HOW CAN VENDORS
AND END-USERS
GET THE BEST
OUT OF THEIR
PARTNERSHIPS?
O
ne of the
challenges that
modern CISOs
face is knowing
where to channel
investment. And
given there are
many vendors, often offering similar
services, choosing a provider or product
can be difficult.
A good vendor-end-user relationship
based on trust and long-term
partnerships is crucial, particularly in
a sector where the consequences of
falling short can be catastrophic.
During our conversations with CISOs,
Intelligent CISO has frequently asked
how these industry leaders make sense
of the multitude of products and
solutions on offer. There are now
so many options and so much
information that it seems difficult not
to become overwhelmed.
However, the responses are usually very
similar – these under-pressure security
professionals require more than a
‘buy–sell’ transactional experience.
They seek long lasting relationships and
to feel like a vendor is an extension of
their own team.
Gartner also points to a shift in buying
and selling requirements, stating that
to succeed today, sales leaders must
help customers make sense of the
massive amount of quality information
they encounter as part of a purchase
and proactively guide them through the
buying journey.
The leading research and advisory
company also found that, in a survey of
more than 1,000 B2B customers, 89%
of respondents found the information
www.intelligentciso.com
|
Issue 17
Distinguished Vice President in the
Gartner Sales practice.
“Customers are reaching an information
saturation point, where each new
idea reduces the value derived from
information and turns sound decision
making into ‘best guesses’ or ‘gut
feeling’ choices.”
they encountered during their purchase
process to be of high quality.
In fact, when customers experience too
much high-quality information, information
that is contradictory and creates difficulty
in making informed purchase decisions,
they are 153% more likely to settle for
a course of action smaller and less
disruptive than originally planned.
However, this abundance of quality
information is hindering customer
decisions, as they report not only
being overwhelmed by the amount
of trustworthy information, but often
contradictory information among
suppliers as well. Gartner research found two customer
sentiments that positively influence the
likelihood of a high-quality, low-regret
deal: high confidence in the information
they encountered and low scepticism of
the seller.
“In today’s world, which is overloaded
with information, customers are
struggling mightily to make informed
decisions about who and what
to believe,” said Brent Adamson, We asked three industry experts
for insight into how end-users and
vendors can get the best out of their
relationships. You’ll find their responses
over the next few pages.
27