How voice and network resellers can pit their small business against one of the world’s largest billion-dollar companies—and win.
Let’s face it. People go to Amazon because of its competitive prices, convenience, product reviews, and free shipping. These benefits are attractive. However, as a value-add installation reseller, you can compete with Amazon to enhance your offerings and win the deal—even at a higher price.
However, as a value-add installation reseller, you can compete with Amazon to enhance your offerings and win the deal—even at a higher price.
The question is, how?
Remember, you bring value and benefit to end users in helping them not only select the right product to meet their needs but prevent the often exorbitant costs that come from downtime and poor performance. In the end, it doesn’t matter if Amazon costs less if your potential customer is forced to pay for substandard planning and infrastructure.
As a local installation reseller, you can save your customers the headache and bring your expertise, experience, and services to the overall purchase decision and market them effectively enough to win the account.
There are six solid ways to do this.
1 Assessing Property
One of the best and strongest benefits you can offer as an installation reseller is a site survey. Performing an onsite survey allows you to identify potential trouble spots and build a personal relationship with your customer. Highlight your professional installation workmanship by hiding wires, addressing safety concerns, and patching holes.
Offer your customers even more assurance by telling them that you carry insurance for added protection while on their property. Being on location is something Amazon just can’t do, so be sure to use it to your advantage.
2 Exploring Options
Purchasing wireless voice products can be complex, but too often we might defer to what the customer wants without offering our input. As the value-add reseller, you must deliver the experience and expertise that customers likely do not have. You will benefit, and more importantly, they will benefit.
For example, your customers might believe a cordless Wi-Fi phone system is the right solution given their already-installed wireless network. However, you know that an EnGenius, long-range, Freestyl SIP phone system would provide greater coverage, reduce network vulnerability, and function within the 900 MHz band without placing undue demand on company Wi-Fi.
The selling points are easy. The key is to sell them.
Here’s another scenario. Your customers might really want the popular cordless SIP DECT system because it’s affordable. However, like Wi-Fi SIP phones, the DECT system has high frequency and low power resulting in lower coverage than the FreeStyl SIP 900 MHz systems.
Customers might also be unaware that DECT systems require additional infrastructure to increase coverage past a couple hundred feet, whereas the EnGenius voice solution can cover tens of thousands of square feet from a single base for large offices and sprawling retail stores.
3 Essential Accessories
Offer accessories that will build your ticket and emphasize the value of what your customer can get right now. Often, this is an opportunity installers waste and give to Amazon because they are afraid of raising their overall price. Why?
Making the customer aware of accessories like batteries, cases, belt clips, antennas, and additional handsets should be viewed as another value you offer. Why have your customer purchase hundreds of dollars of high-margin accessories from Amazon the day after you leave because you failed to bring it up?
Do your homework and let your customer know you are offering the better deal. Cover your bases. Do it without the high-pressure sales pitch. Allow the accessories to sell themselves.
4 Quality Installation
Good installation companies will work with customers to schedule a day and time for surveys, installation, and repair. Show up on time and clean up after yourself. Yes, you do have to do a good job to avoid customer complaints and the cost of return trips.
One simple but frequently overlooked aspect to quality installation is communication. If you’re going to be late, give the customer a realistic revised time. Do it quickly. If something goes wrong, own it, and resolve it. Customers will generally be gracious about mishaps if you don’t give them the silent treatment.
Now that you’ve sold your customer on your quality installation that includes hiding wires, repairing holes, and cleaning up boxes and packing material, be sure that it gets done.
Each EnGenius FreeStyl SIP voice handset comes with a built-in performance test (RSSI) tool to identify the best location for the base to maximize coverage. Use it. Build a plan for installation and set-up and be sure these value-add features are communicated to the customer. Create a follow-up schedule and stick to it.
5 Offering Support
Support is the opportunity to turn a first-time customer into a long-term customer with a solid revenue stream. Provide quick reference guides, your business card, and initial training. Follow up with the customer a week after the installation.
Provide customized training and basic self-serve troubleshooting videos for your customer’s new hires. Remember to plug your company. For example, you could begin your video with “We really want to thank Town Theater for allowing us to serve them. Welcome to a quick training video on [insert company product here].”
Include a sleek document binder with a list of equipment, serial numbers, invoice, location of equipment, and consumable part numbers. Give your customers everything they need in one place.
Follow up with your customers to see if they have questions or issues. Set reminders to check back a week later—and even a year later—to see if they are still satisfied with the performance of their system.
6 Community Involvement
As you reach out to help your customer, be sure you let them know what they can do for you. It’s okay to let your customer know that you rely upon referrals and testimonials to support your business and attract exceptional local employees. Remember to let them know how they can assist—a review on your Facebook page, a video clip for your website, or a willingness to be a reference for another potential customer. Take advantage of community groups and events like networking clubs, sporting events, and charitable fundraisers to get your name out there.
Let your customers know that your company exists to do more than make money. You are an important part of the community and stand ready to support residents and business owners who form the backbone of your local economy.
Local businesses thrive on trust and repeat business. If you conduct your business with integrity and professionalism, you will build the kind of reputation that ensures success.
You’re the expert. You offer quality solutions. Now, you can earn a spotless reputation as the company to go to—regardless of Amazon’s price.
To learn more about becoming an EnGenius resale partner and offering the long-range, carry-away, FreeStyl SIP system please contact us at [email protected]