Cole Grolmus’ Post

How can Business Owners protect themselves from fraudulent vendors? Read this article below on 10 Tips to vet potential suppliers? #ChaseforBusiness #jpmorganchase #fraudprevention

🔗 Your business is only as secure as your weakest link. Vendor risks can lead to breaches, compliance failures, and more. Are you securing every part of your supply chain? Let us help safeguard your partnerships. #SupplyChainSecurity #VendorManagement #DataProtection #CyberSecurityForB2B

Pro Tip: Always ask for vendor references, especially when their projections seem too good to be true. In my new role, I've been evaluating various vendors. Recently, one made some, let's call them, aggressive projections. I expressed skepticism and then asked for references, they refused. Huge red flag alert! 🚩 This experience reminded me that due diligence is non-negotiable. A vendor should be more than willing to provide references. Key takeaways: 1:Trust your instincts 2:Always ask for references 3: Be wary of those who won't back up their claims Have you encountered similar situations? How do you vet potential vendors? Share your experiences below! #BusinessTips #VendorManagement #DueDiligence #ProfessionalAdvice

What's causing non-compliance? We've discovered the main factors after analyzing over 202,000 retail vendor profiles. Discover more findings and valuable advice by getting the complete report here: https://lnkd.in/gKCR6-fH

Cyber Monday is here! Score big on deals and let Novoinno handle your US procurement and shipping needs. No better December than a stress free one! #Novoinno #UseNovoinno #Procurement #Shipping #GlobalTrade #BusinessGrowth #SupplyChain #SupplierPayments#Cybermonday

👎 Buyer confidence in making high-quality low-regret decisions on IT has eroded in the last few years... 🤔 This is understandable when buyers are constantly faced with choice overload, market saturation and complexity of products... My advice to an IT buyer, work with tech vendors who can provide Ethos (Credibility), Logos (Logic) and Pathos (Emotion) How? Test them in their: ♥ Empathetic understanding of your challenges & roadblocks to success 🔬 Ask for evidence/credibility via trusted 3rd party evidence and support Layered chain of logic: 💲 Tangible hard costs (licenses/services) 💻 Impact to your teams (productivity drain/poor value add) 💹 Impact to your customers (falling behind market/ poor retention) 🎯 Clear alignment to your priorities and objectives 📢 For the sellers out there, it's easier when you work for a market leader and category defining org. 🔑 However, not everyone has that advantage. And regardless, always put yourself on the buyers shoes by delivering a value conversation at all times! #sales #valueselling #marketleaders #gartner #buyerconfidence #ITbuying #softwareprocurement #customercentricity #customeraligned

Ever opened a package and just... frozen in disbelief? That was me a few months ago. I was beyond excited to upgrade my phone, but what I received? Pure shenanigans. A return would've been a total nightmare—longer wait times, more costs, and extra hassle—so I decided to just take the hit. There I was, stuck with my "upgrade," a little heavier with regret, and a lot lighter in the wallet. This whole ordeal reminded me: no matter how solid your follow-up and tracking process is, finding the right vendor is always the most crucial part of sourcing. And remember, no amount of experience makes you immune. Anyone else been burned by a bad supplier experience, personal or professional? How did you handle it? Don’t hesitate to share your story below—let's commiserate and find some humor (I might even post a picture of my "upgrade"!) #BuyerBeware #SupplierFails #LessonLearned #Supplier #SupplierProblems

UPDATE: we're gonna go with Vanta. Never underestimate the value of a great sales rep / longstanding relationship. cc: Eric Martin I am evaluating SOC2 vendors. Here's what I care about, in order: 1. Time - The vendor who can get us to SOC2 Type 1 FASTEST will get our business. We have a massive product launch on Feb 6, I want compliance done well before then. 2. AI / Automation - How much do they leverage AI / Automation to make the process faster, easier? 3. Cost - Not as important as the top 2, but obviously if 2 vendors offer similar timelines and workload, I'll take the cheaper one. So far, I'm considering Vanta, Secureframe, and Drata. Who else should I be looking at? And what are realistic timelines that people have gotten this done in? I keep hearing about a spread of 1-6 months, which is nuts.

I'm embarassed and ashamed. Today my conduct in a meeting with a vendor was totally inappropriate. For weeks, I'd been talking to this vendor about problems we were having, at the same time upgrades we needed to make. The sellers kept focusing on the upsell and never addressed my problem. Today, I sat down with the manager. He was focused only on solving my problem, never even raised the upsell. But the conversation was very difficult and I lost it! In my frustration, I said, "This is so F**ked up!!! It needs to get fixed." Fortunately, the manager had the courage to call me out on my behavior. He quietly corrected me and got us on track. At the end, he aplogized for calling me out, explaining why it was important to do so and reset our conversation. I know my behavior was wrong, but I lost control. I can't thank this individual enough for the courage he has, knowing that it might impact our future business, but more focused on doing the right thing! #salesintegrity #trust #difficultconversations https://lnkd.in/g8FuuW_X

I'm pretty new to dealing with vendors, but it has been a baptism by fire for me. I probably spend close to half of my work time communicating with existing and prospective vendors, evaluating their products, and talking to my team about what is working, what isn't working, and what they would like to see. I'm not an expert yet by any measure. But I have learned one really valuable lesson: There are two kinds of vendors. The first type of vendor really wants to make a sale. Once they've made the sale, they focus on keeping your business—mostly by reacting to your dissatisfaction. The second type of vendor really wants to help you solve your problems, improve your operations, and make you a successful customer. Look for the second type of vendor. Avoid the first kind. #LegalOps #VendorManagement #BusinessSolutions #StrategicPartnerships #OperationalExcellence