Helping customers to think strategically

Resellers can generate more revenue by assisting businesses to make strategic investment decisions, says Richard Charlesworth.

When was the last time you challenged your customers? Do you really know about their buying processes?

A recent survey carried out by Cottee Meldrum Research demonstrated that most companies still show a surprising lack of planning for IT investment. As a reseller this translates directly to your bottom line.

So what can you do about it? You could start by finding out how they plan and budget for IT spend so that you understand and even influence their IT investment decisions.

The good news is that, according to the research, companies still want to increase IT spend. However, by their own admission, nearly half of the companies surveyed stated that this spend is 'on an ad-hoc basis', and that they use a short-term approach to technology planning.

So most IT investment is being made when a company has the cash available and not when it is really needed. Taking this 'Can we afford it? What shall we buy?' mentality is not the best way for businesses to plan and leads to a very uneven cash flow for the reseller.

Resellers need to help businesses make strategic investment decisions that relate directly to the business need to be more efficient, competitive and profitable right here and right now.

Promoting a forward looking, flexible IT spending strategy will help resellers too, enabling them to provide tailored advice when necessary. This will help them forecast their own income accurately.

So the thought process behind IT budgeting needs to be transformed to: 'What do we need? When do we need it? How do we fund it?'

Resellers have a fundamental role in highlighting opportunities to challenge the status quo, to find out about their customers' investment planning and to help businesses think strategically when buying IT equipment.

The channel can then make a 'step up' in offering consultative input, adding value by helping to force more strategic investment decisions.

It is imperative that resellers help their customers become aware of the finance tools available and of the benefits provided by finance when budgeting for IT, whether they use leasing to spread the cost, take out back loans, or simply pay up front with cash.

It's time to take up the challenge. The question is, are you ready?

Richard Charlesworth is divisional IT manager at Siemens Financial.