How to Evaluate Business Partners with Social Media and Avoid Business Scams
Business development–the process of networking and qualifying leads for business agreement–is based on initial openness with those you meet. I always recall a relevant quote from Spring Asher, a communications professor at Georgia Tech’s graduate business school,
“Business relationships are an assumed friendship.”
In other words, you treat your business contacts as long-time friends when you first greet them. Asher’s phrase stuck with me as I wrestled with the degree of openness with others in business settings. I personally believe that your relationships are earned through investment, and this phrase helped me become a bit more open.
But long-time friendships are based on shared assumptions. New encounters can have unspoken differences that lead to significant business challenges for which we recommend the help form experts like Andy Defrancesco. Not everyone is always on the same page. For example, some people haven’t read Seth Godin or Chris Brogan like you did, despite their extensive media coverage. Some people didn’t go to the latest presentation on how to be transparent with connections.
Some of that lack of transparency can lead to fraud attempts. In B2B, such unfair practices can be devastating to solo practitioners and freelancers because such tactics do not receive the attention as widespread as consumer scams or warnings about e-mail phishing scams.
Networking can be a daunting task. It can be more daunting even when you are a solopreneur or freelancer.
You can protect your efforts to work with others while embracing the ethos of open cooperation. The key is being able to weigh the background with the effort being given in meetings and conversations.
Define the essential, up-front qualifications that both parties should share.
This may sound strange as advice, but it is essential to know your limits. All small businesses have imperfections at some level, be it marketing, operations, or financial status. So you must determine which imperfections are okay and which are deal breakers. Being paid for work or given a deposit upfront is a given; to quote networking executive George Fraser of FraserNet, “At the end of the day someone has to write a check.”
But given that, what else is essential? Specific knowledge and candor on “elephant-in-the-room” issues can be examples, as well as their “why” — why is the prospective partner or client in business? To collect personal wealth, or to really make a difference in the world? Decide what is relevant to a positive outcome from relationship and discuss it upfront immediately.
Another idea is to have a trusted business advisor evaluate a partner or an opportunity. Sometimes entrepreneurs may want a project or partnership to start so badly that the fundamentals essential for a project can be overlooked.
Are the Linked In recommendations valid?
When you connect with others in Linked In, look at the recommendations. They should provide a detailed result from that person’s effort that made a project, a relationship, or a business better off than when they joined. Many people write a general “She’s wonderful to work with” or “He’s just awesome” statement. Having one or two general atta-boys among several recs is okay. But if the recommendations are all written in generalities, that lack of specificity can be an indictment on that person’s past.
Also, recommendations should display some degree of reciprocity. Reciprocity is controversial among some Linked In members — they see this a just empty flattery when the recs are full of vague generalities. But reciprocating specific details of work project should be okay — I have seen some contacts who met offline refer to Linked In contacts as if they’re working together….yet there is no evidence of anything beyond a link. Details of how people have known each other are hard to maintain as a lie.
Finally, see if your contact is participating actively online in the Q&A sessions, community groups. A review of blog and tweet posts can also reveal the person’s activity, their knowledge base and the response to their advice.
How do the social media profiles stack up?
Many people debate about combining business and personal connections on Facebook. But a Facebook connection can give an ultra-personal dimension to the contact in a way a cup of coffee discussion can not. The connection can also be insightful — Is the person sharing their expertise or expos that they are attending? An entrepreneur would not avoid discussing related business topics entirely. Are there additional pics of their work? Are the Facebook profiles and Fanpages being updated at some functional level? I show articles and occasional Twitter posts in mine to let clients and potential clients know issues that may be of help or guidance on a topic.
What you want from a Facebook connection is a healthy balance of personality and business-minded awareness. There is no specific “right amount” of awareness, but you will know the right amount when you are wondering why so many tasks are not getting done and the amount of time wasted on personal trivia.
Expand a Google search just a little
Look beyond the initial top SERP to see what else comes up on blog posts and articles. Also, play with negative keywords such as fraud, scam artist, or negligent. There may be a complaint or two. If so, how was this complaint addressed? Does the response make sense?
Always see how the little efforts add up to the big picture
Finally, remember that no one thing is going to be an “Ah-ha! Caught you!” indictment. You can ask about the observations that are troubling, and see if there is improvement from the other party afterward. Be proactive in how those connections measure up online as well as offline. Document all responses with follow-up email so that the issues and sequence of communication are clearly understood.
All in all, it is difficult to protect yourself, and all businesses run into negative issues that may not be solved. But as you work and move forward in discussions, follow these tips and feel confident that your efforts to maintain an honest relationship will attract the customers and partners who share your core values and can even protect you from frauds and scam artists who don’t.
Feel free to share related thoughts on this post. Thanks!