Three Strategies To Avoid A Nightmare Vendor Relationship
At VocalPoint Consulting, we recognize that two-thirds of technology buyers don't trust technology salespeople. The reason is that direct sales people are transactional and singularly focused on quota retirement.
This is why VocalPoint was created. We've taken our 20+ years of telecom and cloud experience and built an extensive ecosystem of telecom and cloud service solution providers that share in our mission of putting your needs over the vendor’s quota-driven sales systems.
Our goal is to teach businesses everything we've learned and change the way technology is purchased and supported. As a technology buyer, you can tap into our knowledge and make these changes today. However, if you feel overwhelmed and you're looking for help, please don't hesitate to contact us.
We're here to help!
Step 1: Focus on Term & Termination Clause, Not SLAs
SLAs (Service Level Agreements) are commonly used as a marketing tool by suppliers, giving an illusion of reliability and compensation in case of service failures. However, the actual financial compensation offered in these agreements is often minimal compared to the actual business impacts of service interruptions.
Instead, businesses should prioritize “Term & Termination” clauses in their contracts. Strong Term & Termination clauses provide much more substantial protection and leverage, allowing businesses to renegotiate or terminate contracts if service providers fail to maintain agreed-upon standards.
Step 2: Implement a TEM Solution
Telecom Expense Management (TEM) has played a vital role over the last several decades in helping businesses (especially enterprise businesses) to control costs and monitor all of the telecommunication services related to those businesses.
However, today TEM has transitioned from a specialized focus on voice, data, and mobile services to encompassing a wide range of technology expenditures for not only enterprise businesses, but also the SMEs. This evolution is crucial for businesses to adapt to the rapidly changing technological landscape, where efficient management of technology resources is key to maintaining a competitive advantage and operational efficiency.
Step 3: Buy From Independent Technology Advisors
In the current economic era, there's an increasing focus on positioning procurement as a strategic function that goes beyond traditional cost savings and price reductions. This shift emphasizes value creation, resilience, and alignment with broader strategic imperatives of companies.
Procurement is evolving from a traditional focus on savings to emphasizing value creation, resilience, and strategic partnership across the organization. This includes collaboration with sales, R&D, and other functions for long-term value creation and margin management.
This trend indicates a move away from the short-term focus often associated with direct sales approaches towards a more integrated and strategic perspective in technology procurement.
