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How to select a reseller, VAR, dealer, or consultantWe've covered a lot of ground in other articles related to this topic, but here are some key elements that you should be considering before engaging a service organization or contractor. This vendor might be putting in a network, developing a Web page, writing a database application or working on some other technical project for you. Use these hints to help ensure you're working with the right company. 1. Are you talking to the boss? If she comes out to your location on the sales call, or in a follow up visit with the sales rep, this is a very good sign. Many of the problems that can develop in a project involve mis-communications or ignorance. The sales rep is convinced something will work - the engineers can't make it work. The sales rep may lowball the price and then you'll get inferior talent. Or the sales rep misunderstands your requirements. The boss will be less inclined to make those mistakes because she knows the technology, knows what she has to do to make a profit, has a long-term interest in the success and reputation of her company, and knows that customer satisfaction issues will wind up on her desk anyway. So she's very anxious to make sure the deal is done right from the beginning, as opposed to having to pick up broken pieces late in the project. By her presence. the boss is essentially saying that she is on board with the project and is committed to making it work. If the project is important to you, it had better be important to the consulting firm. The only way you can judge is to get the boss involved. If she won't visit you, what does that say about your future relationship? Note that the boss doesn't have to come out on the first visit. But before you make a commitment, you'd better meet her. One key disclaimer - if the boss is clueless about the technology, and is primarily an administrative person, her presence isn't doing you much good. Look for a boss (or sales manager or technical manager) that is up-to-date, knows the business and the technology. 2. If the vendor isn't treating you right before the sale, don't assume that they're suddenly going to get better once you've signed a contract. If they miss deadlines, are late in returning phone calls, or show up late for meetings, they're probably going to keep doing it. The absolute best treatment you're going to get from a consulting firm is BEFORE the sale, not after. Of course, this doesn't mean that exemplary behavior before the sale means that they're going to be great after the deal is inked. But the attitude definitely won't improve. It can only get worse. So be very wary if the attitude is already pretty bad. 3. Visit the vendor offices. This gives you a feel for their operation and their way of doing business. Do they fly by the seat of their pants? Are they as big as they say they are? I once visited a vendor and it turned out that the twelve "employees" they claimed to have were really independent contractors, and they were just a front for the contractors' individual practices. Visiting their office will give you a real sense for the nature of the vendor you're potentially working with. 4. Do they ask lots of questions before they make recommendations? Your doctor doesn't prescribe anything until she's had a chance to talk with you about your symptoms and rule out a couple of possible problems. So too, the consultant should ask a lot of questions before presenting you with his "prescription." Does he make a formal proposal with little investigation, or does he really make an effort to understand your needs? 5. You are checking references, right? 6. Beware of name-dropping. Here in Chicago, just about EVERY consultant claims McDonald's as a client. Maybe they ARE doing work with the hamburger giant, or maybe they DID do work there. That doesn't mean they have ringing endorsements. And unless you've talked to several consultants, you wouldn't know that McDonald's is on almost every Chicago area consultant's client list. I was at a technical seminar a couple of years ago and there were about 75 dealers and consultants in the room. The leader asked for a show of hands of who was doing business with one of the larger banks in town. More than half of the people in the room raised their hands. And you can bet their sales reps were telling prospective customers how cool they were because they had THIS particular bank on their customer list. 7. Don't be impressed by unsupportable comments like "we have excellent support" or "we're very responsive" or "my guys are all experts." Instead, look for expertise from the sales rep as well as the engineers. Look for specific statements that you can measure, or that you can confirm. You might ask how fast their guaranteed response time is and how often they can wrap up a problem on the first return call. Or you might ask about the certification levels of the individual consultants and how many years of experience they've had. And of course, you're checking references, right? 8. Don't be impressed by authorization levels. The staff that passed the necessary tests may have left 6 months ago. Vendors aren't very good about following up once a dealer has gotten a plaque to hang on the wall. Pay more attention to the individual certifications of the consultants who will be working on your project. 9. Most importantly, check references. You can read more about that in our other article that covers this in more depth. Doing all of these things won't guarantee that you'll chose the right vendor. But they will help you come close. If you tie in a very careful evaluation of your vendor with careful planning and project management, you'll be able to say, six months after the project is finished, "Dang - this sucker works great!"
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