Partnering with Passion

I bumped into a local friend during an international logistics fair in Japan.“Do you think business involves relationship building？” he asked. “I’ve heard it said that business is always about profits rather than relationships.”

“Technically you’re right，” I replied. But to me， relationships are delicacies that can promote business， along with other factors such as quality and pricing.

I stressed the important role of business relationships in my book， My Foreign Partners and I. “I agree with investing emotionally in business，” a friend opined after reading. “I’ve been fully aware of the value of entertaining my foreign counterparts with nice food. But I often became frustrated when things didn’t end up as I had hoped： they turned to somebody else and walked away with their products.”

He didn’t get what I meant about dealing with foreign partners emotionally. Food is not everything. The playing field has changed dramatically since China has seen consistent increases in exports， which has brought drastic changes in cooperation between Chinese and foreign businessmen. You can’t win by only nurturing personal relationships， yet lacking cornerstones of product quality， technical innovation， reliable service， and reasonable pricing.

I could tell he was weak in product quality but strong in PR. It has been decades since China implemented economic reform and opening-up policies. Foreign businessmen have learned to do business with Chinese partners. They make the trip for inexpensive but quality products rather than delicious Chinese food. Quality should always be the soul of an enterprise.

My friend complained that his attempt to promote his business by entertaining foreign partners with food was a waste. He simply forgot the power of quality.

Along with relationships and quality， pricing is also crucial. I think of the market as a hard rock that cannot be broken with brute force. Pricing helps. Every businessmen is really only working for profit maximization.

I still remember the story of a businessman from Ningbo， Zhejiang Province.

“I’ve been doing business with someone from Sweden for a couple years，” he told me. “He visited me last year. During his one-week stay， I entertained him with seafood everyday， serving him almost 70 kinds of dishes. He was happy with my hospitality. To my surprise， he ordered nothing from me this year and turned to a foreign trade company in Hangzhou， which undercut my prices by 10 percent. I’ll never trust any investment in relationships！”

“The investment in the relationship wasn’t the problem，” I asserted， “It was your price！ What would you do if you were in the Swede’s shoes？ Would you choose seafood， even 700 dishes， or the 10 percent discount？” He was at a loss for words.

You will risk losing clients without pricing as your priority regardless of how hospitable you are or how good your product is. How else can small enterprises survive with slightly inferior products？ They stay afloat through pricing – a crucial weakness of some large enterprises.

But that’s not enough. Another secret to success is service.

Once， I visited a client in Moscow， Russia， with my son. “We always care more about service，” my Russian partner remarked. “Germany offers comprehensive 24-hour forklift maintenance service， which they consider their duty to clients.”Business is not only about sales. Post-sales service means a lot to customers.

To me， the key to a successful business lies in product quality， pricing， credibility， and service， with rapport building as seasoning.