For many years, I spent time at a multi-billion dollar corporation learning to navigate my way through the process of vendor selection. There was a lesson I quickly learned: whether you’re looking for a vendor to help you execute a project, strategy, or one-off event, your relationship with your vendor is key to reaching your goal.
To my benefit, I gained perspective by seeing the good, the not-so-good, and the downright ugly side of vendor relationships. The takeaway? Great partnerships result in mutual successes, and bad ones create more work for everyone. Here’s what the spectrum looks like at a glance:
- The Good: Your vendor is solutions-focused, aligns with your expectations, and looks for customer lifetime value – not just the project in front of them at the time.
- The Bad: Your vendor only looks at the project in front of them. They think in terms of simple cost-savings (whether in dollars or quantities). Often times, they fail to focus on the long-term relationship and overall ease of use for the customer. However, they may have decent customer service and are friendly to work with.
- The Ugly: This vendor shows all the negative characteristics of the “bad,” but they also don’t care about customer service – they only strive to serve price and schedule.
Over several years of taking this all in, something struck me. There was a formula for success that became clear:
Pick a partner, not a vendor.
Seek a solution, not a product.
The truth is, too many vendor-client relationships are more transactional than relational. When your vendor is purely focused on profit and margin, they often rush to get the job done and put quality on the back burner.
That being said, finding the right partner with the right solution is harder – but man, is it worth it! Why?
Because a true partner takes on
the mission of your company as their own.
When your vendor is your partner, they are willing to ebb and flow with you and persevere when things don't go as planned. Instead of prioritizing their own revenue, they measure their success by how much of a hero they make you within your organization. In the end, a relational vendor will help you find success and make you money.
Putting partnership into practice
The first part of the equation, “Pick a partner, not a vendor,” is in the DNA of our company. When my partner and I decided to start Inspired Results, we took our beliefs about vendor relationships and made them the cornerstone of how we work with our clients.
We decided to establish our company mission as Partnership. We listen to each client to “wow” them with remarkable service. Instead of seeing our work in terms of individual projects, we anticipate and deliver comprehensive solutions that help our clients thrive.
This approach may not be typical for most vendors – but at Inspired Results, we like to think that this type of approach is part of a greater revolution in our industry.
Solutions that move the needle
The second part of the equation, “Seek a solution, not a product,” is evident in what we offer to clients. That’s why we frame our services to match real-world business goals instead of piecemeal projects.
We live to partner with our clients by providing solutions that Advance Your Marketing, Boost your Business, and Increase Your Bottom Line.
- Advance Your Marketing means we help clients evolve their marketing into a fully-functional, integrated system. We provide you with improved brand management tools to connect with your customers and increase your brand loyalty.
- Boost Your Business solves your marketing and sales challenges. We work with you to create customized solutions that target your prospects, develop persuasive campaigns, and increase your sales.
- Increase Your Bottom Line means we understand how to help you save time and reduce costs. Our team works with you to develop tailored solutions to improve workflow management, reduce production costs, and streamline performance.
By shaping our business with our clients’ goals in mind, we’ve found that it greatly strengthens our relationship. One of our clients at Helly Hansen says:
"Based on Inspired Results’ great performance, our business has grown with them."
Finding the right vendor = Peace of mind
Whether your vendor is allowing you to grow and scale, providing added cushion to your bottom line, or giving you the flexibility you need, their ultimate purpose should be to make your life easier. At the heart of partnership is trust and commitment – and as your vendor helps you achieve your business goals, you should see them as an integrated part of your business.
Are you seeking a partner who can provide tried-and-true solutions? Look at What We Do at Inspired Results.
