You’ve read the five golden rules of starting a successful business, now it’s time to read the three golden rules of running one.
Spot bad outsourcing
Bad outsourcing is not something business owners want to have to deal with, but it is something that they have to deal with as they run their business. This is because there will always be bad third party companies, external services and out-of-house vendors out there willing and waiting to try their luck with successful businesses. So you, more than likely, will face a spot of bad outsourcing as your business grows and succeeds. And to protect your business from these kinds of reprobates, you have to try and spot the bad outsourcing before your business is harmed by it.
In order to spot it, you should look out for a few telltale signs. One sign is the providing of a quick quote from the external source that you have asked to do work for you. Them returning a quote to you quickly means two things: it means they are not diligent and that they cut corners. And do you really want somebody or something like that handling your business’s work? Another sign that should set alarm bells ringing in your head is your outsourcing partner going quiet on you when they are doing the work you have set them. This either means the work they have done is not going to plan, or they haven’t even started it. The final sign that should tell you everything you need to know about a poor outsourcing partner is the missing of the deadline on their part. If you see any of these things taking place in regards to work you set third parties, then you should either question them about it or pull the work from them.
But you don’t have to just deal with bad outsourcing partners by yourself. No, you can use tools to help you do so. One such tool that can be used in the fight against bad outsourcing is Third Party Risk Management Software, provided by Symfact. By using such a tool you would be able to run risk assessments on all the vendors you provide jobs to. You would also be able to monitor the work this third party does for you. Thus, you would be able to rest easy knowing the work you put into the hands of this external source is being both done and done well.
Don’t be afraid to factor
In regards to outsourcing, one of the safest areas of it is factoring. Factoring is the act of providing an external factoring company with an invoice that you are having difficulty chasing up; this could be an invoice from a customer, a vendor or even an employee. What the factoring company, known as a factor, would do is pay you for this invoice and then collect it themselves. What this would mean for is you getting the money rightfully, and lawfully owed to you as well as not having to bother with chasing the rouge invoice up yourself.
Factoring is something that you should most certainly consider as you continue to run your business as you can never quite tell what a customer is going to do. A customer could have a service done by your business, but then go into hiding when the time to pay for this service comes. Because there will always be people out there willing to do such things, you must always be willing to factor.
Know how to seal deals
Sealing deals is what brings your business its business. Sealing deals is what puts food on your family’s table. So, you must be well versed in the art of deal sealing.
The first thing that you should know when it comes to this art is that a deal can be sealed within the first few seconds of an interaction. So, as soon as you meet a potential client you must be in deal sealing mode. And when in deal sealing mode you should always remember that actions speak just as loudly as words. Keeping their eyesight, shaking their hand firmly and not being too tactile are just some of the actions you should remember during any initial interaction that you make with a potential client.
Truthfully, running a business is a completely different beast to starting one. It takes even more work, even longer hours and it is much, much harder. So, if you’ve started a business, congratulations. But now it’s time to stop resting on your laurels and start getting down to the nitty gritty; now it’s time to start making your business everything it can be. And if you take heed of the advice above and then put it into practice, you should be well on your way to doing so.
