Put Your Distributor to Work

In yesterday’s Distributor Power Panel moderated by Gennifer Biggs, editor, Business Solutions, at Breakaway, a panel of top distributors advised solution providers to pick up the phone and get to know their distributor representatives one-on-one.

“Be a little transparent.  Be open and frank and help us understand your business,” said Greg Dixon, CTO of ScanSource.  “Most of our customers are small with as few as five employees.  You should be a on a first-name basis with your rep.”

Some smaller solution providers often feel like they don’t have the volume to get the attention of a distributor, but as all the panelists agreed, it’s not about volume any more.  Each of the panelists had programs to cater to small businesses and is willing to put their resources to work for the solution provider.

“Today we’re geared around the mid-sized and small VAR which is different than five years ago,” said Joe Quaglia, senior vice president, U.S. marketing, Tech Data Corp. “We have vast resources and experts across all categories to help VARs find, develop and close business.”

Ingram Micro has set up a micro-site for small businesses and hosts a suite of education and training in managed services and cloud computing, mentioned Kirk Robinson, vice president and general manager, commercial markets division, Ingram Micro Inc. “The distributor can pull all the pieces together for you to let you white-label a cloud solution.  We can simplify it for you.”

“There’s a misperception that the cloud is virtual so it’s easy and self-sufficient.  Let the distributor figure out cloud for you.  The monthly billing cycle issue alone is really tricky,” said Dixon.

“We help keep the vendors honest with you, so that you continue to own the customer,” added Bob Stegner, senior vice president, marketing, North America, Synnex Corp.  “VARs simply need to decide on what they want to focus on.”

How can solution providers network for growth?  Stegner advised them to go to events and meet at least four or five other VARs to share experiences.  “If nothing else, you’ll find someone who had it worse that you,” joked Stegner.

The distributors also have communities and specialty groups for solution providers to get involved in.  These help them meet similar-minded providers and get more information on their chosen markets.