The Benefits Of Diversity w/ Gary Shottes

For solution providers to be effective, they must clearly demonstrate a level of expertise and knowledge above and beyond what the solution delivers. They need the ability to solve their clients’ business problems or give clients a competitive advantage through the effective implementation of software solutions and tools. This helps differentiate the solution provider through his or her ability to create value for the customer.

If you are an expert in the managed file transfer environment, for example, very rarely will the solution from a particular vendor solve all of a customer’s file transfer issues. Most effective implementations require the integration of pieces from two or more solutions into an offering to solve the problem. If you choose not to diversify across multiple product offerings, your ability to establish credibility, expertise, and value to the customer is diminished.

So select the top two or three industry-leading solutions and focus on those. More than three solutions is difficult to manage and maintain, and runs the risk that you lose the passion—which carries through to the customer—that you believe solution A or B is the right one for these reasons. You don’t want to be in the position of saying, “We carry seven of these solutions, so select the one you want,” because it undermines the value you’re trying to provide.

Next, make an investment in sales certification and in technical support and sales engineering. When you’re solving problems that are mission critical to the customer, being authorized to sell a solution and having certified individuals to make the sale are paramount. The investment in the authorization and certification processes is a level of commitment you demonstrate to a manufacturer. But more important, it ensures the client that the quality of the implementation and the knowledge of the team working on it are equal to what would be provided had the manufacturer done the implementation. This establishes a level of trust and confidence at the customer level, and ensures that the right resources are in place to support the customer on an ongoing basis.

Also, be sure that your sales engineering and technical support teams have significant industry experience, because the language and expertise you need to understand the compliance and regulatory issues in healthcare, for example, are going to be very different from what you’ll find in finance, insurance, or the federal government.

So pick the top two or three solutions, invest in your people, and make sure they are trained in the technology and solution you’re providing. Equally important is to make sure your company develops strength and expertise in the industries in which you are operating.

GARY SHOTTES is president of the File Transfer division at Ipswitch Inc., which develops and markets a wide range of managed file transfer solutions.