Vendor Promise launch kit: announcements, answers and wording you can copy

You have made the Vendor Promise. Now say so. These are ready to copy and adapt. Replace [square brackets]. Keep the wording honest: the promise is a public commitment, not an audit, and should be described that way.

1. Website statement

Put this on your website, linked from the footer and from your contact page.

Our promise [Company name] does not pay, offer, ask for or accept hidden commissions, kickbacks or other benefits in connection with anyone's decision to buy from us. We never pay anyone who places an order for another person unless that person has been told and has agreed in writing. Any discount we offer appears on the customer's invoice. We have a written anti-bribery policy, our staff are trained on it, and we welcome any question about it. We have made the TransparentSea Vendor Promise, a public commitment by suppliers to the yachting industry. [Badge] Read our policy: [link]. Ask us a question: [contact].

2. Footer line

[Company name] is a signatory of the TransparentSea Vendor Promise: no hidden commissions. [Badge, linking to your listing]

3. Email signature

[Name] | [Company] We have made the TransparentSea Vendor Promise: no hidden commissions. [link to your listing]

4. Announcement to customers

Subject: Our promise to you: no hidden commissions

Dear [name],

We want you to know how we work. [Company name] has made the TransparentSea Vendor Promise, a public commitment that we will never pay, offer or accept hidden commissions or benefits in connection with any order, and that any discount we offer will be on your invoice.

If a member of your team, your broker or anyone else ever asks us for a commission, the answer is no, and we will record that we were asked. It is not about price. It is about trust, and about keeping your money spent only for you.

You can read our policy at [link]. If you would like us to complete your supplier declaration, send it over and we will sign it the same day.

With thanks, [Name]

5. Short posts

LinkedIn / social post (version 1) We've made a promise. [Company name] pays no hidden commissions, kickbacks or personal benefits on any order, and we say no when we're asked. We've signed the @TransparentSea Vendor Promise and published our anti-bribery policy. If you spend other people's money, you deserve to know that. [link]

Version 2 We'd rather lose an order than pay for one. That's the policy at [Company name], and now it's public. #NoHiddenCommissions #Yachting

Version 3 (to peers) If you supply yachts and your policy is "we don't pay for orders", say it out loud. The Vendor Promise takes ten minutes and costs nothing. [link]

6. Answers for tenders, questionnaires and brokers

When a customer, management company or broker asks "Do you have an anti-bribery and corruption policy?", answer:

"Yes. We have a written Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Policy, approved by [director], applied across [countries], with annual training, a gifts and hospitality register, due diligence on agents and a speak-up procedure. We are signatories of the TransparentSea Vendor Promise, and we will provide our policy and a signed supplier declaration on request."

When asked "Do you pay commissions to brokers or crew?":

"We do not pay commissions or benefits to any individual who places an order. Where a broker's commission is lawful, disclosed and written into the contract the client has seen, we pay it to the firm, against an invoice. Any discount we offer appears on the customer's invoice."

When asked to pay a commission:

"Thank you for asking. We don't pay commission or any benefit to anyone placing an order. It's our policy and it's written down. What we can do is offer your client a discount on the invoice, which they'll see and keep."

7. Press note (for trade media)

[Company name] makes public promise: no hidden commissions [City, date]. [Company name], a supplier of [products] to the yachting industry, today announced that it has made the TransparentSea Vendor Promise, a public commitment that it does not pay, offer or accept hidden commissions or other undisclosed benefits in connection with orders placed by or for yacht owners, charterers or guests. "[Quote from a director: why you made the promise, in your own words, in one or two sentences.]" The company has a written anti-bribery policy, trains its staff and records every request for commission. It encourages other suppliers, brokers and managers to do the same. The Vendor Promise is free to join and open to any supplier. About the Vendor Promise: [link].

8. Do and do not

• Do describe it as a public promise and commitment.
• Do not call it a certification, an accreditation or an audit.
• Do not say TransparentSea "endorses" your products. It does not.
• Do not name competitors, brokers or others as not having made the promise.
• Do keep the badge linked to your listing, so anyone can check it.
• Do tell us if anything changes. We take the promise seriously, and so should you.

General information, not legal advice.