Let’s face it, unless you’re selling Genetec, Lenel, Milestone, Software House, etc, it’s pretty tough to gain traction in building a VAR channel. You’re not just dealing with established technology on which these VARs are trained, but you’re trying to break up marriages. Many times it’s a marriage in which a manufacturer helped build a VAR over the last 15 years or so. It goes beyond friendship and technology. Besides bringing them a job, how can you get their attention?
Idea for this Tuesday: Tell your potential VARs that you want to be number two. Sound crazy? Of course it does, but it’s a lot less crazy than investing a ton of time and money trying to replace a manufacturer partner as number 1 – it won’t happen. Here’s what you do:
Begin your discussion with your prospective VAR with something like this: “Look, we feel that we can be your number one video/access control/fill in the blank provider. However, I just want the chance to prove ourselves over the next year or two and don’t expect to be number one right away. In fact, my goal today is to share some unique ideas with you, and determine how we can get a shot at being number two for a while.”
Here is the key thought for you – most manufacturers are so overwhelmed today that they’re going to screw up many times. If you’re sitting there at number two, you can jump in and never look back. BTW, Lou Gehrig was the second string first baseman for the Yankees behind Wally Pipp. One day, Pipp asked to sit out a game because he had a headache. Gehrig started that game and 2,130 after that.
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