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Market entry ·

Commercial representation between India and Chile: what should happen each week

A practical weekly operating rhythm for companies using commercial representation to develop buyers, distributors, or partners between India and Chile.

Founder & Commercial Director · Santiago, Chile

Commercial representation is useful when the work continues between trips and distributor meetings. The client should be able to see which accounts moved, what evidence changed, what needs approval, and who owns the next action. A long contact list does not provide that control.

Define authority before outreach

Write down what the representative may do before the first contact. The scope should cover:

  • Market, product lines, customer profile, territory, and excluded accounts
  • Approved prices, terms, claims, samples, discounts, and warranty language
  • Actions that require the client’s written approval
  • Whether the representative may sign, collect money, appoint another party, or promise exclusivity
  • Conflicts of interest, confidentiality, record ownership, expenses, and termination
  • Who gives instructions when the usual contact is unavailable

The commercial label is not enough to determine legal authority. Chapter X of India’s Indian Contract Act, 1872 defines agency and distinguishes express and implied authority. In Chile, Article 233 of the Commercial Code defines a commercial mandate as an arrangement to execute lawful commercial business and account for its performance.

This does not mean every representation engagement has the same legal form. The contract, activities, and applicable law matter. Qualified counsel should confirm the structure in each country; the operating brief should then stay within it.

Monday: clean the opportunity record

Start with every open account on one shared tracker. Each entry needs the company, named contact, source, last verified event, current stage, commercial question, next action, owner, and due date.

Remove duplicates and separate three states that often get mixed together:

  • Researched: the company appears to fit the agreed profile
  • Contacted: a traceable message or conversation exists
  • Qualified: a named person has confirmed a relevant need, process, or next step

Do not keep an account active because someone once showed interest. Record what would justify the next contact.

Tuesday and Wednesday: contact, meetings, and evidence

Outreach should use the buyer’s language and a specific reason for contacting that company. After a meeting, record the participants, what they actually said, open questions, documents promised, and the next action agreed by each side.

Treat counterparty claims as unverified until the evidence matches the decision. The OECD’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct uses a risk-based cycle of identifying and assessing issues, acting on them, tracking results, and communicating how they are addressed. Applied to representation, that means checking consequential claims such as customer coverage, import experience, technical capacity, ownership, or conflicts before recommending a partner.

Thursday: clear commercial and technical blockers

Group the questions that need the client’s answer: price exceptions, technical specifications, sample conditions, registration status, credit, delivery, or after-sales support. Send them with a decision deadline and the opportunity they affect.

Do the same for trade claims. SUBREI’s current Chile–India agreement page publishes covered product lists, product-specific origin rules, and proof-of-origin information. A representative should not repeat a general tariff benefit. The claim should be tied to the exact tariff line, origin rule, supporting document, and confirmation from the importer or customs adviser.

Friday: issue a decision log

The weekly note should be short enough to review. Include:

  • Accounts that moved stage, with the evidence and date
  • Meetings held and commitments made
  • Proposals, samples, or documents sent
  • Accounts paused or rejected, with the reason
  • Client approvals or answers still pending
  • Actions, owners, and dates for the following week

Keep activity, outcome, and inference separate. Five messages sent is activity. A buyer requesting a technical file is an outcome. A belief that the account may buy this quarter is an inference until the buyer confirms a process and timing.

If the engagement legally constitutes agency in India, Sections 213 and 214 of the Indian Contract Act address accounts and communication with the principal. Even when a different contract form applies, a dated activity record and clear escalation path are useful operating controls.

What the client must provide

Representation cannot compensate for missing commercial decisions. The client needs to maintain current product material, prices, capacity, lead times, compliance documents, and rules for commitments. It also needs one accountable contact who can answer technical and commercial questions within the agreed time.

At month end, the weekly records should roll into changes in the pipeline, evidence learned from the market, decisions required, and the next month’s priorities. IndiAndes publishes a sample monthly commercial representation report showing the expected structure with example data.

Sources

Next step

If you need continuous buyer, distributor, or partner follow-up between India and Chile, discuss your case. Start with the product, market, target customer, and the commitments a local representative should or should not be allowed to make.

Insights contain general business information and do not constitute legal, tax, customs, regulatory or technical advice.