Local Loyalty

Fortunately, there's a plot twist. A few resellers have found ways to stop the revolving door, so to speak, and construct valuable and effective working relationships with their local vendor reps. And that has had a tangible effect on their bottom lines.

"In general, our relationships with our local reps are better than they used to be," says Ron Wilson, partner at Seattle-based Technology Express, which has built a strong relationship with its local Cisco team by voluntarily taking leads and potential deals to the vendor. "They're very responsive to our needs."

Strategic relationship-building on the part of resellers is a primary contributor to receiving better service and more attention from their local reps, VARs agree. Here's a look at how they do it, and what makes their top vendors' reps different from the rest.

The Right Reps
For Technology Express, no other vendor comes close to Cisco, and the reason is very simple, according to Wilson. He trusts his reps. "If you bring Cisco some business, they'll reward you," Wilson says. "If you let them know about a deal, they'll protect you."

What makes a vendor rep so special? According to resellers, having a good rep often means never having to take the knife out of your back. Wilson swears by his Cisco channel reps, which he calls a quality, seasoned bunch of salespeople who have never abused his trust. While the local team itself is very large, Technology Express has two "point people" on the geographic regional sales team with whom the solution provider primarily deals.

"If I have a discussion with a customer, I'll cc: them," Wilson says. "It keeps the Cisco team in the game, and that's how we build trust."

Sounds like a gamble, considering that many solution providers have notified their vendors of potential deals only to lose those customers once the vendor decided to swoop in and go direct. In fact, Wilson says his company tried the same approach with a major PC vendor, only to find the company was taking the deals direct. As a result, Technology Express dropped the vendor.

Net Solutions also keeps its local reps involved, which has helped it build close working relationships with vendors Microsoft and Symantec, says Bob Whiton, managing director of Net Solutions in Tustin, Calif.

Another crucial aspect of building strong ties with vendors on a local level, Whiton says, is leveraging both the sales and technical staffs. It's important for solution providers to keep in touch with vendors' local technical support staff, which usually gets calls from reseller partners only when there's something wrong with a product. "It's not political," Whiton says. "We like to involve both sides when there's an issue or an opportunity."

The loyalty a solution provider establishes with his local vendor reps can provide significant returns. For example, Wilson says his Cisco relationship has helped boost sales for Technology Express, a $12 million-a-year business. In particular, Wilson says, his Cisco team has helped the solution provider secure deals against larger telco competitors, such as SBC, which many VARs complain receive better pricing on Cisco gear than the channel. "People say you can't beat the telcos in the Cisco market, but we just won a $120,000 [deal] against one of them the other day," Wilson says. "I've never partnered with anybody as good as Cisco is right now."

Consistency Counts
Tommy Wald, president of Riata Technologies in Austin, Texas, is another VAR who has seen his relationships with local vendor reps improve.

"They've been giving us a lot more attention lately," Wald says. "Part of it has to do with most of the vendors becoming more interested in the small and midsize business market."

In particular, Wald says, Cisco, Microsoft and Symantec have been much more in tune with Riata, taking a "no-BS" approach while courting the solution provider for its SMB market expertise. Hewlett-Packard has also stood out for Riata for the simple fact that the vendor has offered consistency. "My rep at HP has been the same person for the past three or four years, so that helps tremendously," Wald says. "My rep is always working with me to get me deals."

Technology Express has had a similar experience with HP. Though not as strong as Cisco, Wilson says the computer maker improved its channel relations after the dust settled from the Compaq megamerger. "Prior to the merger, the HP reps were pathetic," he says. "But after some of the Compaq people were added to the mix, HP improved a lot."

For Whiton, having the same partner-engagement manager at Microsoft for more than two years has been a tremendous advantage. "The turnover with channel reps can be very frustrating because it takes a while to establish trust," he says, "and that costs the vendor and the reseller business."

For SMB resellers, solution providers say developing new relationships with channel reps is a different game than the typical wine-and-dine practices at the enterprise level. Wilson, for one, says he has no time for golf outings with his local channel reps and prefers simple, straightforward business interactions. Whiton echoes Wilson's sentiment and says he encourages his staff and his vendors to establish authentic associations with local sales and technical support reps inside--not outside--the office.

"The SMB market is more relationally sensitive, and there's more of a personal touch needed at this level," Whiton says. "It's not about taking my people to lunch; for us, it's about being responsive and available as a partner."