For CP 360° Winners, It's About Solutions, Not Selling

CHANNEL PARTNERS CONFERENCE & EXPO — Clients should begin digital transformation as part of a business solution and not simply for the sake of adopting new technology.

So said a panel of three Channel Partners 360° Business Value Award winners in the keynote “3 Lessons From 360° Award Winners” on Tuesday, April 11. Moderated by Vince Bradley, CEO of WTG, the panel — Shane Stark, director of vendor relations for Carrier Access; Robert Short, vice president of Liquid Networx; and Ryan Young, managing partner of Acliviti — discussed the projects for which they won their awards and relayed some of their experiences in introducing digital technology to their clients.

Carrier Access helped its client, an insurance business with 14 locations across the U.S., streamline its systems and create more effective methods of communication and collaboration. Stark noted that instead of simply focusing on the client’s stated technology need — to unify five disparate voice platforms — Carrier Access looked at the customer’s processes and systems, then recommended a solution that would improve their bottom line.

For Liquid Networx, what started out as a professional services engagement with a charter school system turned in to forklifting the environment utilizing E-rate to help keep costs down. Short explained that the company makes a practice of initially focusing on one task they can complete for a client, to prove their abilities and to gain the client’s trust. From that foundation, they work with the client to identify other business needs and the appropriate technology solutions. {ad}

Acliviti has developed APEX, a decision-making framework, that helps clients in analyzing, defining, evaluating and executing business technology solutions. Initially contacted by a well-known e-commerce marketplace to help streamline a contact center that incorporated 13 different applications and six different network carriers around the world – and to do so quickly, to avoid incurring costs on a hardware maintenance contract – Acliviti recommended moving to a contact center-as-a-service (CCaaS) solution. Young reported that the solution gave the client significant cost savings and enables it to provide a world-class customer experience.

All three panelists emphasized the importance of doing research, asking questions and building relationships with clients. Getting to know the client and their business enables channel partners to identify problems and recommend technology solutions. “The last thing to talk about is technology,” said Short.

“No one wants to be sold to,” said Stark. Instead, clients want to hear how you can help them with their business. Ryan echoed this opinion. “It’s about solving, not selling,” he said.