Recently I was looking for a cozy office for my new social venture, the important part of it is to find realtors who represent us to find a suitable place, in exchange for a small fee charged directly to the place owner. Luckily for us, with help from a realtor, we have found the most suitable place (indeed 80% score in accordance with our criteria) which was just a few walks from Cau Giay park.
We all agreed on a deal basis with the owner and looked to receive his papers the other day. In the next morning, the realtor agent we were working with called me and announced (in a frustrated tone against the place owner) the owner wanted to raise the renting fee (a ridiculous 25% more than the original agreement). Without hesitation, I refused this laughable offer. The realtor agent then said sorry (not her fault!) and offered me that if we still wanted to negotiate with the place owner, she could give me his direct phone and the agent wouldn’t get any commission out of this deal. I thanked her for her sincerity and still didn’t make up my mind. We simply can’t work with a partner like that place owner.
02 things I find interesting about this above short story, and I hope that you as an (social) entrepreneur could learn something from:
- Amid the current common market (at least in Vietnam), sincerity/honesty is surprisingly uncommon. And if you practice it to your heart and apply it to your real service, you could gain an advantage and stand out than your direct competitors. I have been working with about 5 realtor agents for this task and that one in the story has earned my full trust because of her honesty and professional manner; and that I just want to finalize a deal with her again. More importantly, now I can be confident to refer her service to my network (the power of word-of-mouth marketing). Honesty + Professional manner mostly = win customers.
- Choose your partners wisely and strategically. “Partner” in my definition is a broad term for whoever has some impacts on your work, even small impacts: They could be your co-workers, customers, suppliers, government agents, janitors… As an entrepreneur, it’s best to build up a win-win scenario with each of your partners; and only it will sustain your business growth, in a long run. The place owner in the story tried to play a dishonest and superior game against me, and I simply can’t afford to maintain this kind of toxic partnership. Zappos can be able to offer a superior 365-day return policy because they have created a great trustful partnership with their suppliers – who accept a loss in every product return from Zappos’s customer. A good partner doesn’t just do her/his job for you, he/she is your companion and supporter for your journey as a social entrepreneur.
In conclusion, I hope you have found some useful tips on this matter. Let’s not just do it today, but embrace and make this your working mantra/value. For more information and advice, feel free to reach out to me.
By the way, we are still looking for a new office. The temperature in Hanoi in June/July is just painful…
Also, I recommend you to take time to read the book by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos “Delivering Happiness”, in which he explains some extraordinary approaches of business practice during his journey with Zappos.com, an extraordinary e-commerce platform with their cult famous customer service.
Henry Le's blog 