Leave Subject-Matter Expertise To The Suppliers

The only thing solution providers should consider themselves experts in is quarterbacking the deal, Mache said. This process includes consulting, asking the right questions, and moving the deal though each stage. Solution providers don’t have to be experts in the technology because their supplier partners are.

"The question that I [should] be asking as a partner is: Who in the supply chain is willing to go cradle to grave; who is going to be my right arm?" Mache said.

Solution providers should focus on building relationships with the right suppliers who can act as extensions of the payroll, Mache added. But right now, most solution providers are falling short of building those connections, he said.