Solution Providers: D&H's Personal Touch Paying Off For Partners

When it comes to building strong personal relationships, solution providers said D&H Distributing is a cut above the competition.

That was one of the big takeaways at a CRN solution provider roundtable at the 24th annual D&H New England Technology Show held earlier this week at the Boston Marriott in Quincy, Mass. Approximately 450 solution providers and 64 vendors with the latest and greatest SMB (small medium business) products attended the show.

[Related: VAR Roundtable: 2015 Will Be A Good Year For Solution Providers ]

Solution providers attending the Harrisburg, Pa.-headquartered D&H's annual regional show said that they do more business with D&H than with other distributors because its responsiveness and strong channel sales reps, along with attractive terms and conditions, are helping them drive sales growth.

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"They are our No. 1 distributor," said Richard Trahant, president of LANDComputer.com, an IT and telecom solutions company based in Peabody, Mass., pointing out that some larger distributors have gotten so big that there is "zero personal level interactions" with them.

Getting someone on the phone with those larger distributors is a task in itself, said Trahant. "D&H is personal," he said. "They get it."

Trahant said he relies heavily on D&H to bring innovative, new products to LANDComputer.com, whose sales have grown 30 percent annually for three consecutive years.

"We really rely on them to vet new products," he said. "We rely on them to give us the proper information, and training and programs to help us deliver it."

Susan Trahant, general manager of the 22-year-old LANDComputer.com, said D&H is simply far easier to do business with than competitors, from ordering to delivery to payment. ’D&H is a lot friendlier," she said. "They are awesome. They have been a great partner. You have a relationship with them."

Dave Hodgdon, an IT adviser for Portsmouth Computer Group, based in Portsmouth, N.H., which is expected to grow its business 20 percent this year, singled out the personal relationship-building that is done in the sales trenches by Senior Northeast Regional Manager Doreen Affsa as a big differentiator for his company.

NEXT: Celebrating 96 Years As An Employee-Owned Distributor

Celebrating its 96th year in business, D&H is an employee-owned company. Affsa, a co-owner since 1989, pioneered the first New England Regional Show 24 years ago with D&H Vice President, Eastern Region Joe Boone.

Larry Gold, president of Computer-EZ, a Mendon, Vt., solution provider, whose sales are expected to be up about 25 percent this year, said he sees D&H cultivating the same personal-relationship business style that he uses to win over customers in his business.

"They are doing the same thing that I am doing: providing value," he said. "If I have a problem, I make a phone call, and there is another new product on the way if that is what needs to happen. If I need to return something, there is no argument."

Gold said he loves D&H's free next-day shipping policy. "I can order as late as 2-3 p.m. in the afternoon, and I have the product the next day. As long as I order over $1,000 I don't pay shipping."

Jay Shah, vice president of Compu-Tech Inc. (CTI) a Wethersfield, Conn.-based solution provider, said the personal relationships that D&H values is in sharp contrast to distribution giants who sometimes route calls to an overseas support center, or prefer to communicate via web or email with partners.

Key to the stellar relationship with D&H is the ability to get D&H on the phone for support, said Shah."It's all about who is supporting you and whether you can get to them on the phone," he said. "You need to be able to get a sales rep on the phone. Sometimes you spend so much time [trying to get someone on the phone]. I think D&H has done a phenomenal job year after year."

Pat Donovan, senior director of inside sales for D&H, said he sees continued innovation in the small-to-medium business market, with SMB customers demanding enterprise-class solutions at an economical price. He said more solution providers act as virtual CIOs for their customers.

"The needs of the SMB customers continue to evolve," he said. "They are no longer willing to accept the low-end solution. They want something that is cloud-based or SaaS-based. It is part of the evolution of SMB. They need to have an enterprise-type product."

One of those enterprise-class products shaking up the market is Cisco's Meraki wireless cloud management/mobile device management product, said Donovan. "That is going to be a good long-term play for our resellers," he said. "We are excited about it. It is allowing us to continue to help our resellers move upstream."

PUBLISHED AUG. 16, 2014