buyer-specific scopes, routes become logistics plans, and the price becomes a term sheet. In the WeOpen pipeline that work is coordinated with the group companies: Network King for the meetings, the founder for structure.
Checklist
- Ten names with sources
- Five calls, four questions each
- Specification in writing
- Landed cost calculated
- Brief or no for every name
Mistakes we see
- Selling in the qualification call
- Treating a contact as a buyer
- Quoting before the specification
- Not writing down the no
WeOpen.ca is an independent initiative, not a government agency. Programmes and rules are named for context; the official pages in force prevail over anything on this page, and eligibility is confirmed by a qualified adviser. Checked 13 November 2026.