如何與商家 (Vendors)打交道

Competitive Evaluations

• You decide when and by how much yourlibrary resources will improve, so try to keepan open mind about new products

• Encourage vendors to create comparisons for you(if they want to earn your business) and discard the results if they aren’t credible– Quick accuracy checks may be done using data from

company websites

– If two vendors have conflicting reports, share theconflict with each and ask for an explanation

– Vendors that provide inaccurate reports should beviewed with skepticism for future comparisons

RFPs

• Give vendors enough time to respond to RFPs(30 days should be allowed for a detailed RFP)

• If you create bid specifications specificallyfor one vendor, don’t be surprised if othervendors respond with a “NO BID”

• Allow face to face presentations to allow vendorsto highlight the most important features of their product(s) and to answer any questions regarding their bid response

New Relationshipswith Sales Representatives

• Try to fight the “Halo Effect” with newsales representatives

• Try to be forgiving if a sales rep says,“I don't know, but I know who doesand I will get back to you.”

• Create a list of questions beforehand andmake sure that they are answered either in the meeting or after the presentation via email– If follow up is poor, let them know

that you aren’t happy

Planning & SchedulingSales Presentations

• Set Guidelines for the Vendor, e.g.:– “You will have 90 minutes, including presentation,

demonstration, and Q&A”

– “If your product is intended to replace any of the library’s existing resources, please focus on what we would gain and what we would lose (to avoid wasting our time)”

• Prepare the Library for the presentation– Alert all of those who may have interest in attending

– Confirm the equipment needs with the vendorbefore the meeting

Big Picture Questions to Ask Vendors

• What is your company’s D&B credit rating?• In the last 3 years, has your company had any

major layoffs? (e.g. 50 or more employees)• Who are the top executives of your firm and

how long has each been with the company?• If we purchased your product(s), which of our

existing products would you suggest we cancelin order to afford it?

• What are the unique features of your product?

What Vendors Don’tWant You to Know

• Incumbents don’t want you to know thatcompetition is good for you, e.g.:– You might not buy Elsevier’s Scopus, but you may be

able to use it to lower the price of ISI’s Web of Science

– Products without competition are often allowed to degenerate, because the vendor is not concerned about quality comparisons when there is NO competitor to compare

• So, it is possible that a new product can be superiorto an established one

• Lower priced vendors often want the conversation to focus on the price instead of quality – ask them what you will be losing (and also ask the incumbent)

What Vendors Don’tWant You to Know

• Higher priced vendors may make generalizations about their products vs. the competition –require them to prove their superiority withfacts rather than scare tactics

• Profit Margins…if the vendor owns the content,they have a higher margin (and greater price flexibility) than an intermediary

• Vendors headed in the wrong direction will want to avoid discussions about major layoffs, management team turmoil, poor credit ratings, etc.

Library Listservs

• No other industry tool offers buyers so much leverage

• Librarians can do real damage to a vendor’s reputation/ sales efforts by writing an email to a library listserv

• It is probably wise/fair to first exhaust all reasonable options with the vendor before turning to a public “attack”

• Sometimes the threat of a listserv message can causean unreasonable vendor to back down

• However, if there are no options left, a public complaintvia a library listserv can be a powerful tool– Many vendors have decided to change policies

based on pressure from library listservs

Vendor Listservs

• Some vendor listservs provide a reasonablenumber of valuable, informative messages

• Library customers can affect vendor behaviorby threatening to unsubscribe if the messages aretoo frequent or too much like SPAM– Vendors want their customers to receive

their communications

• Subscribe to your vendor listservs; you will likelyfind that the messages are more useful andless frequent than in the past– Many vendors have learned from

past mistakes in this area

Pricing/Negotiations

• For subscription-based products,ask for multi-year pricing (and get it in writing)– It is reasonable to ask for 3 year pricing for many subscription-

based products

– If a vendor is unwilling to do this, ask if there can be a cap on price increases (e.g. 5%) before you agree to buy

• Give the incumbent vendor a chance match a lower pricefrom a competitor (unless you prefer the lower priced product)

• Beware of the “Big Deal,” because it is very hard tolater “unbundle” that package (if necessary due tofinancial limitations)

• However, if you are buying from a number of different products from multiple vendors, there may be real advantages to consolidating those purchases through one vendor

Service

• What are the vendor’s hours forCustomer Service/Technical Support?

• When you speak on the phone with someonein service, ask them where they are located

• What kind of software customization is available?– “Can I tell you what I want changed and

have you make the changes for me?”

• Downtime– “What measures have been taken

to ensure full redundancy?”– “What recourse do we have in the event

that your system goes down?”

Dealing with Vendors at Conferences

• Many vendors have product information breakfasts or luncheons– Inquire beforehand to make sure you receive an invitation

– These events require a lot of planning andare often by invitation-only

– If you are involved in the evaluation of the product,most vendors will be pleased to have you attend

• Conferences provide an opportunity to meet with various experts within a company– These experts usually have busy schedules,

so be sure to reserve time in advance

Dealing with Vendors at Conferences

• Conferences are an excellent opportunityto see the ‘latest and greatest’ from yourcurrent vendor(s) and their competition

• The sales person you encounter in the boothmay not be the most informed person to learnfrom, so if you are truly interested, schedulean appointment beforehand to ensure you receivethe best possible information

If You Don’t Buy a Product…

• If you decide NOT to buy a product after an evaluation, tell the vendor the reason(s) why– This honesty will be appreciated by most vendors– This will allow responsive vendors to make improvements

to their products which will give you more options in the future (competition is good for you!)

• This puts pressure on the incumbent vendors to continue to improve their products even though they have “won” in the short-term

• Encourage the “losing” vendor(s) to keepimproving and try again next year

• Tell the “winning” vendor what you liked betterabout their competition, so they have an opportunityto make your ‘product of choice’ more complete

Advisory Boards

• Many vendors have these, including EBSCO,OCLC, Blackwell Publishing, etc.

• Some vendors have multiple boards; for example, EBSCO has the following advisory boards:

– Academic – Communication/Communications– Business School – GLBT– Corporate Library – Sociology– Hospital Library – Textiles– K-12 School – Software– Public Library

• Board members are usually unpaid in order toavoid the appearance of conflict of interest

• Board members are usually required to sign confidentiality agreements

Advisory Boards

• Board members generally meet in person onceor twice a year, but most communication is donevia a confidential listserv

• Some companies also have “Email Councils,”which are a forum for feedback from customerswho aren’t in a position to participate in a formal board

• Email councils are less encompassing in terms ofthe amount of involvement required and membersmay only be asked a few questions each year

• Beta testing is generally made available toboard members and email council participants,as well as to those who request to be involved– Beta testers should expect to see

“bugs”during the Beta period

Why Should Librarians Provide Product Enhancement Ideas to Vendors?

Providing ProductEnhancement Ideas to Vendors

• Libraries can provide better service to their end users if vendors can better equip the libraries to do so

• Join the company’s listserv and respondto the moderator– He/she will usually forward the feedback to the

appropriate managers

• Good sales representatives encourage feedback from their customers and their voices carry weight within companies (because smart companies listen carefully to those employees who deal directly with the market)

• Feedback can be provided through the customer support websites of a number of vendors

Partnerships with Vendors

• Vendors are sometimes looking for partnerships with libraries

• Examples include:– Creation of content

• Thesauri

• Specialized A&I

• Etc.

– Borrowing parts of the libraries collection• PDF backfiles

• A&I backfiles

• A vendor will usually make it worthwhilefor the library to cooperate

Miscellaneous Issues

• Dealing with vendors through consortia– Substantial customization

may still be available – ask

– On-site trainingmay still be available – ask

• For-profit vs. non-profit • Public vs. private

Summary of Key Points

• Competition is good for you – encourage it

• You can affect vendor behavior – you just needto use your leverage (and get involved)

• It’s in your interest to provide feedbackto vendors – find those vendors who willactually listen and respond