How to avoid problems with your vendors in small business
If you want to avoid problems with your vendors, make sure you're very important to them, more important than the amount of your bill might indicate. A vendor to whom you're just another customer, or just another dollar, is a vendor who won't deliver on time or provide what they promised.
So how do you become more than just an invoice? One way is to spread the word that you're looking for a vendor and solicit bids. Rather than looking for vendors on your own, publicize that you're searching and you'll get bids from vendors who are hungry for your business. You will be more important to someone who actively wants your business than you will be to someone you had to ask to accept your money.
Once you have a number of vendors pursuing your business, look for those who have a special reason to value you as a customer. Perhaps they want to crack into your industry. Maybe they'd like the exposure you'll provide them. They might be desperate for a more consistent, if not sizable, stream of revenues.
Or it could be that you're offering them an opportunity to use new or very profitable types of services. Be more than just a paycheck and you'll never need to worry about their delivering on their promises.
What if they're not reliable? (or) What if their product isn't good? (or) What if they don't deliver on time?
While all these fears are legitimate, they're also all covers for other problems. Your real problem is that you don't trust the vendor because you didn't do an adequate job of investigating him before you hired him. It doesn¡¯t t matter whether the problem is extant¡ªhe's already fallen behind¡ªor expectant¡ªyou're afraid he will fall behind. The problem is you simply don't trust the vendor to do the job.
You're not only worried, say, about the vendor delivering on time, you're also probably worried about the quality of his product. Then, if you've made a promise based on the vendor's promise, you're also worried about your delivering on time as well, and how your own customer will respond if you can't. Basically, you have no confidence in anything about the vendor, and are worried about how the vendor's failings will impact every aspect of your business.
Rather than giving in to your worst fears and focusing on the possibility of total failure, concentrate on the current facts. Is the vendor still on schedule? Have you been regularly checking the quality of his work? What are the specific problems that exist right now? If you find the vendor is on schedule, and your spot checks reveal quality work, your general fear of failure is irrational. Keep your fingers crossed and start looking for someone else in whom you'll have confidence. On the other hand, if you find problems with the schedule or quality you now have something concrete to work on.
If you had done a thorough job of investigating this vendor you wouldn't be in this mess. But, rather than dwelling on that, do your best to now become an expert in the vendor's business. Your goal is to help him find ways to get back on schedule and to improve his work, or to stick to a schedule and provide a quality product.
Whichever is the case, start looking for replacement vendors, and this time, do a thorough research job. Since obviously you're not comfortable with this vendor, you'll need a replacement sooner or later. Hopefully your newfound expertise will help you get out of the current mess. If not, you want to be able to jump to another vendor as soon as possible.
This vendor failed to create an environment of trust in his relationship with you. Don't let anything he does from this point on cloud your decision to switch to another vendor. At this point you've no need to get him to trust you. In fact, you'll probably do better getting him to fear you a little bit. You can do that by being very direct and businesslike in manner, and extremely punctual in seeking feedback. For instance, call every afternoon at 3 p.m. to check on the schedule, get your status report, and then end the dialogue. Don't engage in any friendly banter.
They won't do work for me.
This entire problem is actually an appeal, whether it's to a real or an anticipated rejection. The most important information-you need to find out is why they have, or would, you suspect, turn you down. If they've already rejected you, ask them for the reason. If you're anticipating rejection, speak with others in the industry and find out all you can about the vendor's needs and wants.
If the vendor turns you down because he "doesn't have the time," or doesn't find your project "interesting," don't bother appealing. No matter how good he is you shouldn't settle for anything less than a full commitment. Instead, ask him to recommend the "second best" vendor in the business. That request alone may get him to change his mind.
If he rejects you because he doesn't believe you'll offer him enough profit, appeal based on your ability to bring him other business through referrals, or to provide him with entry into a new field.
So how do you become more than just an invoice? One way is to spread the word that you're looking for a vendor and solicit bids. Rather than looking for vendors on your own, publicize that you're searching and you'll get bids from vendors who are hungry for your business. You will be more important to someone who actively wants your business than you will be to someone you had to ask to accept your money.
Once you have a number of vendors pursuing your business, look for those who have a special reason to value you as a customer. Perhaps they want to crack into your industry. Maybe they'd like the exposure you'll provide them. They might be desperate for a more consistent, if not sizable, stream of revenues.
Or it could be that you're offering them an opportunity to use new or very profitable types of services. Be more than just a paycheck and you'll never need to worry about their delivering on their promises.
What if they're not reliable? (or) What if their product isn't good? (or) What if they don't deliver on time?
While all these fears are legitimate, they're also all covers for other problems. Your real problem is that you don't trust the vendor because you didn't do an adequate job of investigating him before you hired him. It doesn¡¯t t matter whether the problem is extant¡ªhe's already fallen behind¡ªor expectant¡ªyou're afraid he will fall behind. The problem is you simply don't trust the vendor to do the job.
You're not only worried, say, about the vendor delivering on time, you're also probably worried about the quality of his product. Then, if you've made a promise based on the vendor's promise, you're also worried about your delivering on time as well, and how your own customer will respond if you can't. Basically, you have no confidence in anything about the vendor, and are worried about how the vendor's failings will impact every aspect of your business.
Rather than giving in to your worst fears and focusing on the possibility of total failure, concentrate on the current facts. Is the vendor still on schedule? Have you been regularly checking the quality of his work? What are the specific problems that exist right now? If you find the vendor is on schedule, and your spot checks reveal quality work, your general fear of failure is irrational. Keep your fingers crossed and start looking for someone else in whom you'll have confidence. On the other hand, if you find problems with the schedule or quality you now have something concrete to work on.
If you had done a thorough job of investigating this vendor you wouldn't be in this mess. But, rather than dwelling on that, do your best to now become an expert in the vendor's business. Your goal is to help him find ways to get back on schedule and to improve his work, or to stick to a schedule and provide a quality product.
Whichever is the case, start looking for replacement vendors, and this time, do a thorough research job. Since obviously you're not comfortable with this vendor, you'll need a replacement sooner or later. Hopefully your newfound expertise will help you get out of the current mess. If not, you want to be able to jump to another vendor as soon as possible.
This vendor failed to create an environment of trust in his relationship with you. Don't let anything he does from this point on cloud your decision to switch to another vendor. At this point you've no need to get him to trust you. In fact, you'll probably do better getting him to fear you a little bit. You can do that by being very direct and businesslike in manner, and extremely punctual in seeking feedback. For instance, call every afternoon at 3 p.m. to check on the schedule, get your status report, and then end the dialogue. Don't engage in any friendly banter.
They won't do work for me.
This entire problem is actually an appeal, whether it's to a real or an anticipated rejection. The most important information-you need to find out is why they have, or would, you suspect, turn you down. If they've already rejected you, ask them for the reason. If you're anticipating rejection, speak with others in the industry and find out all you can about the vendor's needs and wants.
If the vendor turns you down because he "doesn't have the time," or doesn't find your project "interesting," don't bother appealing. No matter how good he is you shouldn't settle for anything less than a full commitment. Instead, ask him to recommend the "second best" vendor in the business. That request alone may get him to change his mind.
If he rejects you because he doesn't believe you'll offer him enough profit, appeal based on your ability to bring him other business through referrals, or to provide him with entry into a new field.
[posted by : OFP on Oct. 29, 2009]
TAGS: business