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The only publication dedicated to OSS Volume 1, Issue 1 - May 2004 |  |
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Vendor Credibility (cont'd) What Credibility is...and What it Is Not There are many things that vendors like to believe give them credibility, but in reality do not. For example, having the best, latest, fastest, or coolest technology does not build credibility. Nor does having the most features; the cheapest or most expensive product; the most widely used product; or even the most reliable product. Four-color marketing materials, expensive sales literature, and embossed business cards do not provide credibility. A mistake many vendors make again and again is to insist that credibility has anything to do with their product, their technology, their features, their history, or their future. It is also a mistake to assume that credibility is related to a company's size, age, revenues, or the size of its marketing, sales or expense budget. Credibility is not gained or lost by considering a vendor's company, products and services in a vacuum. Relationships Matter Credibility plays in exactly the same "relationship space." Quite simply, if a person advances her credibility by consistently doing what she says, that person will advance her relationships, and develop a level of trust that affects every future interaction. Similarly, every time someone does not do what they say, or does not live up to an expectation, the level of credibility and trust decreases. Developing Credibility Most readers are likely familiar with stories where a vendor, after winning the long battle to close a contract, ultimately lost the war because it thought that its acceptance bestowed permanent credibility and that it could relax and take the relationship less seriously. Nothing damages credibility more than this attitude. More than a few vendors have been "thrown out" because they dismantled after the sale the credibility they had established prior to the sale. To be successful and remain credible a vendor - before the sale, during the fulfillment, and all throughout the lifecycle of a product - must:
Remember that it is every interaction, not only the large events, that build or destroy credibility. Every time anyone has an interaction, no matter how insignificant it may seem, some portion of a vendor's credibility is at stake.
© 2004, All information contained herein is the sole property of Pipeline Publishing, LLC. Pipeline Publishing LLC reserves all rights and privileges regarding the use of this information. Any unauthorized use, such as copying, modifying, or reprinting, will be prosecuted under the fullest extent under the governing law. |
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Many components of credibility do not appear in a proposal or sales literature, but are key factors in judging whether a vendor is credible. In every interaction between a vendor's company and a prospect/customer's company, the credibility of that vendor is constantly reevaluated. The reevaluation is based on the customer's interpretation of what the vendor has said it will do, and the vendor's subsequent actions. This reevaluation occurs constantly between every person in the vendor company and everyone with whom they interact - prospects, customers, consultants, even other vendors.
Thousands of seminars, books, and consultants will be happy to teach how one should interact with marketplaces, customers, or prospects more effectively. Their message all boils down to one simple principle: it is the relationship that matters more than anything else. These relationships may be with superiors, subordinates, peers, prospects' personnel, clients, and even former clients or prospects who did not choose your product or service.