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Given that most partners tend to focus on their sales mechanisms many of them opt for professional services
organisations when they need to inject specialist skills into their organisation. This may be a white-labelled
engineering and support resource, training, marketing or help in restructuring the business in order to scale.
Third party professionals can deliver a myriad of support which can take your business to the next level.
Installation and maintenance
If you have ever tried to hire an engineer
in the UK then you may have experienced
a stinging sensation when it came to
negotiating their salary. ese highly skilled
employees can command, and rightly so,
huge salaries. ey are also an ongoing
concern as their accreditations must be kept
up to date for the vendors you sell. With the
constant updates and innovations hitting
the market engineers require constant
investment.
A good third-party engineering resource
will represent your brand with the upmost
professionalism and can even unlock further
value from your customer base. Highly
specialised engineers will notice further
faults at a customer site or may even uncover
problem areas when talking to clients. As
far as the customer is concerned, this team
of specialists is part of your business.
e market for third party professional
engineering has ourished as a result. It
takes nancial pressure away from partners
but also gives them access to highly
qualied engineers which they can white
label in order to 1) get the job done to a
certain standard and 2) appear a much
larger organisation.
e power of a long-term trusted
relationship cannot be underestimated.
Some rms even provide presales support
which can tip the balance for partners in
competitive bids as customers feel at ease
with the depth and breadth of knowledge
the partner can bring into deals. Need to
help a customer visualise a solution? Why
not get the professionals in to set up a
demonstration?
If you are looking to make use of a thirdparty
outt it’s a good idea to do a bit of
homework before diving in. Some may only
specialise in one vendor which may, or may
not, suit. Ask your vendors who they would
recommend and see what other people in the
market have to say about them. If you are
going to put your company’s reputation in
someone else’s hands, then make sure they
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
come with their own reputation intact. Take
some comfort in the fact that it’s in their
interests to do their absolute best for you.
After all, a long trusting relationship is going
to be more fruitful than a short-term disaster.
Marketing
Resellers are increasingly switching on
to the importance of marketing their
organisation to potential customers.
Although suppliers will often ‘help’ out with
basic marketing campaigns and social posts,
that will never beat the depth of knowledge
and skill a third-party marketing company
can add to your organisation. Customers
are starting their buying journey’s online
and often won’t engage partners until its
time to get a quote. Scrutinize your online
presence and ask yourself… “Would I really
buy from this company?” If there is any
hesitation then perhaps it is time to invest in
your marketing repower.
CHOOSING WISELY
• Conflict – Weed out the potential conflicts
early on. Make sure you don’t just
research the company you want to use
but also any subsidiaries or ‘related’
businesses which may classed as a
competitor. You don’t want to hand over
a customer only to see them walk away
with another company.
• Reputation - Being able to trust a third
party with your reputation is essential but
remember this is a two-way relationship
and as an engineer you are only ever
as good as your last job. Make your
expectations clear from the get-go and
remember… the odd bump in the road is to
be expected.
• Adaptable - Every partner is different and
approaches business in a different way.
A professional service provider should be
able to fit into that model whatever that
may entail. If they say they can’t and tell
you to run things differently, consider all
your options… including moving on.
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