Beata Leyland
Business Owner & Author of this article
If you want to pick well, learn to communicate well. Take into consideration cultural differences, learn to actively listen before speaking, and ask relentless questions.
Intrigued ?
So many of us have changed manufacturers / suppliers within the last few years.
Some of these changes were successful, and some not.
Many times, we can avoid unnecessary stress, tension and money lost by following a few simple steps which I would like to present you in this article.
How to spot red flags ???
Lack of the transparency
Pay attention on small mismatches and simply ask questions.
It’s absolutely natural that you don’t know how the company works so your potential counterpart should show lots of understandings and not reluctance.
If you see that a company is reluctant to respond on your questions, doesn’t want to sign contracts, NDA , avoids written forms on agreements that’s a huge potential risk for your business.
Check on the issued invoice if the company name, address or bank account differs from company name.
ALWAYS -ask for clarification (companies merge, have subsidiaries but also scammers are out there, too).
An honest company will be happy to have you in their facility, show all certificates, assign an account manager to you to make sure you are well taken care of.
Communication.
Solving problems is a part of doing business.
By picking a partner you need to make sure that clear communication is a part of the company culture otherwise every small problem will land on your desk as a huge problem.
Another aspect will be written communication.
It’s faster to use communicators, but WhatsApp for business is not a place to send an invoice.
ALWAYS- use company email, keep as much as possible in the written form.
When you discuss terms & conditions, invoices, or whenever money is involved always use emails as your own protection.
In case of any disputes, you will have all written.
If you just had a call where all terms were discussed simply send a summary email asking other side if they comply and understand your points the same way as you do.
Majority of disputes happens because of communication so as clear as you can be than better.
Schedule an introduction call to get to know each other better.
A reliable, honest company will be happy to find time for you!
They will come prepared and with follow-up questions.
Good companies do that. They know how important it is to keep you interested and do good first impression.
If you see that the company is not prepared (based on my statistics a huge part of companies don’t prepare themselves for the meetings and this is shown so much! ) it means that this is a part of company culture and once you sign a contract you will be one of many tickets, numbers to be solved for them.
Price is important but especially as a starting brand this is not a place that will help you to grow well.
Think about cutting corners smartly if you have too.
If during introduction call your counterpart tries to sell rather than listen, that’s a red flag.
If you have a huge mismatch between call with company owner and his/her stuff later that’s an issue that can costs you lots of money.
Try to read between the lines and be very attentive to details.
Certificates, reviews-check before committing to anything.
Check certificates carefully as I’ve seen way too many times certificates made up in some graphic program or some companies use certificates of other companies knowing that not many people open such documents.
If you hear that it is impossible in country or region X to obtain certificate Y, check if this is true or if someone tries to sell you their offer no matter what.
In terms of reviews there is a huge difference between made up, fake reviews and real ones.
Try to pick companies with real reviews where people recommending company Z have names or pictures.
Hundreds of reviews on the website created the same year and all of them written by Sam D., or Ann B, might be vastly suspicious.
Try to be critical when you check reviews.
The best verification what you will get will be samples.
It will be your cherry on the top to test communication, transparency, reliability, adaptability and real costs.
There are many companies that lose clients on that stage and majority of times all is about communication and non-verbalised assumptions.
If you want to pick well, learn to communicate well.
Take into consideration cultural differences, learn to actively listen before speaking, and ask relentless questions.
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