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How to Develop an Effective and Profitable Agent/VAR Relationship

How to Develop an Effective and Profitable Agent/VAR Relationship. Patrick Wefers President, Infinium Communications. Gia McNutt CEO, S.O.S. (Special Order Systems, Inc.). October 11, 2012. Agenda. Benefits of Partnering (Win – Win – Win) How to Engage Role of Each Party

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How to Develop an Effective and Profitable Agent/VAR Relationship

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  1. How to Develop an Effective and Profitable Agent/VAR Relationship Patrick WefersPresident, Infinium Communications Gia McNuttCEO, S.O.S. (Special Order Systems, Inc.) October 11, 2012

  2. Agenda • Benefits of Partnering (Win – Win – Win) • How to Engage • Role of Each Party • What is in it for the Client? • Key Lessons Learned • The Money

  3. Benefits of Partnering • Win-Win-Win: For the Agent, the VAR, and the client • Lead Source / Referrals (more feet on the street) • Expanded Portfolio / Offerings for both parties • Residual Income With Minimal Risk • Keeps the Competition Out • Better Project Management / Less Drama • Expectations are better managed • Fewer resources per project due to efficiency • Potential Collaboration on Designs • Separate Responsibility / Cut Away

  4. Engaging Need to establish: • Experience • Business Expertise / Appropriateness • Products & Services (overlap is likely) • Sales vs Technical Long Term Partnership based on Trust: • Money • Competing against each other • Staying within boundaries of the engagement This will ultimately determine how to engage with the clients, as well as the long term relationship of the partnership.

  5. Role of Each Party Unique to Each Engagement: • Extremes: • One party runs the whole engagement and is single POC to the other • Referral and intro to the other party, and each party engages separately • Everything in between: Project Management, Support, Billing • Pros & Cons: • Customer Control vs. Divide and Conquer • Responsibility: Single POC = Single Responsibility • Compensation

  6. What’s In It for theClient? • Proven Solution • Likely this is a technological solution that has been done before • Tighter Implementation Leads to: • Quicker Implementation (at least not a longer one) • Less Miscommunication (who was going to run that x-connect?) • Harmony / Less Drama / Positive Experience • Better Support Going Forward: • Both Parties know their roles, and coordinate with each other • ‘Warmer’ Handoffs

  7. Key Lessons Learned • Not All Partners are the Same • This goes both directions (VARs and Agents) • Expertise – example: SIP Trunking • Experience – Customer and Business • Level of Support • Workload • Success = Communication • Talk it out, Pre-Install, Post-Install, Expectations • Two Key Themes to Remember: • There is more than enough to go around. • Focus on the long term… the short term can be a little rocky.

  8. The Money • Industry Standard? • Workload • Post Sale Support • One Time Upfront vs Residual • Ownership • SPIFS / Incentives

  9. Questions? • Speaker Information: • Patrick Wefers, President, Infinium Communications • Contact Info: 916-209-8397 pwefers@infiniumcom.com • Gia McNutt, CEO, Special Order Systems (SOS) • Contact Info: 916-577-1706 gia@team-sos.com

  10. Brought to you by the Join us…www.cloudservicescommunity.org Follow us… @CloudSCommunity Upcoming WebinarBuilding a Service Provider Practice – Our Journey and the Lessons Learned October 25, 20121:00 – 2:00 P.M. (ET) Space limited! Visit our Events page to register.

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