Technology Reseller - v24

Q&A 01732 759725 28 ...continued open about using partners, end users understand the value of that more and more. The more we are allowed to get involved in the deal, the higher the success rate. TR : You offer hardware support, inventory support, UPS support, engineering services: which are the fastest growing parts of your business? LH-W: The core of our services is out- and-out hardware support. We brought in UPS 20-24 months ago and we have seen considerable growth in the last 6-9 months. It has been an educational sell, because there has never been a TPM out there supporting UPSs – certainly not in-house and at the level we do. UPS is the forgotten piece of equipment: it sits there, it collects dust and, because we’ve got pretty stable power in this country, it doesn’t get used that often. The downside is that when they are needed, they’ve probably been sitting there for six years, the batteries will be completely degraded and they won’t work. So, there is a need to educate resellers and, in turn, end users on the value of regularly servicing those units, of regular battery replacements. We have seen substantial growth there and in secure disposal. We have won some much larger contracts on the back of being ADISA-certified and being able to incorporate the disposal model into the maintenance arena, so that when we maintain equipment and bring back media- bearing items we are able to process them securely. They don’t have to retain everything on site and then engage with an additional third party for disposal. It’s the benefit of building that wraparound model. www.cameouk.com equipment post-warranty and, ultimately, decommissioning it and transferring the data, cleansing the media-bearing items. It’s that lifecycle service, simplifying the service offering and focusing on the data centre environment. In everything we do we want a point of difference. When it comes to maintenance, the point of difference is that we manage everything in-house – we manage the service from start to finish and absolutely nothing is subbed out to a third party. That’s our unique selling point and there are very few people that can compete with that. It’s the same with our secure disposal service: everything is done in-house and everything complies with the ADISA standard – we can control everything from start to finish. TR : What are some of the challenges you face? LH-W: Being a smaller company, competing with the larger TPMs that are out there is always a bit of a challenge. Some of the larger American firms bring the US model to the UK, start buying businesses and compete on price. So, one of the biggest challenges is sticking to our guns, delivering the service that we believe in. That comes at a cost and there’s a challenge in getting that over to the reseller, getting them to understand the long-term value in that, and in getting some of the larger players to understand that we can deliver even though we are a much smaller company. The challenge of a channel-only model is that, from a sales perspective, we are only as good as our resellers. That’s why we are trying to adopt a more educational approach. Not everyone is going to be interested in how we do everything to the nth degree, but we want to inspire our customers to pass on to their customers how we deliver a point of difference and how they do it as a reseller by using us as a partner. As resellers become more Insider... A bitcoin for your thoughts? Attending a dealer conference recently, I was struck by how many people remarked that they’d read this column in Technology Reseller or seen the Linkedin posts that I publish. I was taken aback to hear some individuals say they were so struck by a general theme or specific point in an article that they had made a change of some sort in their business. In reality, that’s the point of content – to educate, to inspire, to broadcast, to stir debate, to observe, to commentate, to galvanise someone into action. It’s never been easier to publish your thoughts. Numerous digital platforms exist, notably Linkedin, perhaps the quickest and easiest way to share thoughts with your business network, utilising their algorithms to get it distributed. It’s fast, free and can be influential, especially when you create it yourself. When I encourage others to share the benefits of their experience in writing, the response is always the same: What do I write about? Who would want to read my words? I’m not that good at writing... That’s understandable – it’s tough to find your voice initially. I had exactly the same concerns a few years back and my advice is simply: 1 Start! 2 Have a real think about what you know a lot about vis-a-vis your business that would help to inform/educate your audience. Even things you think might be obvious after years in the industry may not be to others. 3 Get someone to read your first few attempts and be a friendly editor. 4 Not everything has to be a sales message. Think about your company and personal reputation and consider ways to enhance this through sharing your knowledge/expertise/ experiences. 5 Always think of your reader and try to provide key insights wherever possible. Content is crucial in the current age. Your company’s digital footprint influences all elements of the company, from recruitment to brand reputation, so it’s vital to invest in it. See you out there. Phil Jones MBE , Managing Director, Brother UK @philjones40