How do you decide who to buy from?

I was called today by a visitor to 4N who came along once, we'd met for a drink beforehand so I could explain how it works, and we've met since for coffee just before Christmas to chit chat about what services I need and what services she needs.

In the interim, I've signed up with a 4N Member for a specific service that this visitor offers. This member attends regularly and is very committed and we support each other with ideas on marketing 4N, Tweeting and list building for each others groups etc.

The visitor said she, "Understood we had an arrangement, she hadn't been in touch because she was waiting for me (!) and was disappointed for herself."

In a nutshell, I said I'd gone with a 4N Member because we see each other regularly, I hadn't heard any further from this 'visitor' and I've gone with the member as I like to keep spending my money within the internal market ie signed up members.

I suppose if the visitor had signed up I may have thought about it a bit deeper, however, there are always several businesses who can provide you with a certain service.

What do you consider the most important factor/s on which you base your buying decisions?

How do you let someone down gracefully when you've chatted to them about their proposals?

I've long since come to the conclusion that gracefullness is massively overated. Just be straight and honest, posted this a few times now, in self employment it's the unknown / unfounded hope that kills you. The quicker you tell someone no, the quicker they can get on with finding someone who will say yes. 

In terms of choosing who to buy from, there's a number of factors that tend to come into play - value, delivery, track record, price, ability to get what i'm asking for. To be honest, whether or not they were a 4N member would come fairly far down my list of considerations. To me the strength of 4N membership comes in the visibility of someones offering, it isn't a quality badge. 

Decide on the best person for the job - regardless of if they're a 4n member. Usually it's through 4n as this is where we know the majority of our suppliers but would go elsewhere if needed.

In terms of letting someone know - just an email explaining you've decided to go with someone else, so they can stop chasing.

When chasing old enquiries - a decision either way is needed for me - ignoring the email/phone call is so annoying!

In massive agreement with you there Katie. Either say yes or no so i can either go forward or remove you from the list for now. Saying "give me a call back next week" just delays what is already 9 times out of 10 going to be a no which in total wastes everybodys time. 

I'd go on recommendation and reputation. Again, whether a 4N member or not. I like Danny's comments.

If it is something that I may need support on at some point, my buying decission is 100% based on trust.

If it is something that I wont need support for I will look at a combination of 4N members and local businesses first, however price is still a factor

Being a 4N member doesn't guarantee quality of product or service. I can easily list a good number of cases where I asked people at breakfast to send me an email about prices for a b c, and NEVER heard a single word again. Years back I thought it was down do my non-native accent, shape of nose, haircut, non-matching colours between shirt and jacket, you name it.... 

I found out it is more often than not because sometimes such people are actually not in business, they PLAY business, it's a game where they try it out without needing the money/custom. Maybe the breadwinner is hubby, maybe they actually have what they call a day job. 

So, its all down to be in it for the long run, MLKT is not a one day stand™®©.

I ask all of my suppliers lots of questions, those who can actually answer (or at least find out) are in the minority, but I almost always find them within 4N.

And ability to actually pay when presented with an invoice

Good comments all!