Ever increasingly, business, no matter what type, is a global endeavour. While real estate photography is region specific, your retouching supplier could be located anywhere in the world. At iMAGECLOUD we’ve harnessed technology to enable this opportunity, saving you money and freeing up time as your images are processed with your preferred supplier whilst you sleep.

However, with these advantages come a couple of challenges:

Communication.

As cost-effective as it may seem, contracting with an overseas retouching supplier only works well when you communicate well. Make sure the supplier you work with is proficient in your preferred language, can understand what you want and ask you clear questions when they don’t. If you feel that you and your retouching supplier are not quite “on the same page,” be more specific and request that they respond with details until you both agree. (This is an ideal time to jump on Skype or Google Duo with your supplier, instead of going back and forth over email.)

Won’t Skype ? Use someone else.

Considering that tone of voice does not translate well in email or job notes, it’s almost impossible for you expectations to be met from suppliers that won’t jump on a Skype. The best way to keep good communication going both ways is to touch base over Skype occasionally, especially regarding difficult assignments, or to discuss your workload. Remember that other people and cultures interpret words differently than your own. A brusque directive (say you’re short on time and type only what you consider the necessities) may come across rude to another person. However, even if your wording doesn’t translate well, your tone of voice (sounding pleased or happy) our your facial expressions on Skype can smooth over most misinterpretations.

Not just cultural differences : Time Zones.

Another consideration is the difference between your time zones. If you’re using iMAGECLOUD read their Service Level Agreement to find suppliers working hours compared to yours in your timezone. Then decide if you’ll be able to overlap occasionally to communicate about your work. Remember to take daylight savings into account because for half the year will differ from the other half. When working globally it’s vital to be courteous when communicating as they might have already gone home for the day or just getting to work in the morning.

Summary

By respecting your overseas retouching suppliers as experts in their field and bridging these challenges, you create a positive working relationship that is to the advantage of both of your companies.

Author: Josef Nalevansky / CEO and Founder of iMAGECLOUD

We want to hear from you! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us for more information on communicating with your real estate retouching suppliers.