Extending Your Reach

One distributor that is doing this well is Comstor. The networking products and services-oriented distributor, a division of the Westcon Group, has a three-year-old professional services organization that specializes in complex technologies. That group helps small solution providers win deals they simply would never be able to capture without the technical and project management talent that Comstor puts at their fingertips. Comstor's professional services team boasts an average of 15 years deploying networking solutions and holds certifications in the hottest emerging technologies, including Cisco Systems' IP telephony specialization.

Comstor isn't the only distributor with a professional services team that solution providers can tap. Bell Microproducts is doing for complex SAN design installation what Comstor is doing in the networking market. Both companies extend the sales reach of their vendors by allowing solution providers, who have tight local relationships with their customers, to offer more complex solutions.

The services backup that distributors such as Comstor provide also offers one key advantage for smaller solution providers,it helps keep competition out of their accounts.

Joe Heinzen, vice president of engineering and professional services at Comstor, said the distributor's professional services team has scored a 4.7 on its self-imposed 5-point customer-satisfaction scale,a measure it applies to all of its jobs. Ken McKinnon, CEO of Planetary Networks, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based solution provider that recently used Comstor professional services to implement a solution in the New York area where Planetary did not have engineering talent, says Heinzen's team is top notch. "We have never been disappointed with their service, and customers love them," he said.

Satisfied customers. That's what business is all about. Vendors that don't understand the high value-add that distributors like Comstor bring to the table run the risk of winding up at the bottom of the market-share charts rather than at the top of them.

What value does your distributor offer? Let me know at (781) 839-1221 or via e-mail at [email protected].