01732 759725 42 VOX POP The state of the channel – part one Quocirca recently published the results of its State of the Channel Survey 2024, here, PrintIT Reseller invited some of the industry’s OEMs to comment on some of the findings Andy Muskett, Director UK Channel Partners, Xerox: For several years, we have supported our partners on their journey from transactional to consultative selling with a mix of face-toface and online training. These platforms cover various topics and solutions, including our portfolio and security, AI, digital transformation, and other common subjects or systems our technologies may need to integrate with (e.g. Azure/Entra ID). This upskilling helps partners feel more confident during their sales and technical engagements and makes it easier to articulate the benefits offered to their clients. This educational support strategy is also aided by a team of experts who are available to review specific technical requirements, making it easy for partners to get accurate information on often complex client requests during tender processes, etc. Onsite hands-on training sessions are also available to partners and their technical teams so that they can effectively deliver the functional benefits of the solutions sold, whilst learning from their peers in a shared, collaborative environment. Stuart Miller, Director, Channel Partners, Canon UK&I: To set themselves apart in today’s crowded market, it’s important for partners to offer an end‑to-end service that helps customers to navigate their digital transformation journey and matches them with the right tools for the job. At Canon, we’re focused on empowering our channel partners to gain this competitive edge. This process starts with the reseller identifying the problem their customer has, and then working with Canon’s on-hand team of specialists to help identify the right combination of hardware, software and services in order to solve that pain point. Canon has an extensive network of specialists across our portfolio, as well as sustainability and security experts that our partners can rely on for expertise and guidance. This wealth of expertise, combined with a personal account management team for each partner, ensures that they have the support they need to provide a consultative, and personalised service to each and every one of their valued customers. Greig Millar, Chief Revenue Officer, Brother UK: We recently refreshed our entire managed print services proposition to make it easier for resellers to offer contractual printing. We now have three distinct solutions – Essential, Professional and Enterprise – that are tailored for businesses of different sizes, from SMEs with low print requirements through to multi-site organisations where printing is a fundamental part of their operation. Our approach to MPS evolved in response to requests from resellers who were looking to provide off-the‑shelf agreements to customers, but who still wanted the option to customise it to firms’ individual needs. PrintIT Reseller: 38% of respondents said changing business models from transactional to consultative is the biggest challenge they face. What support and services do you provide to enable partners to win deals with consultative sales? Andy Muskett Stuart Miller To set themselves apart in today’s crowded market, it’s important for partners to offer an end‑toend service that helps customers to navigate their digital transformation journey and matches them with the right tools for the job
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