During this week’s CompTIA ChannelConn 2014 in Phoenix, vendors, VARs, solutions providers and MSPs had the opportunity to sit in on dozens of panels on myriad topics ranging from women in the channel to finding new revenue streams. On Tuesday, principal consultant for Tech Success Communications and CompTIA faculty member Brian Sherman hosted a panel designed help solution providers get the most of their partnering opportunities with vendors.

In his "Quick Start to Profitable Partnering" panel, Sherman said the most important way to establish a profitable and amiable relationship between solution providers and their vendors is to follow the four E’s:

Empathy – Can you put yourself in the shoes of your vendors and understand their way of doing business?

Engagement – How can you work with the vendor to ensure that customers are satisfied and programs are effective?

Execution – Can you deliver when it comes to following through on partner programs and marketing initiatives?

Evaluation – No matter how well you think you are doing, it is critical to constantly evaluate your organization and look for ways to improve.

Sherman broke down these points even further by asking the audience to consider some essential problems solution providers must able to solve:

1. Understand the Partner Organizations – Why does a solution provider need to understand its partner organizations?

Many solution providers don’t dig deep enough to understand their partner’s portfolios and how to leverage those resources, including personnel resources. For instance, what are the vendor’s specific marketing plans? To be successful, solution providers should learn to leverage all of their vendor relationships as well as their resources, including partner programs, and work alongside them for maximum profitability.

2. Think Like a Vendor – By understanding the needs of the vendor, you can align yourself with its goals and work toward creating a solution that is actionable and potentially profitable for your organization. Important partners get access to more resources and also contribute to greater overall synergy (and revenue). Look at a partner’s performance measures—how does it measure sales capacity and service capacity?

3. Work the Partner Programs – Do you understand the program characteristics and benefits available? You need to have an intimate knowledge of the program to leverage it and succeed. Know the sales teams and attend webinars.

4. Manage Risks – Find problems and solve them to eliminate potential issues and the possible loss of profit. Is the sales force being incentivized? Is there a solid deal registration agreement in place? It is important to understand account segmentation as well, especially among key vendors.

5. Align Roles – Establish relationships with vendor counterparts, get to know them and understand vendor pain points. Also meet with marketing, team leaders, tech support, etc. Don’t just know their names; get to know them personally so you can establish long-term working relationships.

6. Evaluate the Partnerships – Establish a baseline with which to measure all of your company’s partnerships. Who are the strategic partners? What is the criteria you will use to evaluate those partners? Is your own team executing on its end of the relationship? This is a two-way street.