Why international sales means talking to decision-makers, not companies
In international sales, the general inbox decides nothing. How to find the decision-maker, what to say first, and why a company won't reply but a person will.
- A company doesn't answer emails; a person does.
- General inboxes filter, they don't decide.
- Abroad, it's harder to get the title right: you have to verify who holds the role.
- The first message carries a reason to write today, a specific problem and a next step.
A company doesn't answer emails. A person does. In an international sale that difference weighs more: you don't know the internal language, the org chart or who signs. Writing "to the company" is the fastest way to get no reply.
The general inbox doesn't decide
Emails like info@, sales@ or contact@ are read by someone whose job is to filter. Their incentive is to forward little and discard fast. If your message doesn't fit a task they already have, it stays there.
That doesn't mean those inboxes are never useful. It means they shouldn't be your main plan.
Who decides depending on what you sell
- Purchasing or category: decides which items enter the portfolio.
- Sales management: decides who they work with and in which channel.
- General management: decides in small companies, where one person covers several functions.
- Operations or production: decides when the purchase depends on how it is made or served.
The exact title changes by country and size. The question doesn't: who suffers the problem I solve, and who can say yes?
Why it matters more abroad
- Titles aren't named the same in every country. A "buyer" in one place is a "purchasing manager" in another.
- There are fewer cross-references. In your own country you know who to ask; abroad, you don't.
- A wrong recipient costs more: there is no second chance with a person who doesn't know you.
How to find the right person
- Start from the company that fits and see who holds the roles related to your product.
- Check that they are still in the job. An outdated title is worse than no data.
- Find a reason to write to them today: a trade show, a change, an expansion.
- Write in their language with a concrete proposal, not a general introduction.
What to say in the first message
Less than you think. Three elements: why you're writing now, what specific problem you solve and what you propose as the next step. No attached catalog, no five paragraphs of company history.
An example structure: "I saw you're opening a new line in [country]. We help manufacturers like yours organize their distribution channel. Does a 15-minute call this week work for you?" Adapt it to each case.
Common mistakes
- Writing to ten people at the same company with the same message.
- Asking for a long meeting in the first email.
- Treating a purchasing manager as if they were the managing director, or the other way around.
- Not following up. A busy person needs to see it more than once.
A walk-through example
A manufacturer wants to sell to distributors in Germany. It starts with the companies that fit: size, category and type of customer. Then it looks at who holds the purchasing and category roles at each one, and checks they are still in the job.
It picks a company that has just expanded its catalog. It writes to the purchasing person with that reason, in German, with a concrete proposal. If there is no reply within a few days, it makes a second contact with a different angle, not the same text.
What to do if they don't reply
- Change the angle in the second message: a different benefit, a different example, a different question.
- Wait a reasonable time before pushing again. A busy person isn't ignoring you.
- Try a second, different decision-maker at the same company, only if the first doesn't reply, and without mentioning that you wrote to someone else.
- If there's no reply after two or three attempts, stop. Coming back in a few months with a new reason works better than pushing now.
Where Hurus comes in
Hurus starts from the companies that fit you and reaches the person who decides. We detect the moment, prepare the context and open the conversation. You get the meeting with that person, not with a general inbox.
Frequently asked questions
Why not write to the company's general email?
Because it is read by someone whose job is to filter, not to decide. Your message competes with everything else coming in and rarely reaches the person who can say yes.
How do I know who decides at a company in another country?
Start from the problem you solve: who suffers it and who can approve. Look at purchasing, category or sales management titles depending on size, and check that the person is still in the job.
What should the first message include?
Three things: why you're writing now, what specific problem you solve and what you propose as the next step. Short, in their language and with no attached catalog.
This article is based on working criteria, no external statistics.
Full guide: B2B prospecting for food and beverage manufacturers: 2026 guide
Last reviewed: October 25, 2026.
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