PRINT
IT
RESELLER.UK
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IT SERVICES
and services is an appealing prospect.
Already viewed as trusted advisors
SMBs are more than capable of making
direct purchases from vendors, both
with office equipment and information
technology. They look to service providers
or dealers for the added expertise being
brought to the table, and for their ability to
effectively troubleshoot and support those
solutions post-implementation. The same
message that resellers have successfully
leveraged in the office equipment space
can easily carry over into managed IT
services – the technology and sales
processes may be a bit different, but the
underlying concepts are the same.
What’s more, managed IT services
present constant opportunities to upsell,
cross-sell and upgrade existing deals by
bringing new devices under management,
taking on project work and upgrading
between service tiers or packages. IT
providers are also well-positioned to
regularly meet with existing customers
to discuss business goals and objectives
to identify future sales opportunities and
continually align technology solutions with
the direction the business is headed in.
Dealers are sales experts
The best technology services offering isn’t
worth much if you can’t sell it, and laundry
lists of features and tech specs are unlikely
to convince the average business owner
that an IT offering is worth the price of
admission.
The good news for dealerships is that
they’ve got some of the best salespeople
in business today and they’ve got the
workforce and existing customer base
needed to find success in managed IT
services. Not all hardware reps need to
become IT experts, but with the right kind
of sales enablement they can become
experts at finding quality IT opportunities
within their given sales geographies. To
facilitate a successful IT sales process, a
few key hires will need to be made; most
notably the Virtual Chief Information
Officer or vCIO. This key team member
will become the IT subject matter expert
to assist hardware reps with vetting and
closing managed IT services’ opportunities.
With the right training and the ability
to identify the top 10 or 20 per cent of
current customers who are a good fit
for outsourced IT, dealers can jumpstart
their transition into this growing market
and bring in impressive new revenue
streams without having to capture any
new prospects or invest heavily in upfront
marketing programmes.
Dealerships are looking for
opportunities to bring in new revenue
streams and set themselves up for
continued growth for the foreseeable
future. Managed IT services present dealers
with an unprecedented opportunity to
expand the scope of their services and take
greater ownership over their customers’
network and infrastructure and, in doing
so, exponentially increase the value they’re
bringing to the table and further cement
existing account relationships.
Innovative dealers that manage both
print and IT relationships for their clients
become vastly more relevant to those
customers. And when you are really
relevant to your customers, you become
quite difficult to replace.
The key to successfully integrating these
new technology offerings into the business
lies in finding a partner who understands
the imaging channel and can provide the
tools, expertise and technical personnel
needed to bridge the gap between office
equipment and IT – empowering office
equipment dealers to quickly step into
this booming market without requiring
significant capital investment. Continuum’s
IT management platform and dealer-
focused support team can help dealerships
accelerate this transition by providing a
robust, scalable outsourced IT model that
combines powerful software with human
resources which allow dealers to realise
60 per cent margins or greater.
Suppliers of
Copiers & Printers
Around the Globe
Our strength is in our passion and
commitment to our clients.
Established over 20 years, International
Copiers are the leading supplier, exporter
and buyer of used copiers in the UK.
We provide our customers with high-tech,
high performance products at
competitive rates.
To discuss your fleet disposal
requirements or refurbished MFP
requirements call 01189 220 100
Continuum empowers managed IT service providers, giving them the technology
platform, services and processes they need to simplify IT management and deliver
exceptional service to their small and medium-sized clients. Continuum’s vertically
integrated service delivery model combines an unmatched SaaS-based technology suite
with a world-class NOC and Help Desk, allowing them to not only remotely monitor,
manage, secure, and backup their clients’ IT environments from a single pane of glass,
and scale rapidly and profitably.
