Each of these questions demands the attention of those company resources who have been entrusted with vendor, or relationship, management, and each requires careful consideration. As a relationship management resource, how do you manage -- if not tame -- the legions of commercially hired Hessians whose sole responsibility is to get you and your company to sign an agreement? If you give the impression you're not interested in actively managing the contract -- or the vendor -- that vendor will show little interest in providing your business its best service.

Here are a few key vendor management tips to help you on your way to a healthy relationship.

Clearly Define External Relationships

Look beyond the marketing hype and don't take vendor information at face value. To ensure the best service and support, you need to execute exhaustive due diligence, examine internal processes, evaluate staff and identify external vendor relationships. Make sure -- in writing! -- the vendor has assigned internal resources and staff to act as a focal point in triaging support and service concerns. Schedule an introduction of those resources with the people in your company who will be responsible for day-to-day call triage and external relationship management.

Face time in any relationship is key not only between the salesperson and your company's management team tasked with structuring the contract but, even more importantly, between rank-and-file resources and vendor frontline support liaisons. It personalizes the support experience, which translates directly into a better vendor/customer relationship.

Know the Marketplace

Vendors are media magnets and they measure their products' success by appraising the participation and feedback gratuitously offered in user groups and online forums. They recognize that these audiences provide a channel for delivering market messages and sharing technical information. It's prudent for your business to recognize such public opportunities and actively participate in them.

To this end, consider becoming a reference account. It may require some work initially, but in the long run, it's a good tactic to position your company at the head of the queue with respect to vendor recognition and face time. Vendors always are looking for additional contacts and references to exploit. Leveraging your company's experiences in a case study may prove to be a highly effective way of getting increased visibility within your vendor's support ranks. Be willing to share any measurable statistics on productivity improvements, customer satisfaction or efficiency gains in an effort to solidify a good working relationship. Salespeople and vendors appreciate interesting and cogent customer profiles that positively reflect their company's goods and services. More important to you as customer, however, is the fact that vendors are quick to quell an unsatisfied reference's issues. Remember: The key is to be overt and on your vendor's radar screen at all times.

You should be vitally concerned with understanding a vendor's strategy. A well-defined process for product enhancement and customer service is a sign of vendor health. Review with healthy skepticism any vendor that is always uncomfortable or unwilling to say no to your requests. A vendor should never allow its strategy to be dictated by individual customer needs. It's a sign of weakness and lost inspiration.