As we’ve observed countless times before, it’s easy for a media analyst/journalist to flatly declare that dealers need to diversify without having concrete data points to share. After all, considering the investments of time and finances, adding a new product or service can be a costly proposition for dealers. With emphasis on “costly.”
As much as I love to promote the idea of diversification—and I’ve developed an affinity for physical security/access control systems, which are ideal for education and finance clients, to name a pair—there are simply too many variables that make blanket suggestions impractical. Geography, client base, direct and indirect competitors, market saturation/maturity, SME additions/internal training, learning curve, profit margin (!), time to ROI…you get the picture.
Let’s use my apparent desire to become a Verkada reseller an example. Do I know anything about cabling? Should I farm out that portion to a third party, which limits my ability to assure quality? Am I a rural dealership, where school budgets are typically smaller and security outlays are prohibitive? Am I familiar with the analysis paralysis that school boards often develop? Maybe there’s a trusted provider just 100 miles away who’s already entrenched. Do I acquire a security specialist firm instead of trying to grow my own?
Don’t take my word for it. On the subject of enterprise content management (ECM) as a new offering, we’ve turned to those who know best: your fellow dealers who are enjoying success in this discipline. They’ve offered us their nuggets of wisdom for newbies seeking to branch out into the discipline. Read on…
Total Commitment
Perhaps the one piece of advice that transcends products and service as the key to any new endeavor is a complete, top-down buy-in within the dealership. Lauren Hanna, president of Blue Technologies Smart Solutions in Cleveland, believes ECM is not dabbling material. She advocates for investments in people, process expertise and long-term capability.
Success begins with a strong business analyst function, she noted. “Successful ECM engagements start with proper discovery, understanding how work flows today, where friction exists, what compliance obligations apply and what outcomes the organization is trying to achieve,” Hanna noted. “Without that level of discovery, even the best technology will fall short.”
Hanna acknowledges a strong bench takes time to develop. Scaling can be best achieved by partnering with the right solution provider, one who supports enablement, provides interim project management, and helps guide early implementations while internal teams mature.
“The right partner accelerates capability without sacrificing quality or customer experience,” she added.
There’s a linear approach offered by Mark Ellickson, director of business process automation for Proven IT of Tinley Park, Illinois. He suggests starting with clear objectives, among them compliance, efficiency and automation, and seeking out scalable, API-friendly platforms.
“Understand your core client base vertically so you can focus on what is important to them,” Ellickson noted. “Then look to partner with other dealers that have already established a seasoned team of engineers and project managers.”
Valuable Resources
A measured approach can enable dealers to avoid taking on too much at once. Marc Segal, solutions specialist for Doing Better Business of Altoona, Pennsylvania, suggests beginning with one software product and becoming fully immersed in it. He also suggests training a network engineer on staff to become the point person and in-house expert.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to your contemporaries. “Call other dealers that are not in your geographic coverage area for advice on what product they recommend selling and how to set up the support contracts,” Segal said.
