Value-added resellers (VARs) face a variety of challenges when it comes to new offerings, from developing new engineering skills and expanding vendor relationships to selling those offerings to newfound buyers. Those challenges are particularly relevant when it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT) and its commercial applications.
According to the McKinsey Global Institute, commercial-related IoT applications are expected to have a potential economic impact of $3.9 trillion to $11 trillion by 2025. To capitalize on this impact, it’s important for VARs to overcome the various IoT challenges standing between them and their customers.
Combining Sales with Engineering Skills
It isn’t enough for VARs to focus solely on sales. VARs must also be willing to lend a helping hand when it comes to the operations technology driving IoT applications.
By building teams with the traditional engineering skills to assist customers with their operations technology, VARs can reach out to new and existing vendors in a unique way. This can be done through outside hires or even internal employee development.
Building the Brand
For years, numerous experts have preached about the importance of VARs building their own brand, especially as they establish themselves as trusted purveyors of cloud and IoT solutions. However, VARs can find this difficult to accomplish in the face of skepticism from vendors, many of whom are unconvinced that their reseller is capable of implementing IoT solutions.
That same sort of doubt was prevalent during the cloud’s emergence, when many VARs were tasked with promoting their cloud solutions. As it had been with that particular challenge, this skepticism can be overcome if VARs clearly communicate and document the benefits and ROI that their IoT solution offers.
The worst thing a VAR can do is promote its strengths in IoT without having the actual implementations to back up those claims. VARs must demonstrate competence by showcasing instances where their applications leveraged IoT solutions and brought positive economic impact to their customers.
Expanding Customer Relationships
As with most IT solutions, the people who sign off on them may not work directly with those who possess technical expertise. For this reason, it’s important for a VAR to expand its customer relationships beyond IT and engage with key players within the vertical being targeted.
By overcoming these and other challenges, VARs can better position themselves to reach new audiences for their IoT solutions. Visit us here to learn how eXemplify can elevate your VAR’s potential with our suite of strategic services.