Partnering with Service Providers

[Glenn Gaudet]

I have to scratch my head why some Service Providers (read Verizon) make it so challenging to partner with them.

[Chuck Stormon]

If you're a Service Provider, everyone wants to be your friend. Partnering is difficult work - ask anyone who's every been married! The three keys to partnering with any Service Provider are:
1) Add Value - make sure you offer something they really benefit from.
2) Express Yourself - clearly communicating your value is an essential art.
3) Persevere - expect partnerships to require work to gain/maintain - they do!
The rest is just execution. :-)

[marcusbrutus]

Glenn, I concur with Chuck's generic advice. However, as a former divisional executive at Nortel (pre-bubble) I must ask "what means partner"? People use the term "partnership" so broadly, that it's original meaning has been lost. Do you want to ...

... sell them something? If so, is it internally (they can save money) or externally (they can make money) focused?
... have them resell something you've created? If so, is it hardware, software, a service (labor or network delivered)?
... you get the drift.

Give us some more information and there may be something of value that can be imparted from the community. Otherwise, all we can deliver are generic platitudes and/or commiseration. Neither, of which, will get you closer to your goals.