Some readers will not be ready to change anything about their current setup. That is fine. There is still value in a sharper conversation with your existing reseller, and the right questions can produce a surprising amount of information.
Most reseller conversations run on autopilot. Quote, discussion, push-back, close. The buyer asks about price and term. The reseller responds with discounts and options. Both sides know the script. Neither side learns much.
Three specific questions disrupt this pattern, because they require the reseller to confront the parts of the transaction they normally do not discuss. Asked politely and professionally, they are not adversarial. They are simply questions a sophisticated buyer is entitled to ask.
Question one: what are you being paid on this deal, including all provider incentives? Not just your margin. The full stack. Deal registration bonus if one applies. Tier-based discount. MDF. SPIFs. Rebate contribution. If the reseller tells you their total compensation is just their visible margin, that is not a complete answer, and you should ask again. If they decline to answer, that is an answer.
Question two: if you could not earn any incentive compensation from the provider on this deal, would you still recommend this product, at this price, on this term? The question forces a separation between product fit and compensation. A reseller who is confident in the recommendation on its merits can answer yes directly. A reseller who is not confident, or who knows the answer would be different, will hedge. The hedge is informative.
Question three: what is the provider’s floor on this product, and how close are we to it? Most resellers will say they don’t know. Some actually don’t. The ones who do know are often unwilling to say, because the answer reveals how much room is left in the price. Either way, asking the question tells the reseller that you know there is a floor, and that changes the dynamic of the rest of the negotiation.
These three questions will not transform your reseller into an advocate for your interests. The economics will not change just because you asked. But they will surface whether the reseller is willing to engage with the real structure of the transaction or whether they will deflect. That answer tells you what kind of relationship you actually have, and it tells you whether further questions about alternatives are worth pursuing.