Why Trade Lines Aren't One-Size-Fits-All
Your company is unlike any other. Even if you sell the exact same tires as the guy down the street, or the same type of cupcakes as the lady across town, or even the same cars as the dealership out on the highway, you will never have the exact same vendors — which is why it's so easy to spot companies who are using one-size-fits-all strategies to create the illusion of legitimate business credit.
Whether you sell groceries, houses, newspapers, slacks, cars, cupcakes or cannabis, the details of your business are as intricate and individual as the fingerprints on your front door glass. While you might share similar types of suppliers based upon your industry, you'll likely use a different plumber, or advertise in a different market, or buy your business cards from a different printer.
Even franchise operations that are intentionally designed to mimic one specific model will find different locations have different needs and different vendors who support those needs. A good example: Imagine if your local Starbucks had to wait for the A/C guy from Milwaukee to show up!
There are lots of commercial credit enhancement services on the web these days, and 90% of them create accounts for their clients using the same handful of "tried-and-true" vendors, no matter whether your business sells yarn, yams, yachts, or yaks. While those are all great suppliers and are proven auto-reporters, they aren't going to be your only suppliers, or your most important suppliers, or even the right suppliers usually found in normal day-to-day operations.
So when D&B sees your company has just placed orders with the exact same handful of vendors as 7,643 other companies did this year, it's pretty easy to see through your thinly-veiled attempts to "manufacture" business credit where none actually exists. And it's unlikely that you've been running a bookkeeping service on a day-to-day basis using the same vendors as the storage facility next door or the landscaper down the street. D&B notices these patterns of behavior, so don't be surprised if your company gets flagged to receive "extra attention" and verification.
In reality — if your business is legitimate — you have already been spending money with suppliers who can speak volumes more about your company than any one-size-fits-all scheme ever could.
THOSE are the vendors D&B wants to talk to.
THAT is the payment history D&B wants to add to your file.
THEY are a living and breathing testament of who you are, what you do, how long you have been doing it, and how responsible you have been with your company's financial reputation.
THEY are the proof D&B is looking for!
Here are the FACTS you need to know!
For $150 or more, you can add 3 manufactured trade lines to your D&B file.
For $140, you can add up to 12 existing (and higher) purchases you've already made.
Manufactured trade lines typically take an average of 42 days to get added to the file.
Qualifying transactions usually get added to the file in half that time.
New manufactured accounts represent a singular (most-recent) purchase.
Existing trade lines represent the highest transaction within the past 12 months.
Trade lines require purchases for things you may not need or wouldn't normally buy.
Existing trade lines represent items you already buy to run your business.
Manufactured accounts make you look like every other company using that scheme.
Existing trade lines prove individuality, history, credibility, and creditworthiness.
Crafting trade lines can provide a much-needed boost to young scores and ratings.
Adding your existing payment history can send those scores and ratings through the roof!
Yes — for young businesses just getting started — I do point clients toward vendors and suppliers who are proven auto-reporters to D&B and other commercial credit bureaus. What sets us apart, though, is that those vendors are geared more specifically to the industry of each client, and are suppliers they are going to want to use time and again as their business grows.
If you would like to learn more about adding payment history from your existing vendors and suppliers to your D&B file, please feel free to give me a call at 800-918-7505 ext 2 — or click the CHAT button to initiate a conversation and get the answers you need right now!