Problems With Foreign Clients, My Story
By Michael Stelzner
It started with a call from an energized man in Texas. He worked in the Oil and Gas industry.
He really needed a white paper to help him sell because he was not getting the support he needed from his company.
Here’s the kicker: He was pretty much alone in the United States, with all of his support coming from a large startup in India.
It was a major uphill battle to persuade his company to outsource the white paper because they have so many writers in India.
A few weeks later, the project was a go! My 50% down payment check came in.
I began doing early morning conference calls with folks in India AND Spain (6 calls). I read 100’s of pages of research.
I wrote, rewrote and refined the first page of the paper until it sang.
Then, I called my contact in Texas to read him my work (before I proceeded with the rest of the paper).
PROBLEM: He told me he had left the company 2 weeks earlier and I would need to work with India now.
MY DILEMMA: The only reason India agreed to do this piece is because of this one man in Texas. Now he is gone. What do I do?
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December 14th, 2006 at 9:34 am
1) Did you happen to have a kill pay fee?
2) Is there a replacement for this guy’s job or are they even looking.
3) If your agreement is to write the white paper, then write the white paper.
4) Ask! They may want to cancel, or not. Just don’t assume anything.
December 14th, 2006 at 9:58 am
I forgot to mention my goal was to get them a draft before Christmas.
December 14th, 2006 at 10:07 am
Your goal? Or theirs? Was this goal mutually agreed upon?
If it was a mutual agreement that the draft be completed by Christmas there are three options available to you and the corp. 1) Postpone any additional work until a Texas replacement is found. 2) Kill the project. 3) Go ahead with the project as scheduled.
The ball is really in the company’s court. Offer them the alternatives and ask what they’d like to do. Whatever you do don’t refund a dime. I’m guessing here, but I suspect that they will want to cut their losses and will take the draft and call it even–after all they have all those steller writers in India who will relish the thought of polishing your draft.
December 15th, 2006 at 3:56 pm
Michael - I get your conundrum - but this could happen even if the client were not from an international firm based outside of the US.
I agree with Ray - what you need to determine is who your sponsor for the project now is in their organisation. Until you know who the sponsor is then I would hold off doing any more work other than what you have committed to.
I assume you have banked the cheque and sent them a receipt for the first installment of the payment - if not the latter then definately do the former.
From the perspective of the client - and this is after 20 years in such sorporate roles - I would want to ensure that I had the supplier (you) deliver against what was promised for the payment I made and against the time frame promised.
What did you commit to delivering for the 50% fee upfront?
It sounds between the lines that your initial client may have left because he was not selling his proposition to clients - which is why he came to you looking for the white paper to support lead generation.
What you may not know fully is the exact reasons for his departure.
I say deliver what you committed to for the payment you receive and hand that over to who ever is not the key point of contact.
The world is small and you need to consider your own brand and reputation in this. If you deliver what was promised and they decide not to continue with the project then you know you can walk away with your reputation in tact.
And as for future non US clients - I’m not sure how often you work with businesses HQ’d outside of the US but don’t let this experience put you off.
You are building a strong brand and have high personal credibility and I am sure there will be many great clients will seek to work with you from across the globe in the years to come.
December 15th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
Hi All;
Thanks for your comments and feedback. This post was as much to see how others would handle this as it was for feedback.
Here is what I did:
1. I contacted all the parties involved via email right away
2. I explained why I put the project on hold
3. I provided an exit route IF they wanted it (where I keep my 50%)
4. I waited
The response was this:
1. They want to keep the project moving
2. The deadline was NOT extended
What complicates matters is ANOTHER key contact is leaving their company next Fri. Now I just need to rush and get this in draft form before this person leaves.
As far as my experience working with foreign nations…
I have plenty of it. The only rule I have is they MUST have an American presence that I am interfacing with. I do this as a protection move so I am covered under US law when it comes to collections.
I have worked with Japanese, Israeli, UK, German and Indian-based businesses.
Thanks all!
Mike
December 19th, 2006 at 8:16 am
Michael,
After reading your blog for a while, I figured that was a trick and you knew how to handle it. One caveat: based on what you’ve told us, this company may not be around to pay you the other half of your fee, even if you complete the project by deadline.
Working in financial services, I’ve worked with plenty of folks who participate in the India-US outsourcing business. It can be tough for these companies because to succeed (at least in financial services) they need both a US “face” to promote them and a good understanding of how things work here.
From what you’ve told us, this company didn’t initially understand the need for a white paper and has burned through a couple of US-based employees. Those are bad signs.
In addition, forcing you to rush through an important writing project when they don’t even have their workforce stable will impact the quality of your output. Having read you, I doubt you’ll find that acceptable.
Good luck.
Rick.
December 19th, 2006 at 11:03 am
Hey Rick;
Actually, I was wondering how others might handle it more than looking for feedback. No tricks intended
Turns out these folks are a rather large India-based startup (few thousand employees).
I am proceeding with the hope I will get paid in the end.
All my best!
Mike