Magazine Article
Do You Look Like Every Other VAR?
January 17, 2012
By Jay McCall, Networking and Managed Services Editor, Business Solutions magazine.
As I interview VARs each month for Business Solutions magazine, one of the challenges I face is finding the one or two traits or behaviors that separate a successful VAR from a mediocre one. On the surface, most VARs look very similar: They sell hardware, which they bundle with software, and they may even sell their solution as a subscription. The hardware and software you resell also sounds very similar to what your competitors offer. If you make the novice mistake of spending too much time up front talking to prospects about specific products, you'll quickly become a "me, too" reseller.
So, how effectively are you distinguishing yourself from your competitors? According to Alex Rogers, CEO of CharTec, a BDR (backup and disaster recovery) and HaaS (hardware-as-a-service) vendor, the way VARs typically discover they're not standing out from their competitors is by noticing declining profit margins. Such VARs also find themselves in difficult RFP battles where they're pitted against competitors and forced to give away some part of their offering just to earn a client's business. Whether you sell networking, point of sale, storage, security, managed services, or payment processing solutions, you should heed Rogers' warning signs.
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