From The Editor

Written by: Mike Monocello

Following is a sneak peek at one of the answers from an upcoming VoIP (Voice of Internet Protocol) Q&A with ShoreTel, PAETEC Communcations, NETGEAR, and Catalyst Telecom. Good stuff! Make sure you check out the July issue of BSM for the full article.

What are some ways a VAR can distinguish its VoIP solutions from its competitors?

Sam Koury, Sales Director, Northern Region, ShoreTel: 1.) Most VARs are still out there matching features, functions, and prices as if the telephony market was commoditized. The fact is, we have been and continue to be in the middle of a disruptive technology shift that requires business process understanding to provide true solutions. Best price is interesting, but best value is what wins over customers. Spend your time understanding how and why customers use their existing technologies to run their business. You will find in almost all cases that they have manipulated business process to accommodate technology limitations and in a lot of cases do not even recognize this fact. If you can help them streamline their business with your solution you will surely differentiate yourself from your competitors who are more worried about how many buttons each phone should have than what the customer uses these buttons to accomplish.

2.) Prove that you are an expert, be able to give specific reasons why a customer should do business with your company.

3.) Support your claims of unique differentiation with concrete examples of why the claims are true.

4.) Make sure every person in your company can give a crisp, concise presentation of these differentiators.

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