Is your technology advisor really independent? 10 questions to ask
Plenty of firms call themselves independent technology advisors. Some are. Others are resellers, managed service providers or supplier partners with a different badge on the door. That doesn’t make them bad, but it does change whose interests the advice serves. These ten questions will tell you which kind you’re talking to, usually within the first meeting.
1. How are you paid, and by whom?
Advice is never free to provide, so someone is paying for it. It might be you, through a consulting fee. It might be the supplier you end up choosing. It might be a mix. None of these is wrong, but you should know which before you trust a recommendation.
A good answer: A plain explanation in one or two sentences, without being chased for it.
2. Is your fee the same whichever supplier I choose?
This is the question that matters most. If one supplier pays the advisor more than another, the advice will drift towards that supplier, however well-meaning the people involved.
A good answer: Yes, the fee is on the same basis for every supplier on the shortlist, and they’ll put that in writing.
3. How many suppliers do you compare, and how many made the last shortlist?
An advisor with three suppliers on their books will find that one of those three suits you. Ask how wide the starting field is, and how it was narrowed down.
A good answer: A broad starting field, a shortlist of three or four, and clear reasons for each cut.
4. Do you also sell, install or run any of these services yourselves?
If the advisor’s own business supplies or manages the technology, the recommendation and the sale sit in the same company. That’s the model for most MSPs, and it’s worth knowing before you ask them to compare their own service against a rival’s.
A good answer: A clear yes or no. If yes, how they keep the comparison fair, and whether they’ll step back from advising on that part.
5. Do you have sales targets, rebates or partner tiers with any supplier?
Supplier partner programmes often reward volume: hit a number, move up a tier, earn a better rate. Targets like these can quietly shape which supplier gets recommended.
A good answer: No targets that depend on which supplier you pick, or an open explanation of any that exist.
6. Will you show me why the other suppliers were ruled out?
A recommendation is only as good as the comparison behind it. You should be able to see the scoring, the criteria and the gaps, not just the winner.
A good answer: Yes, with the criteria agreed with you at the start and scores for every supplier considered.
7. Who writes the requirements: you, or the supplier?
Some requirements documents are lightly edited copies of one supplier’s feature list, which makes that supplier look like the obvious fit. Your requirements should come from your business, your problems and your existing systems.
A good answer: Requirements built from workshops with your team, reviewed by you before any supplier sees them.
8. Can I see the suppliers’ proposals as they sent them?
Summaries are useful, but you should be able to read the original proposals and pricing, and speak to the suppliers directly if you want to.
A good answer: Of course. Here they are, and here’s our summary alongside them.
9. What happens after the contract is signed?
Most of the value, and most of the risk, comes after signature: deployment, adoption, support and the first renewal. An advisor who disappears at signature has less reason to care how it goes.
A good answer: They stay involved through deployment and review the relationship with you, including at renewal.
10. Would you ever tell me to stay where I am?
Sometimes the right answer is to renegotiate your current contract or fix how an existing system is set up, not to move. An advisor who only earns when you switch may struggle to say so.
A good answer: Yes, and they can give you an example of when they have.
How we answer these at Quetzel
We’re paid to recommend what’s right for you. Our advice costs you nothing: if you buy through us, the supplier you choose pays us a fee, on the same basis whichever supplier on the shortlist you pick. We compare options from more than 350 vendors against criteria we agree with you first, and we stay involved from scoping through to deployment and beyond. Our team spent 30+ years inside Tier 1 vendors, MSPs and systems integrators, so we know how the supply side works and where buyers get caught out.
Put these questions to us, or to anyone else you’re talking to. You can read more about how we work, or see our buyer’s guide on how to choose a contact centre platform.
