My Vendor Relations - Updated

Poking around the community over at Spiceworks, I got involved in a conversation about vendors, pricing, and relationships so I thought I would go ahead and post a new entry on this topic. - Here you go:

Dealing with tech vendors is just like dealing with car dealerships. Educate yourself, compare models, prices, features, etc. think (even pray) about which one is going to really partner with you in the long run and help you manage your budget, and offer creative ideas and good information that will help you make your own decision.

Don't let brand familiarity determine which vendor you choose. Don't let price determine what you buy. Set your clear goals into a detailed project specification and find the best soution - the cheapest solution is rarely the best. Of course you have to understand how to approach your manager(s) ad present them with 2-3 clearly different options (worst, sustainable, and BEST) understand and explain to others why the BEST solution is worth the $$, but be willing to compromise.

We all deal with vendors. Some are great, some not. Everyone has horror stories of terrible sales people over promising and under delivering - or not delivering at all. To be fair, we all have stories of amazing sales reps that jump through hoops for us, and deliver great solutions and work with our budgets, etc. I tend to do a whole lot more with the folks that shoot straight, and are communicative, responsive, and those that I can connect with in some way. Sometimes I get great deals, sometimes I don't, but while I'm always conscientious about being a good steward, ( more on that another day), I prefer to do business with people I can respect, even to the cost of a few dollars.

I think that this is an important issue for everyone in a position that deals with vendors, whether you're at a church, a business, or your personal home purchases. So often we are running in high gear towards the best price on things, that we neglect to count the costs of time and quality alongside the financial costs, and ethical issues.

Remember: there are always 3 factors in a project decision:

1. Time (yours, theirs, deadlines, etc)

2. Cost ($$$, people, resources, etc)

3. Quality (lasting performance, reliability, meeting/exceeding expectations)

If you are good, you can manage to pick 2 of them to focus on with any particular project.

All that said, I have had a great relationship with the guys at Dell for several years. Some of them have needed a little "training," but in general they are helpful and really want to help me succeed. Prices are usually fair, and when they aren't - I CALL THEM OUT. Directly, and strongly.