The channel is permanently abound with opportunity – and the latest offers the chance to not only grow your business but also help save the planet.
Just a few short years ago, a selling organisation’s eco credentials were completely absent from any sales pitch.
Today, a provider’s or partner’s attitude towards the future health of the world is right up there in the commercial relationship stakes.
Indeed, many UK government departments and public sector organisations are now members of a ‘Green League’ where their environmental impact is measured and judged.
Winning contracts with those organisations therefore, depends on a bidder’s own approach to the issue.
In the wake of the UN’s recent ‘Code Red’ report – which highlighted the planet’s critical plight and called for urgent action from industry and business to combat ongoing global warming – it’s an initiative likely to also spread rapidly to the private sector.
For channel resellers, it seems the message (and the opportunity) is clear: the greener the partner, the bigger the potential success.
“For us, the commercial synergies are compelling and we devote a lot of attention to ensuring that our partners make the very most of them,” says Jeff May, UK Sales Director at Swedish-based global audio and video collaboration endpoints giant Konftel, for whom climate neutrality is an obsession.
The pioneering company was the first in the collaboration devices sector to earn official Climate Neutral certification; recently extended for the second year in a row.
A Climate Neutral Certified label is displayed on all of its products.
It means all greenhouse gas emissions across all aspects of the business have been offset by the investment in worldwide carbon credits.
Forest conservation in Zimbabwe, water filtration in Cambodia and renewable energy in India are some of the many projects to be supported by them so far.
“Of course, video conferencing in and of itself makes a hugely positive contribution towards safeguarding the planet’s future simply because it renders harmful travel so much less necessary,” says May.
“But the green credentials of our processes and our products are also hugely important to us too.
“Maybe it’s a Scandinavian trait, but the health and future of the planet matters to everyone here. It’s in our DNA. We would say there are lots of excellent product and service-related reasons why a reseller would want to partner with us; but we believe our position on climate neutrality is as important as them all”
The gathering momentum behind commercial climate neutrality means many organisations – big AND small – are embracing it more than ever before.
Whether to attract investment, aid quality recruitment or drive sales, senior leaders are writing it into their corporate strategies.
Being able to reference thriving relationships with like-minded partners and/or providers has surprisingly significant value.
“For Konftel’s resellers, it’s a win, win, win situation,” says May.
“They are able to champion their own green credentials by promoting our climate neutral products; they make themselves very appealing as a provider to organisations keen to demonstrate THEIR green credentials; AND they get to play a super-important part themselves in helping to safeguard the planet.
“When commerciality and conscience compliment each other in that way, it’s surely a no brainer to capitalise if you can.”
But there has to be a ‘but’, right?
Surely all of this ecological philanthropy comes at a cost?
Well, not in Konftel’s case.
Its resellers have not been affected by a single price increase since it was granted Climate Neutral accreditation.
And it has generated record annual sales, with an expanding portfolio of innovative video and audio conferencing solutions.
“Everyone’s bottom line is the thing which matters most to them and of course that’s right,” says May.
“But the only impact our products and our brand have on a Konftel reseller’s bottom line is positive.
“A big part of that is of course down to the quality of our products and service. But our climate neutrality plays a major role too.”
As well as the investment in its carbon credit programme, Konftel plans to continue to reduce post-pandemic business travel; replace all plastic packaging for accessory cables with paper-based alternatives; replace plastic bubble wrap with recycled paper; minimise carton sizes and switch to thermal labels that require less energy and generate less waste.
New pledges include all company owned cars becoming electric by the end of 2021 and improving energy efficiency at its biggest manufacturing sites.
As an addition to any hungry reseller’s sales pitch goes, that’s quite a potent list.
To learn about Konftel’s award-winning range of OmniSound-equipped audio and video conferencing products visit Konftel.
