Beata Leyland
Business Owner & Author of this article
So many times, I see on the market companies which I would describe as underdogs and yet they win, because of their approach to work, to clients, and the way how they communicate.
Intrigued ?
In every sector of business and life, we meet traps and over time we learn how to spot them avoid or ignore them. Sourcing is no different.
The term sourcing describes a form of market research bundled with reaching out to factories.
Sourcing is nothing else like an effort to find a proper business partner for your company, your client. It’s more than research, is an art of matching expressed and unspoken expectations of a client and make sure that companies introduced to him/her match a criterion of the project, budget but also compliance with company culture, vision and business plan.
Here are some of the issues that many people face when sourcing for a client:
As cheap as humanly possible.
I’ve seen few months ago such advertisement of a company which searched for a sourcing agent and my first thought was “Who the hell is this company (desperation rigged from their small note) and whom they will attract?
Here I should even stop describing this problem, but I guess many people don’t realise what it means to cut costs in a smart way. A smart way is not the cheapest way.
Many people have sourcing in their portfolio as it seems from the first glance kind of easy. You google few companies from country X and that’s it. Have few calls, introduce those companies to your client and done.
Well, that’s a part of the truth.
A small part of the truth because there are many Sourcing Agent wannabes who know how to google and are outspoken, but research is way more than that.
It’s about reading between the lines, speaking to manufacturers and asking proper questions, understanding the market and background of the company and unspoken demands of the client.
An experienced agent can find you a few good offers which exactly match your criteria and deliver beyond it.
A bad sourcing agent will force you to hire another one, or even worse you will sign the contract with someone who will cost you only headaches.
Time is money in business, think about it.
Cultural barriers.
A term global mindset is way overplayed as a global mindset is a result of years of hard work on your own mentality and with international partners, and even then, unconscious bias is a default feature of our minds so good luck with removing all of it!
When I hear from someone from the U.S. that after few trips to Mexico he/she knows global business I already know that this is not a type of client for me.
Why?
Because the statement “I know everything about global business” is an impossible state to achieve and only people who don’t know anything can be arrogant enough to claim such a thing.
Cultural barriers crippled so many people who have a great idea but couldn’t overcome their own mind.
This what we do is help with overcoming such mindsets as we know how difficult it is to do.
Some cultures are more difficult than others, but this is not an impossible task to overcome.
It’s a task which will require some work but definitely worth to work on.
Benefits of mindset change will be visible not only in business but also in private life.
Being open means less tense, scared and less susceptible for manipulation.
Duties, taxes, trade wars, transport.
This what politicians say and this what they do are many times very different things.
Don’t get me wrong; duties, taxes, and regulations apply and it’s important to make sure you are aware of them to properly calculate the costs of your revenue but it’s not such a headache as many people think.
It can be a headache if you work with random people who you are afraid to trust, or people who are inexperienced.
Remember to not only ask for certificates but also practical knowledge and real-life experience as such people can save you money, time, headache and you can focus on company growth not on paperwork.
Here also I recommend us, because we can help you with the whole process.
Communication and trust.
Trust comes from actions and clear communication.
If you feel safe you will not hesitate to tell a Sourcing Agent about your worries, budget and plans because you will feel that someone is there to help you not to use as much of your time and money as possible.
If you have a problem with trust, ask for clear payment structure based on results.
Start from something small to see how the company works.
If you are testing a company from another part of the world, ask for samples.
You will see how the company works, communicates, and how they treat you.
Respect, visibility and communication are not only phrases in company statements. They are fundaments of building healthy relations.
So many times, I see on the market companies which I would describe as underdogs and yet they win, because of their approach to work, to clients, and the way how they communicate.
You can see they care, and if you feel taken care of you would love to give them more work, work with them as partners and nourish such relations.
All points I described are absolute basics, yet so many people overlook them.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where such phrases as trust, ethics, honestly and transparency don’t mean much on paper because they are everywhere.
Even the company with the worst customer care has such buzz words on their website.
It doesn’t mean we should think such phrases are dead, as they are not.
They are alive if we believe in them and we search for partners who match our expectations; not only financial ones, but also match our company vision, values and spirit.
Think about it next time while choosing a company.
We always do and yes, here and there we are wrong but 90%+ we are right with our choices because we represent a certain level of services which are not for everyone, and that’s fine.
Think what you want to build and find a partner who can help you.
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We work on the global clock 