Remember, credit bureaus are not our friend. They report good, bad, and ugly information about our business. There is no fair credit reporting act protecting businesses like we have for personal credit.

Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) is a very aggressive sales organization. After you register for a DUNS#, D&B will usually call to verify the information on your company soon after registration. They do this for two reasons:

1. To confirm both the data you submitted and information they found through their own research

2. To sell you additional programs

D&B is a for-profit business. Some D&B sales reps call business owners after the registration process and imply (or in some cases insist) you must purchase specific services in order to activate and obtain a full business credit profile. This is not true. But they can make it very hard on you and delay you getting a DUNS#.

The fact is your profile and score will be built from the information you provided them during the registration process, D&B’s verification of the information, and from future payment experiences reported by companies that have granted your business credit. A full business profile and business credit score can be built without paying D&B for additional programs.

My Recommendations

Based on above, when a D&B representative call you and tries to sell you something, you;

1. Let them know you are interested in their services at some time in the future. You are a new business on a strict budget and you simply do not have the funds to move forward at this time. 

Ask them to put you on their call back list for 6-months from today. This gets rid of the pesky sales person. You did not give them a hard no. You gave them a pledge for a future sale.

Tell them you will be creating a new operating budget at that time and you will be making funds available for their services. Then ask about the program they recommend and the cost. At the end of the conversation, thank them for their time and help. Let them know you look forward to speaking with them again. (Yes, be the actor you always wanted to be).

2. DO NOT say you are working with somebody to establish business credit or you plan to simply build credit on your own. This often results in the rep trying even harder to get you to buy their products and services. Have you ever experienced a pushy sales person?

When answering questions about your business give truthful and verifiable information. If D&B can not verify any information, they may place your company in the “high risk” category. Once in high-risk, your business will likely unable to obtain business credit in the future.

This is why we go through certain compliance steps before applying for a DUNS number. We want to frame how our business looks to the lending world.

My experience with clients who apply for a DUNS# will receive it within 5-7 business days. If you have not received it in 30 days after applying, you may have to reapply. Often times if D&B has not had an opportunity to call you to verify the information and upsell you, they simply do not process the FREE DUNS# request.