6 Rules of Dating that Apply to Business

The best relationships are the ones where you can depend on the other party through good and bad times. You get to celebrate the successes with them and you know that they will be there when you need them. The key is to develop that strong bond with the other party so when it is tested, it will hold.

Ask any dating expert and they’ll tell you that the secret to a long lasting relationship is to treat dating like a business.  By applying some common dating tips, you can make your business relationships into long-term partnerships that benefit both companies.

 

1. Don’t commit too early.

As with dating, there are lots of options out there for your vendors. Don’t just go with the first one that you find. Take the time to find a couple of options and see which one is the best match for what you are looking for. Shop around. “Grab a coffee or lunch.” We all do this in our personal lives before jumping into a relationship and should also do this when sourcing vendors.

 

2. Take time to learn about them.

Once you find the vendor or vendors you are considering to work with, learn as much as you can about them. Remember, it isn’t only about you. When we are dating, the first few dates are filled with conversation to learn more about each other’s likes, dislikes and personalities. You should do the same with a vendor.

Learn about their strengths, weaknesses and personalities of the people you will be working with. There needs to be a match between you and the vendor. There are many resources you can use to find out more information. Talk to your colleagues and contacts to see if anyone else has used them. As them for references of companies they have worked with in the past, both with positive and negative outcomes. Look at their website and marketing materials. Nowadays you can even read reviews written about the companies by their customers

 

3. What are the expectations for the relationship?

What are you expecting out of the relationship? When we date, sometimes we are just looking for someone to hang out with, other times we are looking for long term relationships. This is the same when sourcing vendors. Are you looking for a quick job to get some prototypes made or are you looking for a vendor that can scale up to meet your increase in demand? You will start to build the basis of a strong partnership by being open with what you are looking for and what you expect from your vendor.

 

4. Show them respect.

This is common for people to say this for a personal relationship. “Show the person you are with respect.” I’m sure that is in almost every dating advice book out there. When it comes to a vendor relationship, I think this is one of the points that can quickly get overlook or neglected. You are the customer, so you are always right. That is a bad way to look at the relationship. If you treat your vendors more like a partner, they will be more invested in your projects and will step up to the plate when you need them to.

 

5. Open communication and listening is key.

In personal as well as professional relationships, communication is critical to make sure everyone is on the same page. Don’t keep things bottled up and ignore bringing them to light. This will only make the partnership more difficult and lead to potential conflicts.

Did something not go as you expected? Talk to the vendor about it. Don’t just keep it internal to your company. If the vendor doesn’t know about it, how can they address the issue? That being said, remember point 4 and see point 6. By talking about the situation and issues, a way to resolve the problem and also improve for the future is possible.

 

6. Don’t point fingers

It is easy to have everyone happy when everything is going smoothly but unfortunately, this is not always the case. In almost every partnership, there will be times when something goes wrong. This is the time you need the vendor on your side more than ever. Working together to figure out what is the problem and best path to fix it will both get to the solution faster as well as strengthen the partnership between you and your vendors.

As with dating, building a strong relationship  can take months, even years but can be destroyed in a heartbeat.

Have your own advice to for building a strong business partnership? Let us know!

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