Relationships Rule

As long as I've been in technology there have been companies trying to be a one "one stop shop".  I find it interesting that this seems to be a real challenge to pull off over the long term.  When I was with McLeodUSA I was selling phone systems and the other reps were selling phone lines.  What I found interesting was that the success or failure of our selling together still ended up to be all about relationships.  The other reps that could form solid trustworthy relationships with were very successful.  Today the likes of Loffler in technology and ADP in benefits\payroll are making headway to become your "one stop shop" as a business.

Time will only tell if these strategies will work out for them.  Now that the "recession" is at an end (depending on who you talk to)  I think we will see more of these kinds of mergers happening in the technology business. I've spent the past 10 years building my own personal network of trusted technology resources.  I often ask myself what it would be like if we all worked for the same company.  I may get the chance to find out....who knows?  Whatever happens I still believe it will be the quality of my relationships that rule my success or failure.  I've learned that if I am working with a business partner and it seems too good to be true....it probably is.  If I have red flags about their behavior, lack of action, treatment of my customer or me, I need to address it right away.  If they are not willing to discuss or see my point it may not be a good fit.

I'm currently working on a project that involves multiple partner relationships.  Needless to say we've run into some snags on the project.  We met yesterday with the customer (who has been great to deal with) and made progress towards coming to an understanding of how we would all share the pain of what has gone wrong.  It was not an easy conversation but it was extremely rewarding.  I felt my relationship with my business parter and the customer grow stronger.  This is what good business is all about.

My advice is to work with partners and customers who are interested in a quality long term relationship.

Have a great weekend!