Business Continuity Audit » Business Relationship

Business Partnerships – Doing It Right

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:30:21 +0000

So you are considering starting a business with a partner or partners. If you’re doing so keep in mind some absolute truths. Most business partnerships end in a break up by a factor of 8 to 1. I know you’ve got the perfect formula – I’ve heard it before but… heed these words of advice. You must be willing to suffer the loss of your relationship if the business partnership ends.

Is your partner a friend or relative? If he or she is close to you, keep in mind the importance of this relationship. If you are going to have a partner, here is the best way to reduce compromising your relationship. Yes, even if they are your best friend or family member. Define to the finest detail your roles and responsibilities, all of your expectations and then have them reviewed by a non-biased third party (NOT YOUR MOM) and be sure the reviewer has a business background. Next, define exactly how all the income is going to be divided up – to the penny. Third, have clauses defining exactly how you may buy each other out for and how much in what type of payment if one party decides to leave. Don’t ever let the other party walk without a financial payoff — even if it is small. They will forever feel you jipped them and you’ll have an awkward five hundred pound gorilla between you forever. Finally, sign a document agreeing to these roles, responsibilities and financial issues. Consider this a pre-nup and be sure to understand the reason you’re doing this. You want to remain friends first and foremost because all the money in the world won’t buy you that relationship again. So, plan it out and make sure you are both on the same page with the same interest in starting a business. Don’t believe for a moment that you can separate business from your relationship — it’s a lie.

Have you “really” addressed the stuff that has been on your mind but is hard to talk about? Cover these things now before you go into a partnership and put plans in place that force a positive outcome fueled by your ability to recognize both of your shortcomings. Know your own personal limits and those of your partners. Most of the limits and problems in a business are fueled by personal “stuff”. It’s not that the personal stuff is all bad. Maybe you or your partner to be is married to a jealous spouse that will certainly have a problem with you starting a nationwide trucking service gone on the road 6 nights a week. Maybe your Mom lives nearby and requires your daily attention of which would certainly come to a screaming halt if you open that sign shop. Let’s face it, people are more important than money. If you don’t think so, ask the lonely and bitter millionaire. You will have to adjust your business model to suit both your lifestyles and personalities. This is the stuff, the personality “face the music” stuff that if addressed up front, during the planning stages, will reduce the likelihood of breakdowns and break ups of your new company.

By: Dan Nichols

Business Tips – Customer Relationship Management

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:19:37 +0000

Customer relationship management (CRM) includes the proficiencies, technologies, and methodologies that sustain a business in managing fine rapport with its customers.

The basic principle of CRM is to facilitate organizations to manage their customers by the introduction of consistent systems and procedures.

Customer relationship management is a standardized business strategy that spotlights on development and maintenance of eternal relationships with customers.

Customer Relationship Management, in its widest sense, signifies managing all interactions and business with customers, which entails enhancing customer service in an infinite manner.

High quality CRM program facilitates a business to attain customers, cater their requirement, retain good customers, boost the value of business, and determine which customers ought to be preserved or bestowed with a top level of service.

Other Benefits:

A good CRM program boosts customer service by assisting communication in many ways:

• It offers product details, product usage information, and other technical assistance on websites that are accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• It determines how every single customer classifies the product quality, after which, it designs a service plan for every customer based on these individual requisites and anticipations.

• It proffers a rapid mechanism to manage and plan follow-up sales calls to evaluate post purchase perceptive disagreement, repurchasing possibilities and repurchase frequencies.

• A good customer relationship management also offers a mechanism to spot all points in contact between a customer and the business firm. CRM executes it in a combined way to include entire source and all sorts of contact, which facilitate all the users to witness the same view of the customer.

• It assists to recognize any potential difficulties rapidly, prior to their entrance in the business.

• It offers a user friendly mechanism, to register customer complaints that are a prime source of customer disappointment.

• One key function of CRM program is that, it gathers details about potential customers. The program collects these information considering the customer’s privacy and data security.

• It also offers a rapid mechanism to operate difficulties and complaints to resolve them swiftly, so as to boost customer satisfaction.

• An excellent CRM program also provides a swift mechanism to correct service insufficiencies, prior to its encounter with the customers.

• It firmly utilizes Internet cookies to spot customer’s interests and consequently, customizes product assistance.

• It also uses the Internet to connect, with mutual personalization or synchronized customization.

• It possesses a swift mechanism to operate and plan maintenance, renovations, and current support to boost both effectiveness or efficacy.

• A good CRM program, when incorporated with other cross functional systems blends to offer accounting and production details to customers whenever they desire.

Success:

Experience from several businesses proves that an apparent CRM condition in consideration to reports is of great importance, prior to initiating any CRM program execution.

With an accurate demand specification, a business may save huge deal of money and time, based on sensible anticipations of system potential. A good CRM system is a tremendous tool for management and customer strategies.

By: Jon Elton

In Business With Your Spouse

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:11:35 +0000

Are you and your spouse planning to go into business together? While it would make perfect sense to some couples, it could be a path fraught with pitfalls for many others. Here, we’ve put together a list of five strategies for forming an effective partnership with your spouse:

1. You need to talk: The key to a successful marriage lies in communication. The same holds true for a business relationship. Develop an effective way to sort out differences and resolve disputes. Do not let issues fester and develop into a serious problem, especially since there is a risk of that spilling into your personal lives. While at work, leave your family problems back home and when you go back home, do exactly the opposite. This is the only strategy that can help you weather the difficult times both at work and home.

2. Split the roles: It is very important to chalk out what each of you is going to do. Divide your roles and responsibilities. Chart out an activity plan for the work day that keeps you from stepping on each other’s toes. Typically, in small businesses, one partner handles customer-centric activities, such as sales and business development or preparing proposals and job estimates. The other partner takes care of the day-to-day operations including bookkeeping, payroll management and general office administration. Major decisions such as investing money into a new project, hiring key employees or resorting to new sources of financing should be taken together.

3. Carve out your niches: Right at the start, identify the skills each of you bring to the business and take it from there. With individual domains to manage, chances of conflict are lower, and you’ll have some experiences to share at the end of the day.

4. Give each other room: It is necessary for each of you to have your own space to work in. Having separate offices is ideal, but might not be feasible if yours is a home based business. Even then, you must create separate work spaces.

5. Look ahead: While it’s hard to think about the company’s future (or closure!) before you’ve even launched it, it’s important to sit down with your spouse and decide where you want the business to be, say five years down the line. And you would be better off agreeing on how to part ways as business partners if things don’t work out as planned.

Working with your spouse isn’t impossible, and can work for the right people. If you and your spouse share a common vision on the goals for your business, it shouldn’t be difficult to start one together and build a solid foundation for greater things.

By: Akhil Shahani

Business Culture in China

admin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:33:31 +0000

Chinese business culture and etiquette
The Chinese business practice is vastly different from the Western method that most of us may be used to. Of course, with the Chinese economy opening up, China’s joining of WTO and the Olympics in 2008, many Chinese business practice are now beginning to align with more conventional methods.

However, China will always have their own unique business culture and etiquette, given their unique history and background.

“I was recently involved in a business meeting that went sour and threatened to scuttle a good deal. What happened was that the Chinese party recieving the American purchaser was late in reaching his hotel. The American was furious as he had a tight schedule and that they were late and threatened to withdraw his purchase.

The Chinese party was late because they were given a vague address of a lake-side hotel. You see, what happened was that the American gave his hotel as Lakeside hotel. Unfortunately, there were numerous hotels along the lake but the Chinese were too shy to enquire which lakeside hotel earlier because they were afraid the American would ‘lose face’ for having given a vague address. Instead, they spent the morning hopping from one lakeside hotel to another looking for this American gentleman.”

A simple cultural difference threatened to scuttle a perfectly good working relationship. To avoid similar cultural disasters, here are some tips on how you can conduct a more successful business in China.

The initial approach

Chinese business are mostly referrals; essentially a business relationship is struck based on another business associate recommendation. The best prices and deals often comes from a strong recommendation.

However, it is common today for cold calls and direct contacts, given the availability of the internet and the competitive nature of Chinese businesses. You may source from the internet, trade fairs, catalogues and brochures, advertisements and approach the Chinese companies directly through a call or email.

Alternatively, if you are seeking to invest in a factory in China, you can approach a investment committee or a business advisory directly. They will be able to advise you on your best location based on your industry, raw material and manpower needs. Please contact us directly if you have such a need and we’ll be glad to advise accordingly.

Relationship

Chinese business relationship inevitably becomes a social relationship after a while. Unlike Western business relationship which remains professional and perhaps, aloof, even after a long time, Chinese business relationship becomes a social one.

The more you share your personal life, including family, hobbies, political views, aspirations, the closer you are in your business relationship. Sometimes, a lot of time is spent discussing matters outside of business, but then a lot of time, the other party is also making up his mind about your deal based on how much he sees your personal relationship with him.

Seniority

Seniority is very important to the Chinese especially if you are dealing with a State owned or government body. Instead of addressing the other party as Mr or Mrs so and so, it is always appropriate to address the other party by his designation ie Chairman So and So, Director So and So or Manager So and So.

When giving out namecards or brochures, make sure you start with the most senior person before moving down the line. When giving out a namecard or recieving one, ensure that you are stretching out with both hands with the card. Remember to face the card you are giving out in a manner such that the recieving party gets it facing him correctly.

Giving Face

Giving face (aka giving due respect) is a very important concept in China. You must give the appropriate respect according to rank and seniority. For example, if you are buying gifts for an initial contact, make sure you buy better gifts for the senior managers instead of buying similar gifts across the board.

Similarly, sitting positions in a meeting room or a dining table is accorded accordingly to rank, importance and seniority. It is good to seek advice before embarking on your first meeting with Chinese business contacts to avoid making the wrong move.

Gifts and Presents

Unlike earlier days when China was very poor, gifts, especially of Western origin was especially appreciated. Today, China produces and imports almost anything imaginable and gifts are no longer a novelty.

However, gifts are always appreciated and especially in the smaller cities or towns, will continue to play an important part in your business relationship. Do note that if you are indeed giving gifts, make sure the senior people get a better gift or at least gifts perceived to have a higher value than their junior staff.

Similarly, expect to recieve gifts from the Chinese, especially Chinese art products. It is polite not to refuse, especially if it is not of too high a monetary value.

Lunch/Dinner

There is no business talk in China without at least one trip to a restaurant. Sometimes, a trip is made to the restaurant even before any business discussion take place! Inevitably, the restaurant will always be a grand one and you are likely to be hosted in a private room.

There is an elaborate seating arrangement for a Chinese business meal. There are fixed seating positions for the host and the guest and then they are seated again according to seniority. This is a very important aspect of a formal dinner and it is important that you follow the rules accordingly. However, it seems that the Northern Chinese are very particular to this formal seating arrangement while the Southern Chinese has loosen the formalities somewhat.

You may like to find out more this interesting China Book.

Drinking with the Chinese

The Chinese are big drinkers especially in Northern and Western China. It does not matter if it is lunch or dinner; as long as a meal is being hosted, there will be alcohol.

Chinese wine is the favourite, followed by red wine and beer. Chinese wine is more like fuel than liquor, having a alcohol concentration as high as 60%! No matter how good a drinker you may think of yourself, never, ever challenge a Chinese into a drinking contest. They will win, hands down!

It is often seen as rude not to drink with the Chinese in a formal dinner. To maintain your sanity, either claim to be a non alcoholic or plead medical grounds as an excuse. This will let you off the hook with little or minimal drinks. Better yet, bring a partner who can drink on your behalf!

After Dinner Entertainment

Formal business dinner normally drags for quite sometime as there will be much social talk, some karoake, and drinking contests. Most of the time, everyone is too drunk to indulge in further entertainment after a dinner. In addition, if you are just new to this partnership, you are unlikely to be invited to further after dinner entertainment.

However, once you are familiar with them, you may be invited to a Karaoke, or a Night Club, or a Suana. Do note that if they are the host for the night, all bills will be picked up by them for the night, including all entertainment. It is impolite to fight for the bill or worst, split the bills.

Similarly, if you are the host for the night, you are expected to pick up all bills for the night.

Controversial Issues

There are some taboo areas in social conversations with the Chinese. Try to avoid these conversational topics as much as possible. I have seen many nasty arguements as a result of these topics:

1. You must not mention that Taiwan is an independent state or a country.

2. You must NEVER praise the Japanese or be seen to be good buddies with them

3. You can condemn Mao Tse Tung but avoid critising Deng Hsiao Ping

4. You must not praise Shanghai in front of natives of Beijing and similarly vice versa

Other than that, you are pretty safe to converse with the Chinese anything under the sun!

By: Ken Cheong