A majority of solution providers go into business not to help technology vendors sell more products and services, but to make enough money to survive. Most won’t get rich reselling software and hardware, although it can be a critical part of their portfolio. The majority of solution providers want to focus on the needs of their clients and don’t have time for vendors that require them to jump through too many hurdles. To demonstrate these multifaceted issues 4-Profit President Larry Kesslin walked attendees of the CompTIA Breakaway vendor session through a “day in the life” of a VAR, highlighting many of the situations these business owners go through on a regular basis.
A typical solution provider wakes early in order to manage the same family/life issues many of us face, a bit of reality before the work day begins. From that point on, they may encounter any number of the following activities and challenges:
- A pile of email and “snail mail” to read and respond to,
- Multiple team meetings,
- Onboarding of new sales reps,
- Legal/HR issues,
- Deal with accounting concerns/questions,
- Issues with their technical team,
- Deals that require additional steps prior to closing,
- Respond to key client alerts and problems,
- Conference call to help close a sale and
- Time for family.
With so many activities and concerns, where do they start and how do they focus? Those issues don’t include the interactions they have with their vendor and distributor representatives, and the time required to manage these relationships. Every additional step you add in the partner process can have a tremendous impact on their quality of life and satisfaction with your program. When you eliminate a step or streamline the red tape, it can have quite the opposite (positive) impact.
Other vendor activities that can cause partner aggravation include:
- Placing an order before receiving a purchase order,
- Funneling requests without building trust,
- Constant restructuring,
- Focusing on non-revenue generating activities,
- Pushing Web tools instead of personal contact (creating a hurdle/distance) and
- Introducing competing partners to their accounts.
“Remember, you’re not their only vendor,” says Kesslin. “Others are also making demands on their time and resources and the ones that cause the most aggravation may be the first to go. What may be considered a little money to a major manufacturer could be a major investment to a small solution provider, especially if their cash flow is not optimized. Vendor representatives need to keep this factor in perspective, not making larger demands on their partners than they are comfortable with.”
Problems will occur in any relationship, including the vendor/VAR partnership, but a proper reaction during these conflicts actually can improve the relationship. Customer and partner satisfaction can be elevated and new business opportunities can be on the horizon if compassion and empathy are employed by vendors. With open communication and setting proper expectations on both sides, you can expand business relationships and build trust. In the end, that element is a true key to success.
