Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Should you stay or should you go?

Reasons you should stay with the vendor you're currently working with:

  1. They understand your company and processes, making projects more efficient
  2. Their pricing is transparent
  3. They hit their deadlines
  4. They fix problems as they arise
  5. They show up when you need them
  6. They do things as well as or better than you would do yourself
  7. They pay attention to little details
  8. They are proactive in identifying prospective issues
  9. They have good ideas and make good suggestions
  10. You're happy to see them

Reasons you should find a new vendor:

  1. Even after working with you for awhile, they still don't get your processes or company culture
  2. You don't understand how they price things and they aren't clear when you ask
  3. They miss their deadlines
  4. Fixing problems is a problem
  5. They are hard to get ahold of when you need them
  6. You do most of their work for them
  7. They only do what's in their contract, nothing more
  8. They don't see the problems on the horizon until they smack you in the face
  9. They are yesmen (or women) that don't offer insight of their own
  10. You dread spending time with them

What other reasons make you stay or make you go?

1 comment:

  1. Speaking from the vendor side, I can say that I consider #1 and #2 the main reasons I've been able to stay in business. When your clients know that you understand their work processes and can envision the final product (especially in multimedia and e-learning), it adds an incredible level of comfort. And pricing... nothing drives me crazier than getting an estimate from a vendor that looks like it came from an auto repair shop. If a vendor can't write a detailed proposal explaining the work to be performed, what they're going to charge, and why they are the right person/company to do that work, then you probably shouldn't be working with them. I always assume that clients expect the same level of detail and professionalism from me that they would give to their own clients.

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