Need a Business Partner in India? Here’s a Simple Solution
India is known as the back-end office of the world. It’s well educated, IT skilled and hard-working work-force is helping thousands of businesses grow in their own geographies, by focusing on what they do best, and outsourcing the rest.
As an overseas business, you might be wondering how to find such a business partner for your own organization. As an entrepreneur with many overseas partners, this is the 4 step solution that I always suggest to companies in such a situation:
Step 1: Ask an Indian to refer you to a credible Indian business partner!
Why does this method work? It is because Indians are quite social by nature, with an extended circle of family and friends. Word of mouth is still the preferred method of recommendation amongst Indians. It is also the most reliable, as the referring party puts his or her skin in the game. They would rarely recommend someone who would let them down (If you want to be doubly sure, ask for 2 – 3 options, or ask separate people).
There would be many ex-pat Indians in your country. Some of them might be your friends or acquaintance. So just go ahead and ask any of them, preferably someone who has not been out of India for too long. It is as simple as that. You will be surprised at the number of genuine options you get.
Step 2: Give a small, relatively inconsequential task to the suggested partner to start with.
This is to Qualify / Disqualify your prospective partner. If you are trying out 2 or 3 partners, give the same task to all. Do not bother about cost at this stage. But be very clear about what you want – your Do’s and Don’ts. The way things work in every country is different. So it helps your vendor if you specify exactly what you expect. Often, overseas companies do not specify their do’s and don’ts and turn up being disappointed for the wrong reasons. Then qualify your partner on all parameters that you want to test them on: Timeliness, quality, attention to detail, reliability, etc.
Step 3: Make an Offer.
If you are happy with the work, make an offer. A good company will be relatively more expensive than others. Be prepared for that. This does not really affect you much as the range of prices in India for many products and services is a lot lower than what exists in many other countries.
Step 4 – If you want more partners – Ask your Indian partner to refer more. Ask your successful India partner to recommend further partners to you. India has a vast work-force and a considerable cost advantage over many countries. Many services that could cost a bomb abroad, are quite reasonable, and of high quality in India. Partnering with such companies is a win-win for both parties. My brother, who works in the US, even got custom masks manufactured in India, with his company logo embroidered on them. The vendor was pleased delivering these at a good margin and my brother got excellent embroidered masks – something which was not even an option where he was.
Drop us a message at Brisk Olive Pvt. Ltd. and we will be happy to help you connect to a reliable and trustworthy business partner in India.
About the Author
The author is MD and CEO of Brisk Olive Business Solutions, a company that helps clients grow by expanding their operations across entire India. They do this through India’s largest field force of ex-soldiers. Their USPs are the dependability and expertise of their field force, which is spread across India, including in remote areas. Their services include surveys, audits, investigations, project execution, training, promotions, verifications, and all such operational tasks at which ex-soldiers are proven to excel
