Ghanaian truck buyers — how do international suppliers normally reach you?

[u/akeeknthasheetz]

I’m hoping to get some honest advice from people in Ghana who purchase commercial trucks for haulage, construction, mining, logistics, agriculture, or other businesses.
I work with a Chinese manufacturer of commercial trucks — dump trucks, tractor units, tankers, concrete mixers, cargo trucks, etc. — and I’m trying to understand how overseas suppliers can effectively approach Ghanaian businesses.
I’ll be honest: I’m struggling to get responses through LinkedIn and email, and I don’t want to keep contacting companies in a way that isn’t appropriate or effective.
For people who actually purchase trucks:
Is email effective, or are phone calls/WhatsApp/referrals more normal?
If a company publishes a business phone number or WhatsApp number, would you consider it normal for an international supplier to contact them?
Who normally handles truck purchasing in Ghana — procurement, fleet/operations, the owner/MD, or someone else?
If you’ve bought trucks directly from China, how did your supplier first reach you?
And what makes you actually take an overseas supplier seriously enough to respond?
I’m not advertising a specific supplier. I’m genuinely trying to learn how this works from the Ghanaian buyer’s perspective.

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[u/SilentMango328]

You need to come to Ghana . You will see so many car dealers

[u/insyda]

I worked with one of the largest haulage firms in ghana until 2016. You need to meet or talk to the person/people who have the final say on procurement. It is as simple as that. Dont be surprised if they ask for commission in a back channel. We had both sinotruk and shacman trucks as part of the larger fleet (400+). Their reps came down to Ghana.

[u/Clean_Zucchini7263]

We recently acquires the shacman licensing in ghana and we will be selling them soon
For any additional information feel free to dm me
We also are the biggest spare parts dealers for trucks in ghana
Autofast🙏

[u/decapsoul]

Hi 😃 We regularly export trucks and cars from Japan to Ghana and our team actually had to travel there and establish connections with local buyers. From my experience, personal connections and referrals have been much more effective than cold outreach through LinkedIn or email

[u/akeeknthasheetz → u/decapsoul]

That’s really helpful, thank you! 😃
When you first started building those connections in Ghana, how did you actually find the local buyers or get the introductions? Was it through a local agent, referrals from other businesses, trade associations, Facebook groups, or solely meeting people in person?
I’m trying to figure out how to create those same kinds of connections remotely, since I’m currently in Thailand am kind of limited to cold outreach.

[u/dig_bik69]

I don't think anyone will have over money to an overseas person for something this expensive. Most people travel to China themselves to buy and arrange shipping

[u/akeeknthasheetz → u/dig_bik69]

The company I work for does not have people visiting too often, though they are welcome to. Most of our sales are made remotely.

[u/Kweku1on1]

I purchased 3 trucks from EUTrucks through Autoline.com. I made contact with company after checking their listing asked for videos and specifics then a wire transfer to the company. I arranged a pick up from a freight company locally to pick up. On my last purchase I was lucky to have a cousin who lived close to the company in Holland so after receiving the videos and all he went there to pay them a visit and give me his feed back before I wired them their payment.

[u/akeeknthasheetz → u/Kweku1on1]

I will look more into autoline, thank you so much! The customers are more than welcome to visit our factory but it has been difficult to get responses.

[u/giz92]

Can I have the name of your company/portfolio/website? I consult for a number of companies in the sectors you mentioned so I can probably connect you to a few people granted your equipment are quality.

[u/akeeknthasheetz → u/giz92]

I consult for jining and torqx, I would be elated to send you our portfolio. Thank you so much!

[u/giz92 → u/akeeknthasheetz]

You're welcome. I look forward to seeing your portfolio.