Tips and Tricks from the Street- Tip #2
Tip #2- your reputation is your 2nd most valuable asset- time being first. Protect it at all costs. Even if it means losing money or walking away from a deal. The bad guys spend so much time and energy looking for the next buyer or partner because after their first experience many people don't want to do biz with them again. If you have to send a deal to 2500 buyers to find someone- it probably isn't a deal! I had a deal that I was going to wholesale and one of the bad guys wanted to buy it. I refused to sell it to him and waited a few days because I don't do biz with people like that. Another buyer popped up a few days later and the deal closed. I have warned a few people that they have been partnering with some shady people and they ignored me. One of them just got ripped off by their "partner" and the other is developing a bad reputation- and doesn't even know it. It make me sad because I think the guy is a good person- but you know the saying- birds of a feather flock together. People see them together and assume that the good guy is just like the bad guy. My grandmother once told me- "Don't tell me who you are. Tell me who your friends are and I'll know you."
Comments (1)
A small scale example. About 2 years ago a lady showed up to one of our lunches. She ate half, wrapped up half, and left without paying. We could chalk this up to an innocent mistake right? I mean, she could have just gotten distracted and forgotten. So, I paid the bill on her behalf ($15) and sent her an email a few days later telling her she owed me. Her response was- "I know." I asked her if she knew why and she said Yes. She said she would contact me in a few days to pay me back. I am still waiting! During the past 2 years the person's name has come up a couple of times and I was asked what I thought. IMO it is like this- if I can't trust you with $15 then I can't trust you at all.
Mark Owens, over 7 years ago