All Change!

Friday, August 17th, 2012

ALL CHANGE!

Today’s risk is not about Virgin Trains losing the West Coast Franchise. It is about the resistance buyers get when they suggest using a new supplier. How many ‘reasons’ can you think of to block such a change? Here are some we have encountered:

–          Their quality won’t be any good

–          They are bound to let us down

–          We are very happy with the current supplier

–          Don’t rock the boat

–          What do we really know about them?

–          It will take more time managing them than it’s worth

–          How do we know they will perform?

–          I didn’t like the people we met

–          They will agree anything to get the contract – than watch them

–          You will finish up cancelling the contract

–          How do we know we can trust them?

–          Don’t make the change for a few months

 

All such objections must be professionally countered. There always will be potential risks switching suppliers, hence these risks need identifying and managing. The contact management surveillance, early in the contract will usually be at a higher level than the existing suppliers, unless, of course, they were not performing.