Follow The Leaders

Those vendors looking for help fashioning the perfect storm channel program need look no further than the programs crafted by VARs to sell their own breakthrough solutions to channel colleagues. That’s one of the themes of our cover story this week, which explores the growing phenomenon of VARs reselling products and services from other VARs.

STEVEN BURKE Can be reached at (781) 839-1221 or via e-mail at sburke@cmp.com.

What’s so amazing about these VAR-crafted channel programs is how much profit they are driving and how simple and flexible they are for partners. It’s all about putting more money in the VAR’s pocket with much less hassle. One of the most innovative of these programs—and there are many of them—comes from Network Management Group Inc. (NMGI), a Hutchinson, Kan.-based solution provider, which has put together an authorized reseller program for its DoubleCheck Email Manager product.

NMGI does not post pricing on the Web, allowing its partners to set pricing for systems and services based on their market and value-add. What a concept for VARs that have seen their old-line hardware product margins driven into the ground by manufacturers selling direct via their Web site. NMGI also does not sell to low-priced direct market catalog resellers like CDW and requires no hefty technical certification investment. What’s more, the company provides free online sales and technical training. NMGI makes its product available as an appliance, as software only, or as an ASP service or managed service. Its VAR clients are absolutely blown away by the flexibility and margins being driven on all fronts.

Steve Harper, president of NMGI, who is a fixture at all of the big channel gatherings, says the reason for the success of DoubleCheck Email Manager comes down to knowing the “pain points” that his colleagues feel with vendors and avoiding those pitfalls. “VARs are hungry for the opportunity to partner with people that allow them to sell value,” he said.

The message for vendors is they must do a better job crafting channel programs that are sharply focused on driving reseller margin. Bottom line: Too many vendors are more concerned with keeping internal sales and marketing teams pacified than driving business through their VARs’ sales forces in the field.

What do you think of VARs building programs to sell products and services to other VARs? Call me at (781) 839-1221 or e-mail sburke@cmp.com.