Channel selling has been a cornerstone of the way enterprises procure and make the most of technology in their businesses for decades.
From work phones, laptops and heavy duty equipment such as servers, to the platforms we need to carry out our day to day jobs, without the knowledge and support of the channel, businesses would make more mistakes resulting in a higher cost of kitting out their office.
The same goes for the vendors, as 2600Hz Global Vice President of Sales, Demetrio Rico, points out, without the channel those producing solutions and hardware would find it a lot harder to service the customer base they have now.
He said that the channel excels when it engages with medium and small businesses that are too busy running their companies and do not have large IT departments. “For a lot of these businesses they need a trusted advisor to recommend vendors, not just for telecom but for cyber security, storage, and more” said Rico.
“That's really the real value of the channel, it's a face that they can put to the service they have, and starts a relationship that lasts for many years. 2600Hz works exclusively as a wholesale provider we only work with the channel, and I do believe in the concept of having a close relationship with your customer. As the vendor, it's hard to do that, so to have these ‘guys on the street’ that are trusted advisors, is the perfect model.”
Horses for Courses
Building up a customer base is, naturally, important for any business to succeed. However when providing a service that is relied upon, that customer base needs to have a place to go for support if things go wrong.
Each reseller and MSP therefore carries that level of support, meaning that, from a small business point of view, they know the person they need to get in touch with to fix problems and, from the vendor perspective, they do not need to invest in support and can focus on their products. Although the channel models may initially appeal to the smaller businesses, Rico said that the larger enterprises, who are looking for a “white glove service” also benefit from the channel with the support that it can offer.
“The channel offers all the support large businesses need,” said Rico.
