Inside VARTECH: Day 2 -- Government Sales Aren't Out Of Reach
By The Business Solutions Network
Today is the second day of VARTECH 2016 in Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas. After speaking with BlueStar’s leaders on the topics of POS, payment processing, IoT, and healthcare, I was able to sit down with Peggy Lane-Welch, manager of government services at Bluestar, to talk about all things government.
Lane-Welch’s message to VARs is clear: if you aren’t doing government work, don’t assume that it’s too difficult to get involved. “We have a large government program, including two of the largest lead generation services available to our partners at no cost,” she says. “BlueStar invests $50,000 a year in bid services.”
BlueStar is willing and able to educate VARs, give access to tools, utilize BlueStar’s GSA schedule, and provide consultants who can help prepare bids. “We work with partners every day who haven’t done business in government,” she adds. “My job is to team them with the right people and partners to get the business contracted.”
Within government, the opportunities abound. As far as the sales cycle goes, Lane-Welch says the federal fiscal year closes on Oct. 1. “The fed always holds onto money until the last quarter,” she says. “When I think of large projects, it takes 6-18 months. Smaller dealers can be done in 3-6 months.”
Lane-Welch also says the needs within government are many and varied, and there is a ton of growth. Indeed, according to her, it’s “very realistic” to think you can do business in government without any prior experience. With that in mind, talk to BlueStar to learn how you can get started. If you call, Lane-Welch says the first step is talking with you about your business. “I don’t like wasting anyone’s time,” she says. “We evaluate a VAR and look at what they’re selling and in what region. We’ll also tell them that they need to step up by dedicating headcount to the vertical and really showing they want in. If you’re a good fit, we’ll immediately begin sending bid opportunities.”