Assessing the trustworthiness of potential business partners?

The thriving business sector is the backbone of the UK economy and the powerhouse which drives the nation forward.

A huge part of its success is due to the cooperative partnerships that businesses strike between each other. The deals help businesses to achieve more than they could alone and also inspire new innovations. Finding the right organisation to partner with can be a great way for any UK firm to expand and increase its market presence. If nothing else, your new potential business partners may be a great source of new leads for you!

But before you jump into a deal with any business partner, you should first think about how trustworthy they are. Partnering with one that is not can be disastrous for your own reputation, not to mention potentially costly and very frustrating. With this in mind, it is therefore highly advised to gauge how much you can trust any organisation you plan to work alongside.

But how can you do this and help your business achieve more?

Online reviews

A bonus of the digital age is the presence of online reviews which provide a quick and easy way of checking out the credentials of another business. If, for example, you were going to partner with a forex broker in a new venture, online reviews of forex brokers are a handy way of doing some research beforehand. It is also useful if you plan to invest some of your company profits in the currency market through a broker. The truth is that whatever organisation you plan to partner with in whatever industry, a check of online reviews is a must.

Ask around

Online detective work is convenient, but you should also spread your net a bit wider. Make use of the friends you have in business and your wider network to enquire about who you are thinking of partnering with. Very often, they will give a much more personal or in-depth account of what the company is really like. Naturally, this source of information is one you may trust more as it comes from people you know. By asking around, you can build up a clear picture of the standing of other businesses in your sector or any past issues others have had with them.

Are they easy to contact?

This may sound overly simplistic but tests like this can give a great insight into the trustworthiness of a potential business partner. After all, you do not want to find out that they cannot be relied upon to stay in touch or be contacted once a deal has been struck. If you have business cards from your contacts in the other company, call the numbers shown to see if they answer and how they deal with you. If you don’t have direct lines, call the main reception number instead. If you can never get hold of anyone, it is best to avoid the firm.

How do they operate?

Another simple yet effective way to gauge trustworthiness is weighing up how they go about their business. Do they seem to take it seriously, act professionally and deliver orders on time? If the answers are ‘No’ then it could be the sign of a firm who are not to be trusted. You certainly do not want to partner with an organisation which can’t be relied on to get orders out by given deadlines or that acts in a manner that is not fitting for business.

Trust your instincts

Another good test to employ is simply trusting your own gut instinct. If your business partners arrive late for meetings with incredible excuses or always have a story as to why they didn’t bring along that key information, you may be better off not bothering. If you want to back up this gut instinct further, take a look into their past company history and performance. If they keep going bust and then re-opening for example, to work with them will be risky.

Only work with business partners you trust

So much of how business works around the UK is based on trust. When you partner with a business, you need to know that they can be relied on to keep to their end of the deal. That is what makes testing how reliable they are important before agreeing to anything. Not only will it save you a lot of stress but it will also protect the reputation of your business.