?
GHAZAL ASIF,
SENIOR DIRECTOR
OF WORLDWIDE
CHANNELS AT
CYBEREASON
1.
1. Build the human connection
In an age of rapidly evolving technology,
we often forget the importance of the
human connection. At the heart of every
great relationship is a feeling of mutual
trust. Building trust requires time and
patience. The former is something we
don’t have, especially when there are so
many vendors knocking on end-users’
doors. Once an end-user has identified a
shortlist of vendors they will partner with
(in a project, or generally), make the
time to build the trust and relationship
outside of the office. Coffee, dinner, a
round of golf – there are unlimited ways
to build the human connection.
2. Make peer-to-peer connections
Most strategic partnerships span
across multiple business units and
disciplines between end-users and
vendors. For example, a CISO to
CISO connection is excellent, and
necessary, but going up and across the
organisation and making those peer-to-
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Issue 17
peer connections gives both parties a
fuller picture on the organisation. For
example, end-user procurement staff
connecting with vendor procurement
staff can lead to a better understanding
of the paper process and potentially
good practice sharing.
3. Create value
The strongest end-user and vendor
relationships are based on creating
value. This is especially important for
vendors. The only way to create value for
an end-user is to truly understand and
empathise with the pain in their role, fully
understand the priorities and then find
ways to create value. Creating value can
be done through sharing best practices,
sharing key research that aligns to their
pain and desired outcome, leading
workshops with the end-user teams for
knowledge sharing and finding ways to
share relevant expertise from the work
completed by the end-user.
4. Build a joint success plan
Agreeing to a joint success plan which
is fully documented is a fantastic way
to ensure the end-user gets the most
out of the investment. A joint success
plan should include quantifiable
metrics on what success looks like,
editor’s question
The more
transparent end-
users can be with
vendors regarding
goals, objectives
and outcomes,
the more likely of
achieving success.
especially post-sales. This is also a
great way for the end-user to hold the
vendor accountable.
5. Define and align on outcomes
Priorities change regularly for companies
and pains experienced by one end-user
will quite likely be dramatically different
to others within the same company. This
makes it imperative to set expectations
on timelines and communication in order
to define what a great outcome will be
for the end user.
In addition, the more transparent end-
users can be with vendors regarding
goals, objectives and outcomes, the
more likely of achieving success. It could
be something as simple as scheduling
follow up phone calls. If the end user
isn’t interested in receiving calls on a
certain day or time because of other
commitments, it’s important for the
vendor to know this.
Maybe the end-user doesn’t want a
follow-up call on a Monday because
their calendar is already slammed
with existing appointments. Therefore,
scheduling the call on a Tuesday could
go a long way in building trust. It seems
simple but working extremely hard to not
lose control of the basics is important.
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