IT resellers and IT hardware resellers operate in an environment characterized by tough competition. Hence, to garner business revenue they always have to stay on their toes and have to adapt to new technologies. Sales Management Software aid IT resellers in their quest for success and is one of the most sought after, especially by software VAR.

What is VAR and who are IT resellers?

Let us start by answering the basic question, what is VAR and who are IT resellers? As the name suggests, Value added reseller or VAR is a business model that essentially is concerned with adding value. It is the offering of certain set of products and services beyond the normal scope of selling. They purchase a product from a supplier and a wholesaler, add value by installing a feature or service and then finally sell it to the customers.

• IT Resellers

IT resellers can be of two types and can be segregated based on their mode of operations. The first type is that they simply buy products from suppliers and sell them without adding value. The second type is of VAR IT resellers that add value to the software or hardware prior to selling them. This enhancement done by VAR IT resellers can take many forms and the end product is often offered as a final turnkey solution. Generally, such solutions which are turnkey in nature are often sold to the clients who operate in a niche industry vertical. Growth in the online sales channels has particularly opened up new avenues of growth for IT resellers.

• Software VAR

A software VAR is a type of VAR IT reseller, that sells software and also add value by further providing training related to the software or IT services. The deals may not be exclusive, except in some rare cases and the packages offered by different software VARs may be the same. The main differentiation factor for software VAR is the amount of expertize that they possess relative to a product/service and the level of optimization that they have carried out in their operations.

• Sales Management Software

The sales people need to stay organized and have to manage their contacts, track sales deal efficiently and optimize their time spent on admin tasks. Sales Management Software is designed to essentially help the sales people in organizing their things. The software as a whole is equipped with features that are time-saving and help to kill the overall non-productive time.

How does it benefit to IT resellers?

• Better Sales Performance

The first and foremost benefit of Sales Management software to IT resellers is that it provides better sales performance. It separates quality leads from prospects so that we can take better follow-up of them. This guarantees two things, better probability of conversion and reduced time wastage while following prospects. With the sales management software, one can easily track the customer transaction history which can thus facilitate more informed decision making in terms of upselling and reselling, etc.

• Identify Valuable Customers

The sales management software also enables IT resellers to track and identify valuable customers of the company. Once this identification is done, the software also aids in the creation of a customized, personalized reward system as well as exclusive communication that result in better client engagement. Better client engagement is necessary to increase conversion. It also aids in identifying the pitfalls in the sales process. These may be unanswered or poorly answered messages, emails, client requests via telephone, etc. Once these are identified, then, they can be easily addressed and thus, can guarantee better ROI.

• Profitability

Profitability goes beyond a mere increase in sales. Profitability is obtained by decreasing the overall costs and by developing streamlined business processes that guarantee no sales opportunity is lost. Sales management software enables the accessing of data by sales personnel with a single click. This is particularly essential for verticals such as customer support. For example, in cases, where a customer is complaining about a defective product to the customer support vertical of an IT reseller, the customer support personnel can quickly access the logistics and product data almost immediately, thus saving crucial customer time.

• Track Customer Engagement Activities

With sales management software solutions, customer engagement activities can be efficiently tracked to gauge their overall output. Emails or calls can be easily tracked and concerns or queries arising from them can be easily delegated to the concerned department of the company. Higher output rendering campaigns can also be identified in order to enhance their intensity further.

• Easy-to-Use

These sales management software applications come with interactive, easy to use layouts that require minimal or no training and hence result in the reduction of training costs. It provides uniformity across the IT reseller organization with its inbuilt templates, procedures etc., and ensures that all the employees of the organization are on the same page.

• Access Data in Real Time

The real-time access to data is always desirable to managers as they can make better tactical and strategic decisions which can further boost the sales of the company. They can also make quick adjustments to offer customized solutions made to suit the exact client requirement. Thus, the real-time access guaranteed by the software can be used for both, either for the creation of an opportunity or to avert a crisis. Access to real-time, accurate data can also help to identify the weak links in the chain and once this identification is done, steps can be taken to improve the overall processes.

• Data Available in One Place

Storage of information on the individual, disparate, and disconnected computers can result in decreased data security. This can prove fatal to the overall company progress and may have legal implications. With the usage of sales management software, all the sensitive confidential customer data, as well as trade statistics can be stored in one place, thus ensuring higher security. It also has features that bars or allows the accessing of data by predefined hierarchy levels.
It is essential that all the sales executives of the company walk along the same path, to gain higher ROI and a higher number of customers. For this, they need the help of sales management software. There are ample reasons for IT resellers, IT hardware resellers and software VARs to invest in good sales management software, and they should do so immediately to gain a competitive edge over their peers.

Learn more about IT Reseller

• How to become a Reseller of IT product
• Key Challenges and Opportunities for IT Resellers to Start Business