You want to negotiate a fee for support that permits the vendor to provide you with a high level of care. Whatever system you use, make sure to regularly compare the cost with the performance.

How are you paying your vendor? Many vendors charge a fixed, monthly retainer for all support some charge a percentage of the purchase price others bill by the hour.

Is the vendor working with you or are they working around you? You should be able to rely on your software vendor however, their system should not be designed to force you to rely on them exclusively.

This is a broader measure of success, of course, but there are also some specific signs that may indicate your vendor doesn’t have your best interests in mind. Think back to when you hired your vendor: What were you really looking to accomplish? Have they helped you achieve this?

The first step toward answering this question is simply an honest assessment. I Already Have a Vendor: Are They Taking Care of Me? The Rule of 5% says that to ensure you receive a sufficient amount of the vendor’s attention, you should be hiring at least 5% of their workforce. How big are they how big are you? A smaller boutique firm will likely be more dedicated to your needs, but with a large firm you may be assigned to their B-team and get lost in the shuffle.They’re aware of this, and they may not give you their best effort. You may need to pay them to get your own data, and this may make it prohibitive to move on from an under-performing vendor. What do the terms of the contract say? What happens to your data if you move on from the provider? Do you get to keep all your data, or does it become their property? If the vendor owns all your data, they can hold it hostage.

If their goal is to have you implement their product, everything they do and say will be designed to make that happen. Are they product-agnostic or product-tied? A neutral vendor will be able to provide you with a greater variety of software solutions, while a tied vendor may only be able to offer a single solution.There are plenty of ways to get a read on a vendor/partner before getting on board with them. Unless they want to partner in your success - and you are willing to invite them into the boardroom instead of having them wait in the hallway - the success of your software implementation will be limited. I use the term “vendor/partner” because that’s the relationship that you want. It’s your company after all, and even the best vendor is not going to look after it as well as you might. However, even after choosing a vendor, the performance and interests of your software provider are something you should be assessing on a regular basis. It’s a great question to ask, “Does my software vendor have my best interests in mind?” Ideally, you want to ask that question before choosing a vendor.

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