We were working with a reseller that was missing the "value add" in the "value-added reseller" label. They focused the relationship on delivery of products when we needed the relationship to be a strategic one. I told them that the first step to right this relationship was that I needed to see their representatives more than just once in a great while. Beyond that, I needed to know that they understood our needs and would seek to add value on a continual basis.

The vendor responded very well, flying people out to make a personal connection. We now hold a regular meeting every six months to discuss our objectives. Vendors want to sell things; you want what you have to work as long as possible. An open, two-way forum is established with agendas that are agreed to ahead of time, allowing a chance to think, instead of just react. We’ve maintained our account rep despite several territory changes. I have proof in our daily interaction that the vendor is now a full partner.

Shortly after starting at Symcor, I discovered that the relationship with one of our most important vendors was in a terrible state. The local sales rep for some reason had come to believe that we were going to be displacing them and had stopped returning our calls. This couldn’t have been further from the truth - in fact, we saw this platform as a big engine to fuel growth.

I reached out to the vendor’s CIO, saying, "I’m new, why don’t you come and meet with us and get to know us and our needs." This opened up a line of communication for me to share our frustrations and for the vendor to share theirs. My relationship with the CIO has yielded core changes in the way the relationship is managed, including a task force that meets weekly instead of monthly to talk about the process of installing new, enhanced software. We renegotiated the contract to tie payments to dates and deliverables, which does a better job of acknowledging our growth plan and meeting our needs for expansion. On the other side, we’ve also agreed to be absolutely transparent with the vendor about our needs and goals, including sharing testing criteria for the new software.