There are interesting discussions in some tech forums these days about the value of joining vendor reseller and affiliate programs. What interests me most about the discussions is that many IT service providers and resellers seem to be unaware of the potential to extend their marketing power by partnering with vendors and manufacturers of the products they sell and support and some are unaware that these programs even exist.
I have been following a couple of discussion threads in the Technibble forums that touched on this topic and after reading through them I realized how many providers are missing out on an opportunity to really expand and grow their businesses.
There is a logical and understandable reason for this, of course. Most IT service providers start their businesses the way I did. They do it on the side, grow their customer base, then quit their day job and go solo in the field as an Independent Contractor or open up their own office or shop. No one mentors them on the business end. No one hands them a list of vendor contacts or distributors and tells them how to establish business relationships with the companies whose products they sell, service and support. They are completely on their own.
The downside to starting cold is that they are usually not privvy to or aware of a lot of the “secrets” of running a business. They don’t have the business to business connections to be an “insider” in the industry and give them a competitive edge. The problem is, they aren’t really searching for it, either because they are too busy in the day to day operations of their businesses.
A few weeks ago I was talking with Robert Danese, Executive Director of NASBA , the Association of Channel Resellers. We discussed this very topic and why many providers, resellers and consultants are seemingly not aware of the power of utilizing vendor partner or reseller programs. I think the reason is simply because most of us started as techs, not business people and such concepts are not tech, but business related. Some professionals who run their own IT enterprises rely primarily on their knowledge and experience as techs with the expectation that technical expertise alone will carry their business. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. That is one major reason why many tech businesses ultimately fail.
There are two parts to the term ‘tech business’. You have tech and business. You can be the tech and run the business but if you want to start one you need to know something about both. That is where partnerships with both vendors and other IT businesses can help.
I posted a thread in The Force Field forums awhile back about doing a series on vendor partner programs in the future. After reading the discussions in the Technibble forums and my discussion with Mr. Danese, I think it should be sooner than later.
