My daughter and I were at the Leafs game when she made the mistake of asking me about values and relationships. My answer was simple and succinct: no one night stands. They are not worth it. Relationships are where real value lies and it’s worth the time to build them with the right people.
You can’t make a relationship commitment based on a first date, a website visit, or an interview for that matter. But you can find out what the other side is looking for and based on that, you can take the first steps.
I shudder when I think about the first steps for my daughter, but for Quartet, the first steps go something like this: Prospects look at our website and see that we are relationship-oriented. Those who are interested in a relationship meet with us and then ironically, we usually discuss an initial transaction.
Typical first transactions are network audit, a hardware sale or some consulting work. The next step is usually a hosting/support agreement and then after a three-month trial period, we fine tune the contract.
Relationships take all sorts of twists and turns as they evolve and unlike most IT service companies, we encourage that. We adjust contracts and we don’t thrive on change order fees. All clients have a relationship manager, who collects performance statistics and provides regular reports.
Developing good relationships is complicated, difficult and worth it. Trust is earned, not sold and experience takes time to build. Most clients use our services more over time and accomplish things that would be impossible on their own. We take great pride in our relationship approach and our track record. We’d love to discuss it with you.