Relationship Therapy

The apparently depressing answer to this question prompted one town in my North New Jersey community to set aside one night last week solely for family activities. That meant no extracurricular schedules. No soccer games. No cheerleading practice. No French club. No car pools, and even no school homework. The goal was simply to encourage conversation and kinship.

Why not apply the same philosophy to your business life?

I don't know any solution provider or vendor that isn't operating at a furious pace right now. This is understandable. It could cost you dearly if you stood still in such a tough economy. But did you ever slow down long enough to consider the cost of sprinting ahead too quickly? Maybe you could set a better pace for your race to success by cultivating the relationships that count.

In theory, this is happening already. Most vendors have some sort of strategy to concentrate on the solution providers contributing the most to their bottom line. Distributors have adopted a similar game plan, focusing on their best-selling lines and setting up fee schedules for emerging vendors that require them to pay for certain services.

But what about people just below the magical revenue threshold? Does it really pay to cut yourself off from the bulk of your partner ranks?

CRN editors hear time and time again from solution providers how important regular contact with vendor representatives is to them. VARs have even been known to switch product lines merely so they can work with a particularly great vendor rep. So why doesn't this sort of interaction get more reinforcement? Or maybe the more appropriate question is: When will vendors start treating partners like they treat customers? In essence, that's what they are.

All of us could benefit from a little relationship therapy. The companies that will ride the first wave of the economic turnaround will do so together with their business partners. Do you know who will be riding that wave with you? If you don't, maybe it's time to clear your calendar for the day, ditch your PDA, pick up the phone, and simply talk to the people who count.