There’s no underestimating the importance of onboarding product/service experts in hardware areas where account reps have varying degrees of knowledge. It’s truly a team effort—the reps scout them out and the specialists help knock ‘em down. This is particularly important in the office tech dealer space, where customer experience trumps all.
Developing the expertise in-house is certainly one route to take, but as history has shown us, it takes a subject matter expert at the front of the new product initiative. In this week’s look at non-MFP hardware opportunities, our dealer panel discusses the approach taken to enable them to scale to a desired level.
When an offering demands an advanced level of technical expertise, such as security solutions, the road to scaling demands a thoughtful approach. That’s the tack taken by Ronnie Lemen, IT and security solutions director for American Business Machines. Given these systems involve complex design, installation and integration work, the Bakersfield, California-based dealership has made critical investments in dedicated solutions specialists.
“This structure allows our MFP sales team to engage customers and uncover opportunities, while relying on our security experts to engineer the right solution and help close the deal,” Lemen said. “It ensures that each client receives a solution that is properly designed for their environment and needs, while also allowing our sales staff to remain focused on their core areas of expertise.”
In taking this team-based approach, American Business Machines has been able to scale efficiently without eroding the quality of its solutions or the customer experience, he added.
Behind every effective and successful offering is a dedicated team of equal magnitude. James Loffler, president of Loffler Companies in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, notes that unlike the manufacturer-driven product evolution on the copier side, it falls upon managed service providers to ensure they’re delivering cutting edge and relevant solutions to clients.
“At Loffler, we’re constantly evaluating new software, hardware, and processes to deliver best-in-class results,” Loffler said. “This pace of change has only accelerated with the rise of AI and hyper automation tools, making it even more critical to have a team that can adapt quickly and lead with expertise.”
Tech Navigation
Sometimes, when a product strays so far from the mainstream offerings of office tech dealers, it raises the degree of difficulty in carving out a desired level of success. This can be said for unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) within the portfolio of Budget Document Technology in Lewiston, Maine. President Tom Ouellette points out that the expertise in proffering enterprise communications systems and cloud-based telephony took time to develop.
UCaaS solutions, he said, require understanding of network infrastructure, VoIP protocols, call routing logic and cloud platform management. Budget’s clients expect consultative selling around communication workflows and integration with existing business systems. This is where the support from tech partner Zultys has been critical. “Their support during implementations—like the collaborative kickoff calls and direct-ship configuration services—allows us to deliver enterprise-level solutions without requiring massive internal infrastructure investment,” Ouellette noted. “This support model lets Budget Document Technology focus on client relationships while leveraging Zultys’ technical expertise.”
Nominate your dealership today!
