Chapter 3: Putting the ES in RESS: Expertise, Services and Specialization

In the last issue, we introduced you to our favorite four-letter word. RESS – Resources, Expertise, Services and Specialization – can make all the difference between being an iron mover and truly adding value.

If you missed our article about maximizing your resources, click here to catch up. If you’re ready to learn more, read on to find out how you can increase your value to your partners and customers, without adding cost, by making the most of expertise and services.

Expertise is the second part of the RESS equation, and probably the easiest. Look around your business and assess your company’s knowledge of the market, of the latest technology and of your customers. When you bring together market expertise, technology expertise and expertise on your customers’ key challenges and goals, you present an unbeatable value proposition that’ll have prospects beating down your door to establish long-lasting relationships.

If you find expertise lacking in an area, it costs nothing more than time and patience to build a bridge that takes your business to the next level. Expertise is indispensable.

Take a minute to list as many areas and kinds of expertise your company can offer to your partners and customers.

If you’ve been in this business for any amount of time, you’ll know there’s nothing new about services. In fact, if you’re not already offering some kind of services to your customers, you’re not even in the game. You’re missing out on the chance to expand your prospects immeasurably and take advantage of one of the industry’s most profitable sectors. Services are a key differentiator between a true value-added reseller and another box salesman.

Historically, IT resellers have focused on services like system design and architecture, implementation and technical support. These are key to selling comprehensive solutions, but what other services can you offer? Let’s break out that well-worn cliché: Think outside the box! If you want different results from your competitors, you’ve got to do business differently. Have you considered offering business consulting? Managed services? Financial services? Make a quick laundry list of your services. Circle the ones you haven’t been making the most of.

We’ve given you a lot to think about, and – like the song says – we’ve only just begun. Getting some RESS is only the start of maximizing your value – and absolutely critical to survival in our dynamic industry. Line up your resources, expertise and services to leap ahead of the pack.

In the next issue of Avnet Advantage, we’ll amp up the power of your resources, expertise and services with the final S – specialization.

Eryc Eyl / Freelance Writer and Business Consultant

Chapter 2: Get Some RESS: Winning Customers, Not Just Deals

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, winning the deal was the name of the game. When you walked into a sales meeting or first started working a prospect, all you had to worry about was closing the deal. Maybe you’d discount. Maybe you’d throw in something for free. Or maybe you’d just bring donuts. No matter what your ploy was, the goal was always the same simple outcome – close that deal.

Well, those days are gone, my friends. Today, if you want to build a successful business and be a valuable partner, you have to win customers, not just deals. Catchy sales buzzwords like “solutions selling” and “consultative sales” will just leave you looking like another “me too,” and it’s gonna take more than establishing distribution partnerships with industry leaders like Avnet and leveraging the strengths of cutting-edge Oracle Sun solutions – though those certainly can’t hurt.

Today’s successful reseller must make herself indispensable to customers and vendors by relentlessly focusing on putting “value added” back in front of “reseller.” Sure, anyone could tell you that, but we’re gonna boil that down to four very simple building blocks: resources, expertise, services and specialization. We like to call it “getting some RESS,” because we really like puns. The truth is, though, that you already have them all, and if you don’t, Avnet can help with our own RESS. Start making the most of them today to add value and win customers, not just deals. Tomorrow might be too late.

In this issue of Avnet Advantage, we’ll take on the topic of resources. Do you have support teams dedicated to specific accounts, specific verticals or specific technologies? Do you have folks who provide onsite support? Maybe you’ve implemented some handy tools for customers to manage their accounts or buy from you online. All of these are resources that put you head-and-shoulders above the box-movers who are trying to win deals. In many cases, these are things that are already on your balance sheet. Putting them in front of your customers won’t cost you a thing, but you’re probably not using them to win customers. Get the maximum ROI out of your resources. Make them a cornerstone of the value you offer to your partners and customers.

Stop reading this right now and write down at least three resources you offer (or could offer) to add value and make your business stand out to your customers and your partners. If there are resources you’re missing that you think are key to adding more value, reach out to your partners at Avnet within the next week and find out how we can help you fill in the gaps.

In the next issue of Avnet Advantage, we’ll dig into expertise, services and specialization. We’ll have ideas and questions to help you think differently about your business. Until then, get some RESS.

Eryc Eyl / Freelance Writer and Business Consultant

Chapter 1: There Is No 'Try': Yoda's Business Advice

Isn’t it funny how Yoda’s words to young Luke Skywalker ring as true in today’s competitive, ever-changing IT landscape as they did in the swamps of Dagobah?

Remember the scene? Master Yoda encourages whiny Luke to use the power of the Force to pull his wrecked x-wing fighter out of the bog. Finally, Luke decides he’ll give it a go – as much to quiet the little green guy’s lecturing as anything.

“I’ll try,” he says.

“Try not,” Yoda snaps back. “Do or do not. There is no ‘try.’”

As a value-added reseller in the exciting-but-hardscrabble world of IT distribution, you’re probably trying to figure out what it takes to achieve and maintain success. You might be trying to deal with the nonstop changes that seem to hit your business daily. In the meantime, you’re trying to offer your customers and suppliers better value by leveraging your resources, expertise, services and specialties.

Well, take Yoda’s advice. Stop trying right now and DO.

No, this isn’t another pep talk about how a positive attitude and the law of attraction are going to get you what you want. In the dynamic business environment of today, you don’t get credit for good intentions. Results are the only currency.

Over the next few weeks, Avnet Advantage will bring you a series of articles containing ideas and tactics that will help you add value and achieve more than you might have thought possible, without adding cost. We’ll talk about winning customers (not just deals), the most important mathematical formula you never learned, how to make your business indispensable to your customers, and more.

But no article will transform your business. As you read this column, don’t think about what ideas or tactics you might try. Think about what you’ll DO.

Then go wipe that swamp goo off your x-wing fighter.

Eryc Eyl / Freelance Writer and Business Consultant