7 Ways To Grow In A Down Economy

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The economy is down, revenue projections are low and sales figures are in decline. How, in such a bleary economic picture, is a solution provider going to survive, much less grow?

Despite the recessionary environment, Everything Channel's recent survey of 117 solution providers found that many were optimistic about steady growth this year. Breaking down therespondents into categories, 33 percent of the VARs in our survey identified themselves as "growth" VARs -- expecting moderate growth of between 4 percent and 14 percent greater than the market as a whole. Thirty percent classified themselves as "hypergrowth" VARs -- predicting better than 15 percent growth. Twenty-five percent identified themselves as "lifestyle" VARs -- intending to keep pace with the market and increasing or decreasing revenue by 3 percent. That number is up 6 percent from 2007. Twelve percent said they weren't focused on growth, down 6 percent from two years ago.

Part of the reason for all that potential growth might actually be those corporate cutbacks, VARs said. Several VARs said their business was thriving because they could offer their customers ways to do more with less. Such productivity-enhancing solutions are quickly becoming this season's best-sellers.

Joel Schleicher, CEO of Presidio Inc., Greenbelt, Md. (2008 VARBusiness 500 rank: 69), said, "Entrepreneurs tend to be optimistic." Here are seven ways these optimistic VARs intend to beat the odds.

1. Find New Customers

The leading way VARs plan to expand their bottom line is by cultivating new business. Overall, 77 percent of VARs said it was critical to their success.

"Finding new biz is categorically the most important thing," said Mike Shook, CEO of Consonus Technologies Inc., Cary, N.C. (2008 VARBusiness 500 rank: 261). "We have a whole team focused on new customers. You've got to go to a new tier at some point. We think about our coverage model. We want to protect the accounts we have, but we also need to net new [ones]. For example, we've had a great relationship with Sun for years, but not a lot of people are buying Solaris. So, you've got to figure you need to get more customers."

Nearly 40 percent of participants overall responded that they would be targeting new markets with existing solutions and expertise (36 percent hypergrowth vs. 42.6 percent growth VARs). An additional 28 percent said they'd focus on new customer/size segments (33 percent hypergrowth vs. 23 percent growth VARs). Many of those new customers are likely to come from the midsize market, research shows.

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