Automate Your IT Product Sales (and Services)

It’s been a few years since “Managed Services” was introduced to the IT channel in mass, with several experts suggesting that product sales needed to vanish for the new business model to be successful. Despite that claim, many providers discovered that their customers still wanted them to help select and deliver their technology. The reality is, many VARs had been successful in becoming the true trusted advisor to their clients and walking away from an area where they need support just doesn’t make sense. In many cases, it’s not a complicated sale and the revenue is hard to turn away, and why should you?

A concern that must be addressed is how to sell, procure and arrange for delivery of these systems and components without taking valuable time and energy away from your more profitable business operations— such as consultation and managed services. While revenue from selling servers, laptops and routers can really add up when you compute all of your client’s needs over a year, it’s important to remember the margins for each of these item can be substantially lower than any services you offer. When your team spends significant time researching pricing and delivery options, the cost of their time reduces that profit potential even more.

So what if you could automate the processes involved with product sales? According to Len DiCostanzo, Senior VP of Autotask and Dean of Autotask University, VARStreet can do just that. Speaking to attendees of the MSP University meeting at CompTIA Breakaway, he discussed the product procurement service platform the PSA vendor acquired earlier this year. “VARStreet automates the product sales process of an IT provider’s business, from researching best prices and procuring the appropriate components, to tracking deliveries and billing.” With minimal input, the system automatically does the rest; allowing VARs and MSPs to sell and source technology products through customized quotes or their own fully-automated online stores.

Process automation reduces the costs associated with product sales, increasing the profit potential of that part of a solution provider’s business. With the ability to source product from several distributors, VARStreet identifies the best pricing and availability options to meet your needs and those of your customers. When tied into your PSA (in this case, Autotask), the combined platforms let you track all the services and products sales for each customer from one interface. “Service tickets, quoting, delivery and billing can now be managed from just one system,” adds DeCostanzo. That means solution providers can quickly check the status on a particular client project, including expected product delivery dates and services completed to prepare for installation, from one dashboard. That means you can get the best of both worlds; remain focused on growing highly profitable services while supporting your clients with their product needs using the most efficient methods possible!