Most customs brokers know the Supreme Court invalidated IEEPA tariffs. Fewer know how to turn that knowledge into a conversation that moves a client from curiosity to action in under ten minutes. This guide gives you the exact script, the three objections you will hear every time, and the close that creates urgency without overselling.
We built this framework after observing hundreds of partner conversations across customs brokers, trade attorneys, and freight forwarders. The pattern is consistent. Professionals who follow it convert at 60-70%. Those who wing it convert at under 20%.
Start With What You Already Know
The worst opening is a generic email blast about tariff refunds. Your clients get dozens of those. The best opening references something specific to their business that you already have access to.
Before the call, pull their import history. Look at HTS 9903.01 and 9903.02 line items from the past 18 months. Calculate a rough surcharge total using the duty rates you already see in ACE.
Your opening line should anchor on a dollar figure. Not “you may be eligible for a refund” but “I pulled your last 14 months of entries and you paid approximately $340,000 in IEEPA surcharges that CBP may owe you back.” That number does the selling for you. The client’s next question is always “how?”
If you do not have their ACE data, open with industry context instead. “The Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs in January. We are helping our importer clients recover overpaid duties. For a company importing $2M-$5M annually from China, the typical recovery is $300,000 to $750,000.”
The Three Questions Every Client Asks
After you anchor on the number, three questions come in the same order almost every time. Prepare for all three and the conversation flows.
Question 1: “Is this legitimate?”
Clients have seen tariff scams. They need to hear specific legal authority, not vague reassurances. Your answer: “Yes. The Supreme Court ruled in Learning Resources v. Trump that IEEPA Section 301 surcharges exceeded presidential authority under 19 U.S.C. §1514. CBP issued guidance in February confirming the refund process. We file protests through the same ACE portal we use for your regular entries.”
Name the case. Name the statute. Name the system. Clients trust specifics.
Question 2: “What do I have to do?”
The answer is “almost nothing.” Your script: “We pull your ES-003 entry summary data from ACE, identify every entry with IEEPA surcharges, calculate the refund amount, and prepare the protest filings under 19 U.S.C. §1514. You sign an authorization form. We handle the rest.”
Clients worry about disruption. Eliminate that worry immediately. The authorization form takes five minutes. There are no operational changes, no audits, no CBP interviews.
Question 3: “How long does this take?”
Be honest about the timeline. “CBP has 180 days to process standard protests under the CAPE system. Realistically, we expect 6-12 months for straightforward cases. Complex cases involving entries outside the 180-day protest window may require Court of International Trade litigation, which runs 18-24 months.”
Do not overpromise on speed. Clients who expect a fast check and get a slow process become unhappy clients. Set expectations correctly and they stay engaged.
Creating Real Urgency
The close matters more than the open. Your urgency is the 180-day protest window under 19 U.S.C. §1514. Entries liquidate on a rolling basis. Every week that passes, some of your client’s entries cross the 180-day line and become unrecoverable through the standard protest path.
Your close: “Here is the time-sensitive part. The 180-day protest deadline runs from the date each entry liquidated. Some of your entries from last spring are already approaching that deadline. If we miss it, the only path is CIT litigation, which costs more and takes longer. I would like to get your authorization this week so we can file on the entries closest to expiration first.”
This is not manufactured urgency. It is real. Entries are liquidating now. The CAPE system queue is growing. Protest processing times will increase as volume rises. The earlier your client files, the earlier they receive funds.
What NOT to Do
Do not send mass emails with no personalization. A blast that says “you may be eligible” gets deleted. A message that says “your $340,000 in IEEPA surcharges may be refundable” gets opened.
Do not quote refund amounts you have not calculated. If you say “$500,000” and the real number is $180,000, you lose credibility permanently. Use ranges or pull actual data before the conversation.
Do not position this as your own service if you are referring out. Be transparent. “We partner with a specialized tariff recovery firm that handles the protest filings. Our role is getting your data to them and making sure nothing falls through the cracks.” Clients respect transparency. They resent discovering a middleman after the fact.
Do not wait for the client to come to you. There are 15,200 licensed customs brokers in the United States serving roughly 330,000 importers. Your competitors are having this conversation right now. The broker who brings the opportunity first captures the engagement. For deeper background on China-specific recoveries, see chinatariffrefund.com.
The Follow-Up Sequence
Not every client converts on the first call. Build a three-touch sequence.
Touch 1 (Day 0): The phone call or video meeting using the script above. End with “I will send you a one-page summary with your estimated refund range.”
Touch 2 (Day 1): Email with a PDF summary. Include the estimated surcharge total, the legal basis (one paragraph), and the next step (sign authorization form). Attach the authorization form.
Touch 3 (Day 7): Follow-up call. “I wanted to check if you had questions about the summary I sent. I should mention that 12 of your entries liquidated in the last 60 days, so we are inside the protest window now. The sooner we file, the better your queue position in CAPE.”
If the client does not respond after three touches, move on. Come back in 30 days with updated data. Some clients need to see competitors recovering money before they act.
Adapting the Script by Role
The core structure works for any professional, but the opening context differs.
Customs brokers have ACE access and entry-level data. Lead with the dollar figure. You have the strongest opening because you have the most specific information.
Freight forwarders may not have duty data but know shipment volume and origin countries. Lead with “based on your China import volume, the typical IEEPA exposure for a shipper your size is $200,000-$400,000.” Then recommend a free assessment to get the exact number, or direct the client to the IEEPA Refund Checker for a two-minute preliminary screen.
Trade attorneys already have client trust on legal matters. Lead with the legal landscape: “The Learning Resources decision created a recoverable claim for every importer who paid IEEPA surcharges. We are identifying which of your clients have viable claims and quantifying the recovery.” More on attorney-specific strategy at our trade attorneys partner page.
Accounting firms see the tariff line items in client financials. Lead with the balance sheet impact: “Those IEEPA surcharges your client booked as COGS may now be a receivable.” See tariffbuyouts.com for how claim assignments work in the accounting context.
One Final Note on Tone
You are not selling. You are informing a client about money they are owed. The Supreme Court already decided this. CBP already confirmed the process. The only question is whether your client files before the deadline or after it passes.
Approach every conversation with that framing and the script runs itself. For the data-pull workflow that feeds into these conversations, see the ES-003 workflow guide. For the economics behind each engagement type, see our referral economics breakdown.
FAQ
Q: What if my client already heard about IEEPA refunds from another broker or service provider? A: That happens increasingly as awareness grows. Your advantage is that you already have their import data and their trust. Offer to run the numbers with their actual entries rather than estimates. Specificity wins over whoever got there first with a generic pitch.
Q: Should I charge clients for the initial screening or offer it free? A: We recommend offering the initial screening free through our assessment tool. The revenue comes from filing fees on PSCs and protests, plus referral fees on claim assignments and CIT litigation. A free screen removes friction and accelerates conversion.
Q: What if the client’s exposure is small — under $25,000? A: Small-exposure clients are still worth screening. The filing process is standardized, so marginal cost per client is low. Aggregate enough small clients and the portfolio economics work. Additionally, even small clients refer larger importers when they have a good experience.