Ask how the vendor will avoid channel conflict.

If you've worked hard to build up a line of business that comes through a to-be-acquired vendor, what assurances can you receive that the acquiring vendor's direct sales force won't take at least some of that away after the merger?

"How are they going to protect you from [the] direct sales team?" said Richard Brown, of OPUS Consulting Group.  "As a channel partner, you've had a relationship with a product vendor. You built up your status with them. You’ve worked hard to develop [your] market," generating into the millions of dollars annually from a particular product line that becomes another vendor's property. "What happens?" Brown asked.