It’s 2024 and we’ve hit the ground running faster than our four-legged friends on Melbourne Cup day. Now, as you sit back and ponder your year, it’s time to consider your IT distribution relationships and how effective they are.
This applies to both vendors, MSPs and major systems integrators. In the ever-evolving landscape of the Australian and New Zealand technology sector, the choice of an IT distributor can make or break your business’s success. This is especially true for MSPs looking to grow, and vendors looking to expand in the region.
It’s time to ask yourself: Is your current distributor truly fueling your growth and potential? In this blog, we’ll delve into three key things that you need to be getting from your IT distributor. And if you’re not, then you need to reevaluate.
1. Provision of certified and experienced engineers who know the platform.
This works on both sides of the spectrum – for MSPs and vendors in the market. If your distributor isn’t investing in their people to learn the technology, apply it and help to sell it – then it’s wasted space. Traditionally, distributors pass this responsibility onto the MSP (and their overworked staff) or the vendor (to their offshore staff) and happily clip the ticket along the way without actually adding any value or taking any risk. For the next year, you should consider a distributor who runs their own technology engineering team who can help with sales, implementation and technical support.
(side note – that’s what we do for over 320 partners and 10 vendors – check it out here).
2. Be able to generate a reliable quote within 30 minutes without 10 phone calls or headaches.
Ever wanted to smack your head on the desk trying to deal with a distributor, their revolving staff of Account Executives and their legacy technology? “Why does it take so long to generate an accurate quote when this is all you actually do all day!?” – said every frustrated IT sales rep, ever.
An ideal distributor should be operating off seamless, interconnected and SaaS based quoting systems that allow for automation and accuracy in the quote process. It should also factor in currency changes, tax and real-time delivery or implementation variables. If it takes your distributor longer than 30 minutes to generate a quote, then it’s time to reevaluate.
(side note – all of our systems are cloud based, deeply integrated and powered with automation to generate accurate quotes.)
3. Be able to ADD value, not subtract from it.
We often question the “Value-Add” component of self-titled Value-Add Distributors. Lukewarm marketing, onerous administrative tasks and a revolving door of disgruntled staff that we often see in distribution tend to subtract value, in our opinion.
Your distributor should be more than just a middleman; they should be a strategic ally and continually adding value. This involves collaborative planning with actual experienced IT practitioners (not ‘Straight Outta University’ interns), educational and certification initiatives, joint marketing programs and a dedicated technical pre-sales and support system.
As an IT business owner, demand more than just finance provision and time-wasting monthly ‘catch-up calls’ from your distributor. For many MSPs, resellers, systems integrators and emerging tech vendors, the traditional IT distribution channels have become ineffective, plagued by a lack of personal touch, experienced practitioners, poor processes, and a pervasive sense of disconnect. It’s time to let these outdated channels crumble and strip things back to the bare bones of what’s important. That includes;
- Personalised service that you can actually access;
- Deep technical experience you can actually use;
- A proactive partnership that brings you more business; and
- Post-sales enablement that supports your customers.
You’d think this is standard tech distribution 101, but it seems traditional distribution has lost its way.
You don’t need to be big to do good business in distribution. At HAT Disti we’re about fast and effective results that make you money. Plain and simple.
We do this by:
- Keeping a lean, but laser-focused team of technical experts.
- Automating the most critical components of the sales process to accelerate deal closure.
- Generating sales leads that turn into opportunities for our partners.
Interested to see how our model works in more detail? Come and have a beer with us (or just a chat).
