Channel challenge to VAR principles
This year may be all about staying true to your convictions
Watson: VARs must not sell their specialist expertise short this new year
As the UK waits to exit the recession, there will be some in the channel that have been tempted to forget their principles. Many will have cash-strapped customers requesting the cheapest offerings, even though they may be completely inappropriate.
One of the biggest challenges is to have the courage of your convictions, providing the best service possible and resisting the temptation to sell on price alone.
The biggest asset you have is specialised knowledge. Those who compete on price alone will win fewer deals with less margin often the result of a lack of confidence in selling more complex products.
Some services have already become commoditised. DSL and internet services are almost all about the price. Yet even so, this approach may result in highly dissatisfied customers.
Solutions and channels have been converging. A good example is the way that voice, data and even mobile players have all begun to compete for the same deals. To differentiate themselves, partners need to ensure they have specialist skills in house, allowing sales people to secure initial interest before handing over to technical staff.
Expertise could be provided by a vendor, but many resellers find this conflicts with being vendor-agnostic. This is often the biggest deal-breaker for VARs.
However, competent network skills are required well before a vendor can be introduced. Investing in training for frontline channel sales people helps them spot opportunities and to qualify sales in the first instance.
In most cases, channel partners have expertise in their own technology, but it is not uncommon for them to fail to understand how it can be integrated with customers’ infrastructure.
It is in areas like this that specialist knowledge in-house is valuable. But turning sales people into specialists in all areas is not practical. It is only viable if network sales can support the additional spend.
The alternative is to work with a vendor that has the skills required. Even with commoditised products, the channel can keep customers better informed on whether a particular product meets their requirements.
The channel must work hard to ensure its reputation as a provider of great customer service and impartial advice is maintained. Sometimes in business especially during a recession it is necessary to tell customers something they might not want to hear.
Coming out of tough times, players with the best industry knowledge will have the
confidence to communicate with customers in the honest
and experienced voice for which they are renowned.
Neil Watson is sales director for indirect channels at Viatel