5 Things Vendors Aren’t Doing that Partners Wish They Were
What are traits of a valuable vendor/partner relationship? We asked our roundtable partner participants to weigh in.
May 23, 2022
![You are partnering with your customers so develop a longterm relationship with them You are partnering with your customers so develop a longterm relationship with them](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/bltfef4f40eaac8dbef/652429fa1fb1af68ea79594f/partner_0.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
You are partnering with your customers, so develop a long-term relationship with them.
Meriplex’s Neil Medwed: “Communication is definitely a biggie. Take the chip shortages, for example. It’s affecting every industry. If you have good relationships, a true partnership with your strategic vendors, like most of us do, there’s no reason for them not to tell us the honest truth.”
Triton Networks’ Ron Lovern: “It depends on if you’re going through the distributed conversation, or going directly to the manufacturer forever, because most of the time, the distributor doesn’t know either. With regard to the supply chain issues, just being transparent about when stuff is coming in, how long it’s delayed if it is, what’s outstanding, etc. Just be open.”
Allied Technology Group’s Matthew Humphries: “It does seem like vendors are getting better about communicating a little bit, just because I think they know that it’s not their fault (the supply chain issues). They don’t know what they don’t know. Which is fair.”
Approyo’s Christopher Carter: “Communication is a big one. Sometimes vendors will just not give you the ‘where the bear sh**s in the woods’ answer. Sometimes they will dance around the information rather than just provide a straight answer. It’s like, ‘Dude, just tell me the truth.’”
Meriplex’s Neil Medwed: “Have those conversations with your customer base and your clients and say, ‘Hey, this is the situation; these are alternatives that we can do’ and let them make that choice. Many times they’re gonna say, ‘This is a business need that we have; we need to solve this business requirement.’ You can outright solve this business requirement, or do the good old Texas two-step and do it in parts, and then pivot down the road to something different as time goes on. Reality is reality. As long as you’re communicating those, the relationship will flourish.
Meriplex’s Neil Medwed: “Have those conversations with your customer base and your clients and say, ‘Hey, this is the situation; these are alternatives that we can do’ and let them make that choice. Many times they’re gonna say, ‘This is a business need that we have; we need to solve this business requirement.’ You can outright solve this business requirement, or do the good old Texas two-step and do it in parts, and then pivot down the road to something different as time goes on. Reality is reality. As long as you’re communicating those, the relationship will flourish.
MSP and vendor relationships require more cross-functional involvement and coordination than traditional partner relationships. There are many factors that go into said relationships, and not everyone gets the recipe right. Base level, each party must make a concerted effort to understand, to some degree, the intricacies of each other’s business. But it definitely goes deeper than that.
So, what is it that good vendors do that is most valuable to partners?
A lot of partners value vendors developing a genuine relationship with them, where mutual success is as much on their minds as it is on the partner’s. That is, after all, what a true partnership is, right? It’s not simply making money off of the other; it’s working together to achieve a common goal of success for both organizations.
This is paramount. A vendor who is a partner is important, yes, but one of the most significant distinctions is spending time to develop an understanding of the unique elements of the partner’s business. That’s not to mention being flexible and creative, and being direct and honest.
These are valuable characteristics to partners, as they make a point to adhere to them themselves. This means, of course, that a vendor must also be receptive to feedback and be able to work with the partners to improve their own business. So, how to address any gaps here?
Roundtable Partners Weigh In
Channel Futures once again invited partners to join its MSP Roundtable at the 2022 Channel Partners Conference & Expo. The inaugural roundtable took place last November, featuring several key partners.
This spring’s MSP Roundtable participants were:
Ron Connelly, vice president of technical operations, DP Solutions.
Christopher Carter, CEO, Approyo.
Ron Lovern, executive vice president, Triton Networks.
Jason Rincker, sales director, Stronghold Data.
Charmis De Boer, chief operating officer, Innovation Networks.
Matthew Humphries, managing partner, Allied Technology Group.
Neil Medwed, executive director of strategic partnerships, Meriplex.
In the last of this three-part series, see our slideshow above to find out what participants had to say about MSP/vendor relationships. You can find part one on the supply chain here and part two on the talent shortage here.
Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email Allison Francis or connect with her on LinkedIn. |
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