How To Decide What Strategic Partners To Invest In

Companies are making hard decisions to survive. They're taking a near term approach, so they don't go bankrupt.

Surviving is on all business executives' top list. 

How one company survives may cause another to close its doors. It's never an all or nothing approach to survival…besides; cash is king. 

I recently had a video conference with a client to discuss the state of their business. 

The Director of Contracts made a statement, but I could tell he didn't want to ask me the question directly. 

Being the trusted advisers we are, I approached what he wanted to ask, without hesitation. 

It sounds like you want to know if we're going to be around to continue to support you in the near-term. Is that right? 

It was. I went through a list of valid proof on how we'll not only survive, but thrive beyond the current crisis.

How a company acts today will distinguish it for years to come.

We're in a time of massive stress tests. It's easier to see people's true colors when they and their operations are under immense pressure. 

Today is the day you get to decide not to work with the villains.

Why you MUST fire your bad suppliers.

We've had several vendors who are no longer giving credit terms to their clients. 

Some of them are even being rude. 

They'll aggressively collect on their receivables, before they're due, demanding payment, and being disrespectful. 

I understand their decision to restrict credit terms (see the next section), but I don't understand why they're rude. 

Sure they're under pressure, but so is everyone else. 

I don't understand, that for clients who are still paying their vendors (my company), with an incredible track record, and a corporate contingency plan in place, that they're jeopardizing a future relationship, and they're ability to get back to "normal" faster. 

I've requested that we stop sending orders to these companies. 

Anyone cutting off terms, without a conversation, is fired. 

The companies who are rude and disrespectful, we'll be diverting our orders away from them, and awarding them to the people who are acting in ways that we value.

Today is a great day to invest in your best supplier relationships.

You can fire clients too. 

After hearing about conversations with vendors, the reason they're restricting terms is customers are canceling orders, or telling them they won't pay.

It's a sad situation, and a lot of companies are having trouble.

Today is a great day to learn who your most valuable clients are. 

The ones who don't play games at the expense of your operation. The ones who have a track record of paying. The ones who are communicating with you and doing their best to survive.

I'm grateful we have a business model where we've identified who our best clients are and invested the time and resources on providing real value to their operation, and personal lives. 

This means we've chosen not to do business with thousands of other companies, because we know we can't bring our best selves to their operation.

This doesn't work for everyone, but it's what works for our clients and us.

Today is a perfect time to evaluate who your best vendors and clients are, and invest in those relationships.

Waiting will only cost you more money and time. Invest now!