If last year was the year for survival, this year is the year for evolution. An evolution from profit-protecting to profit-generating, from a margin-based focus to a product-based focus, and from a customer-retaining approach to a relationship-building attitude.
p____p Are you ready for 2004?
p____p The disappointments, trials and tribulations of last year are finally receding. The experimentations with distribution model national v/s regional are also over and done with. The fear of fly-by-night operators spoiling business opportunities for the serious players has also been dealt with and put to rest. Business malpractices like undercutting, inter-channel sales and unrealistic discounts have also been corrected. Basically, all excuses that the channel had to hold back investments are now addressed.
p____p Now it’s time for partners to prove their faith in the business. It’s time to finally climb to the next level. If you survived the last few years by thinking up new ideas every day on how to increase your client-base, then
now it’s time to start interacting more regularly with those clients, instead of hunting for new clients. If you were selling the product with the highest margin to the unsuspecting customer, it’s now time to sit down and understand his/her need and then offer a solution, even if it means earning a few hundred rupees less in the bargain.
p____p In tough times, a client might be slightly more forgiving if he/she is sold a solution that is really not needed, for they know that every rupee matters. But when times are improving, over-selling to a client may not be looked upon so favorably. Nobody likes to be taken for a ride.
p____p Remember the worst is over, so be cautious, be aware and most importantly be alert. Sell what is required, not what will give you the best margin. Things are going to go up from here. Let 2004 be the year when the IT channel in India ushers in the evolution that it has dreamt about for so long.
p____p Happy New Year!p__