Learn about what every entrepreneur needs to know when seeking out and maintaining successful business relationships.
BY REID CARR
My company, Red Door Interactive, has been in business for nearly 15 years. I often look back and consider how far we’ve come. In fact, every quarter, we sit down as a management team and reflect on the accomplishments of the previous quarter, and do the same at the end of every year. It’s a fun activity because, in the moment, you don’t always notice it.
For as aware as I am of the perpetual evolution around me, I easily fall victim to it. One example is in those with whom we’ve had working business relationships. My visions of them are statically clung to a moment in time. I often have to correct myself to appreciate how they also may be a different organization today than who they were when we knew them so well.
Put it this way. Say a fellow company executive you know is considering a software tool to use for their business and asks you what you thought of it. You may answer, “Yeah, I used it. It sucked. It was slow and doesn’t have all the information I want.”
Well, what if that experience was from three years ago?
I believe that there are some things that are consistent and others that are reflective of a moment in time.Therefore, if you are evaluating a vendor who you may want to do work for you, you might want to talk to a few people with periods of experience with that vendor in different moments in time to better understand what the organization values, where they invest and how they make decisions. Then, you may want to talk to others who are currently working with that vendor or using their product to understand the functionality, its ease of use, and so on.
I believe that both exercises are valuable and more indicative if the provider will solve your problems both today AND into the future rather than either today or running the risk that you’ve acted on old information (which is to say, an uninformed decision).
More important, if you intend to make an investment in someone or something, you also want to consider where they’ll be in the years ahead. This is, in part, because as you add new people, new tools and new things to your company, you want to build for that future rather than have to keep extracting and reinserting pieces into the equation.
Changing out people, processes, partners and tools is like taking a few paddle strokes upstream. Sometimes you need to do it to realign the boat, but it doesn’t help with immediate progress.
I find that, when asked about my experiences, people tend to focus on moments in time, as well. So, I try to reshape and re-frame the questioning to be clear that, for one, it was only my experience, so I try to provide specific examples that are unique to me. Secondly, I try to be clear about the time period in which I had that experience; I specify how long ago and how long it last-ed. I then reinforce that I believe that things have changed – for better or for worse perhaps – and what I believe the organization or person valued based on my experience.
In fact, you can ask better questions to get there and therefore, both find a better partner and set a better tone for a future relationship.
Here are some ideas to enhance the line of questions for successful business relationships::
- “What drives everything you do?”
- “How has that changed over the years?”
- “What’s next?”
- “Do you intend to sell, go public or remain private?”
- And, most importantly, follow up nearly every question with, “Why?”
Asking a simple question, and wanting a simple answer rarely leads to an engaging and important conversation, whether it is asked to the potential partner or to those with experience with them. It is like looking at a photo instead of getting the story (which, by the way, one can draw all sorts of parallels to modern app-based dating; some are built for “dates” more so than “relationships”).
Ideally, if you work to understand the context of the answers and expose the foundation of a potential partner, you find answers from someone that will align with your values and that of your organization AND satisfy an immediate need. And once you find alignment with values, rather than finding a moment in time relationship, you have something you can count on for the path ahead.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Reid Carr is President and CEO of Red Door Interactive, a fiercely independent data-driven advertising agency that delivers the right message to the right targets in all the right places regardless of media. Through unique research and analytics capabilities, the firm identifies key influencing factors and tactics for its clients’ specific audiences, providing a sustainable model to optimize marketing programs to powerful, predictable results. Follow him on Twitter or contact Red Door, Interactive directly at 619-398-2670.
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