So you don’t want to be a “vendor?”
Today’s newsletter, Don’t be a “vendor,” focuses on what it takes to be considered a “partner” by your customers, instead of being kept down in the lowly realm of vendor status.
I’ve heard 727,435 senior executives bemoan the vendor/partner challenge in the years I’ve been teaching people about “We” relationships, so I thought this would be a worthwhile topic for us to focus on. My theme: If you don’t want to be considered a vendor, be sure you’re not acting like a vending machine.
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Hi Steve
It sounds to me like you’re emphasizing the ‘human’ element of doing business. Part of this is understanding things from the perspective of the buyer. But it’s also about building up a unique relationship between you and the client. We live in an age where markets are transparent and information is everywhere. It’s really easy to copy products and systems. So I like the idea of focusing on something that’s tough to copy – that’s YOU and those special relationships you cultivate with your customers. It’s that WE thing again – you just can’t get away from it!
Great post, as always!
Andy
Steve, thanks for a great reminder about being deliberate in our customer facing behaviors. I’ll use this article as a great discussion starter with my team. Dan
Andy and Dan,
Thanks for your comments. Dan, let us know how the discussion with your team goes.
Steve
Reminded me of a favorite experience: When leaving the executive offices after my first visit to the new customer’s appropriate VP, I asked secretary to validate my parking stub since on my way into the meeting, I had seen that the previous visitor had received a validation. The VP intervened and stated “we don’t validate for vendors”. The CEO, overhearing, came out of her office, said “that is correct”, then validated my parking herself and walked away. The VP advanced and became one of my best professional services clients, and a great humanitarian in world relief efforts. Grace abounds!
Great story, Randy. Thanks.