Selecting a Solution Provider

The top four reasons a customer selects a solution provider are: technical expertise, vertical market knowledge, business process awareness, and reputation.

That's why solution providers should not focus on promoting the specific solutions they can deliver. It's their knowledge, expertise and the reputation built because of those attributes that are primary business drivers, not the specific technology they bring to the table.

"This shift will help you create stickier, longer term, true partnerships with your clients, helping eliminate potential competition," Thoreson told CRN.