Skip to main content
SolarWinds MSP
  • Login
  • Support
  • Partnerships
    • Partnerships Overview
    • Solution Provider Program
    • Technology Alliance Program
    • Distributor Program
SolarWinds MSP
  • Products
    • SolarWinds N-central Automate what you need. Tackle complex networks. Try this remote monitoring and management solution built to help maximize efficiency and scale.
    • SolarWinds RMM Start fast. Grow at your own pace. Try this powerful but simple remote monitoring and management solution.
    • SolarWinds EDR Defend against ransomware, zero-day attacks, and evolving online threats with Endpoint Detection and Response
    • SolarWinds Backup Manage data protection for servers, workstations applications, documents and Microsoft 365 from one SaaS dashboard.
    • Mail Protection & Archiving Protect users from email threats and downtime.
    • Password Management Easily adopt and demonstrate best practice password and documentation management workflows.
      • Passportal Demo
    • PSA & Ticketing Manage ticketing, reporting, and billing to increase helpdesk efficiency.
    • Remote Support Help support customers and their devices with remote support tools designed to be fast and powerful.
  • Solutions

    I'm looking for...

    • Security Solutions
    • Monitoring Solutions
    • Efficiency Solutions
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Webcasts & Events
    • Ask the N-central Experts
    • Daily Live Demos
    • RMM Foundations Training
    • Upcoming Events
    • Upcoming Webcasts
    • Resource Center
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • Resource Library
      • Case Studies
      • Product Information
      • eBooks
      • White Papers
      • Infographics
    • SolarWinds MSP Free Tools
    • GDPR Resource Center
    • Security Resource Center
    • MSP Institute Webinar Series
    • MSP Advice Project
  • About
    • Contact
    • Customer Success
    • Worldwide sales and support
    • Careers
    • Awards and Recognition
    • Get A Quote
    • Newsroom
      • Press Releases
      • In The News
      • Media Contacts
      • COVID-19 Response
    • Leadership Team
    • Legal
      • Cookie Policy
      • Privacy Notice
      • Software Services Agreement
      • Terms of Use
      • Backup Fair Use Policy
    • Security
      • SolarWinds Security Statement
      • Vendor Data Protection Requirements
    • Support
  • IT Departments
  • Contact Sales
    • Get A Quote
    • General Inquiry
  • TRY NOW
    • SolarWinds RMM
    • SolarWinds Backup
    • MSP Manager
    • SolarWinds Passportal
    • SolarWinds N-central
    • SolarWinds Mail Assure
    • SolarWinds Risk Intelligence
    • SolarWinds Take Control
  • Request a Quote
  • Try Now
    • SolarWinds RMM
    • SolarWinds N-central
    • SolarWinds Backup
    • MSP Manager
    • SolarWinds Mail Assure
    • SolarWinds Passportal
    • SolarWinds Risk Intelligence
    • SolarWinds Take Control
Request quote
Filter Blogs
  • Filter by:
  • MSP Business
    • Automation
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • Security-series
    • Best Practices
    • Business
    • Business Growth
    • Business Risk
    • Cloud Computing
    • Customer Service
    • Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity Awareness Month
    • Data
    • GDPR
    • Internet of Things
    • IT Support
    • ITSM
    • LOGICcards
    • Machine Learning
    • Mail
    • Managed Services
    • Marketing
    • Mobile
    • Networking
    • Operations
    • Podcast
    • Product
    • PSA
    • Remote Management
    • Research & Trends
    • Risk Intelligence
    • Security
    • Security Vlog
    • Service Desk
    • Services & Support
    • The Head Nerds
    • Tips & Advice
    • Training
Home Blog MSP Business How To Effectively Build your MSP Partnerships with Vendors
MSP Business

How To Effectively Build your MSP Partnerships with Vendors

By Richard Tubb
14 May, 2014

men shaking handsHow is your relationship with your IT Vendors?

Nearly every IT companies partner with a wide variety of Vendors for everything from Hardware, to Anti-Virus, to RMM and PSA tools.

For the majority of IT companies, this partnership is viewed in very simple terms. The Vendor offers a product, and the IT company sells the product to their clients.

Most Vendors also offer pre-sales support through partner consulting, Not-for-resale (NFR) licensing, marketing collateral, occasionally marketing development funds (MDF), and post-sales support through Technical Support, training and account management.

A One Sided Relationship?

But the challenge with this “relationship” is, it can feel rather one sided. If the Vendor doesn’t provide NFR’s - they’re accused of being greedy. If they don’t provide MDF - they’re accused of being short-sighted. If they don’t provide training, they’re not enabling the IT company to support their clients effectively post-sale. And so on.

What’s more, when the Vendor does provide all these things - they are often surprised to find their partner IT companies don’t use those facilities! Training webinars are poorly attended. NFR’s are downloaded but not installed. Technical Support isn’t used.

From the Vendors perspective, if they provide all of these things and the IT company doesn’t use them - why bother?

Speak to the IT companies and they will often tell you they don’t use these facilities because, well, they don’t have time - and anyway, it’s pointless trying to build a deeper relationship with the Vendor because they don’t sell a lot of that Vendors products and/or services and so probably aren’t that “important” to the Vendor.

And so it is. The relationship between Vendors and IT companies. An almost begrudging mix from both sides.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Regardless of your size as an IT company, regardless of how many sales of a Vendors product or service you make, you can forge a much more mutually beneficial relationship with your Vendors.

More than a Vendor, a Partner

How? By looking upon the relationship with your Vendor as a partnership. Take time to look for opportunities to help the Vendor rather than asking what the Vendor can do for you.

For instance, have you ever asked your Vendor account manager what targets they are measured on? Sure, for many it’s sales or revenue - but dig deeper and you’ll find that number of partners enrolled in their partner program, number of your engineers who are certified in the vendor qualification, number of attendees at training webinars, and so on. By making a commitment to the Vendor over the number of your engineers you will get trained up, and by recommending the Vendor to your peers, you show the Vendor that you’re willing to help *them* grow their business too.

If the Vendor is all about the sales (and don’t assume this until you’ve actually asked them) then ask the Vendor what sales they’d like to see you making. Agree on a target, then make a commitment to reach that target within a timeframe. You’ll both gain a focus on selling the product, and you’ll be showing the Vendor you’re serious about partnering with them.

But why would you bother doing all this? Put simply, the rewards are worth it in terms of your business growth.

I’ve personally worked with Vendors who were willing to offer large product pricing breaks, based on growth targets - price breaks that were usually only offered to much bigger partners.

A Beneficial Relationship for your Business

By looking to help your Vendor, you appear on their radar. An end-user lead comes in, who are they going to pass that lead to? Well, if you’re on the Vendors favorite partners - there’s a good chance that it’ll be you.

And there are other opportunities too. For instance - my own MSP worked hard at building a relationship with Microsoft. As well as growing our business through the great experience we had with Microsoft products, we had a number of great opportunities including filming Windows 7 Video Case Studies with Microsoft and our clients. We weren’t the biggest MSP at the time, but we were committed to our relationship with Microsoft - and they knew that when it came to selecting partners to work with on the Windows 7 launch. The resulting benefits we realized from that video were numerous.

So it doesn’t matter what size your IT company is, and it doesn’t matter how big the Vendor is. If you demonstrate a commitment to helping the Vendor to help you, it’s a win-win situation that will have all sorts of positive effects on your business.
 

Richard TubbRichard Tubb works with MSP's to help them focus on what is important, free up their time and make more money. You don't have to do it alone any more!

Follow Richard Tubb on Google+ or Twitter @Tubblog and receive free MSP training articles directly via email.

 

You might also like...
MSP Business

Find Out Which SEO Keywords Your Competitors are Using

MSP Business

A guide to cold calling for MSPs

MSP Business

Direct mail: still a powerful marketing tool for MSPs

MSP Business

Grow your MSP business with strategic alliances and partnerships

MSP Business

MSP Content Marketing Guide

MSP Business

5 free ways to market your MSP business

Want to stay up to date?

Get the latest MSP tips, tricks, and ideas sent to your inbox each week.

Loading form....

If the form does not load in a few seconds, it is probably because your browser is using Tracking Protection. This is either an Ad Blocker plug-in or your browser is in private mode. Please allow tracking on this page to request a subscription.

Note: Firefox users may see a shield icon to the left of the URL in the address bar. Click on this to disable tracking protection for this session/site

Recent Posts
  • What the Head Nerds Were Up to in 2020
  • RMM and PSA Tools: How to Make the Most of Both
  • How to Empower an IT Help Desk Team for Success
  • Six Tips That Will Make Managing Your MSP Company Easier
  • January 2021 Patch Tuesday: One Actively Exploited Vulnerability and a Few Likely to Be
Categories:
  • Security (230)
  • Tips & Advice (122)
  • Best Practices (94)
  • Managed Services (86)
  • Backup & Disaster Recovery (83)
  • The Head Nerds (75)
  • Business Growth (75)
  • IT Support (42)
  • Business (39)
  • Automation (37)
  • Cybersecurity (37)
  • Operations (34)
  • Mail (33)
  • Remote Management (28)
  • ITSM (25)
  • Cloud Computing (21)
  • Networking (21)
  • Data (21)
  • Marketing (14)
  • Product (11)
  • PSA (11)
  • Service Desk (5)
  • Services & Support (5)
  • Mobile (4)
  • Risk Intelligence (4)
  • Customer Service (3)
  • Internet of Things (3)
  • GDPR (2)
  • Research & Trends (2)
  • Training (2)
  • LOGICcards (1)
  • Business Risk (1)
Show moreless
SolarWinds MSP

Products
  • SolarWinds RMM
  • SolarWinds N-central
  • SolarWinds Backup
  • SolarWinds EDR
  • SolarWinds MSP Manager
  • SolarWinds Mail Assure
  • SolarWinds Risk Intelligence
  • SolarWinds Take Control
  • SolarWinds Passportal
  • All Products Use Cases
Solutions
  • Security Solutions
  • Monitoring Solutions
  • Efficiency Solutions
  • Identify which RMM solution is right for me
  • Drive Efficiency with Automation
  • Manage my MSP Business More Efficiently
  • Manage my IT Department More Efficiently
  • Layered Security
  • Cross-Platform Support
  • Data-Driven Insights
About
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Newsroom
  • Leadership Team
  • Upcoming Events
  • Subscription Preferences
  • SolarWinds
  • SolarWinds Trust Center
  • COVID-19 Response
Support
  • SolarWinds RMM
  • Solarwinds N-central
  • SolarWinds Backup
  • SolarWinds Mail Assure
  • SolarWinds Take Control
  • SolarWinds MSP Manager
  • Solarwinds Risk Intelligence
  • Solarwinds Threat Monitor
  • SolarWinds Passportal
  • SolarWinds Take Control Downloads
  • Backup & Recovery Downloads
  • Service Status

Footer 2

  • Legal Documents
  • Privacy
  • California Privacy Rights
  • Security Information
  • Sitemap

© SolarWinds MSP Canada ULC and SolarWinds MSP UK Ltd.
All Rights Reserved.