Don't Quit on Q4 - How VARs Can End the Year Strong

Q4 is typically a strong one for IT sales, which makes it critical to make the most of these last few weeks. We're here to help with some tips and ideas for generating a few extra sales and continuing to position yourself as a trustworthy value-added reseller. Not everything will be about getting an order, but being a visible, helpful, and responsive partner can pay dividends for years.

For those who work in sales, the fourth quarter can be stressful. It is a scramble to close long-gestating deals, hit targets that could make or break bonus checks, and gameplan the coming year's strategy. Your industry focus could significantly impact your ability to "take the foot off the gas" at this point. Retail is preparing for its busiest season, impacting warehousing, logistics, and shipping, while hospitality providers may see more travelers, diners, and events.

Use It or Lose It (AKA "Did You Really Need This Budget?")

For many industries, budgets come with a deadline to spend them. If your customers still have money to spend on IT projects and technology resources, this could be the last chance to do so, which puts you in a prime position to help them spend that money. Not only are you helping your bottom line, but you may be helping them justify maintaining or growing their budget for another year.

Holiday Prep & Refresh

This one is mostly for retail and hospitality customers or those affected by the increased Q4 traffic in those industries. In addition to staffing and stocking up on products, ensure your customers have thought about the "little stuff" they may need to get them through the rush without interruption.

Opportunities for Solution Providers:

1. Stock up retail customers on receipt paper and label printers
2. Update out-of-use POS as extra lanes
3. Check on the speed of payment devices
4. Confirm there are enough mobility devices (handhelds, tablets, printers) for on-the-floor (and around the warehouse) activities
5. Are distribution/warehouse/shipping companies equipped for the seasonal surge and the post-holiday returns volume?

Training/Support

An uptick in seasonal technology needs and employees also increases the need for training and support. A broken POS during peak shopping hours can impact a lot of revenue.

Opportunities for Solution Providers:

1. On-site tech training for seasonal employees
2. Dedicated support line/email/person during business hours
3. Personal delivery or recurring shipments of supplies

Support Their Goals

We're trying to help you close more business and meet your goals for the year, but sometimes, it's important to leave your interests behind and focus on your customers.

Opportunities for Solution Providers:

1. Ask about their goals and how you can help achieve them
2. Support your customer's community initiatives (donations, charity work, etc...)
3. Offer seasonal demos for tech that can help but isn't in their budget yet

Create a Campaign

Most salespeople have a lot of customers, accounts, contacts, and projects to balance. Inevitably, some things get pushed aside for that big deal or a handful of high-maintenance customers.

Opportunities for Solution Providers:

1. Create an "offer" for your customers 
2. Build an outbound campaign (emails, calls, visits) to get the word out
3. Potential offers:
   a. Pre-Holiday Tech Health Check - Payment device audit, network speed tests, connectivity blind-spots, software updates, battery health, etc.
   b. Consumables Stock-Up - One-time discount on receipt/label rolls, printheads, spare batteries, etc.
   c. Dedicated Support Person - On-demand or on-site member of your team during the busiest days
4. Create or ask for a refresh report from your top vendors to identify opportunities to replace aged or end-of-life products

Utilize Your Channel Partners

You're not alone in your push to finish the year strong. Everyone in the channel is doing the same, and we may be able to help one another collectively.

Opportunities for Solution Providers:

1. Ask about incentives and deals to move stock from distributors and hardware manufacturers
2. Look for promotions to pass on savings to your customers (or give yourself a little extra margin) [Psst...click that picture to the left to see the latest promos!]
3. Leverage stocking positions of distributors like BlueStar

Sell Beyond the Core

Your specialty may be networking, servers, security, or other managed IT services. Modern businesses are innovating by utilizing edge technologies and IoT devices connected to those networks and piggybacking on existing cameras, compute power, and systems.

Opportunities for Solution Providers:

1. Look for opportunities to sell barcode scanners, receipt/label printers, and digital signage
2. Explore next-gen solutions like AI and machine vision for inventory control, security, analytics, shrink prevention, and more
3. Ask customers what they are interested in learning more about or exploring

"An opportunity often starts a trail of reciprocity. It can be small or big things, or introducing a customer to one of our manufacturers that can help them. Even introducing them to one of our talented partners that may have the skills they need can help. I've learned this type of networking often pays for everyone."

-- Tony Plank, BlueStar Account Executive

Ask. For. The. Business.

Have you spent months, weeks, or maybe just the last hour trying to sell something? Now is the time to make your case and ask for the business. You are likely to hear no more often than yes, but that's the sales life, right?

How to Ask For the Business:

1. "Have we earned your business?" (Simple, but shockingly effective...and after you ask, be quiet and let them respond)
2. "What else do you need to get this done today?"
3. Recap what you understand about them/their needs, explain the relevant aspect of you/your solution, and demonstrate how those things work together
4. Regardless of the outcome, thank them for the time, consideration, and schedule your next opportunity to work together

Looking Ahead

Maybe you and your customers are good for this year (congrats!), making this a great time to look to 2025 and beyond. For those who aren't swept up in the holiday shopping/travel season, there may be some "downtime" you can take advantage of.

Internal Reflection:

1. Anything that hasn't been billed/received for this year?
2. What worked/what didn't?
3. How does the year end compare to your forecasting/expectations at the beginning of the year?
4. What can you learn about to improve for the future? Skills, trends, new solutions, new industries.

"Now's a good time to sit down and sharpen your axe. You've been chopping away all year. Bone up on skills. Make sure you're doing the stuff you need to do to stay relevant. Start talking to vendors about marketing dollars."

-- Dan Fuller, Director of Sales - Versona Systems

 

Help Customers Look Ahead:

1. What are their priorities for next year?
2. What projects got pushed out?
3. Are there any industry regulations, legislation, or initiatives that require new/updated tech?
4. What legacy hardware/software is no longer effective?
5. What emerging tech are they considering?
6. Is this a good time for demos, tests/trials, or to brainstorm together?
7. Share an interesting article/video and ask for their thoughts

Need help closing out the year? Whether you are scrambling for every last deal or planning for the new year, contact BlueStar and tell us what you need!