An essay by John Melonakos
Working with VARs
As a cash-strapped startup, it sometimes makes sense to leverage value-added resellers to move product. In our first year of product sales, we spent a lot of time building relationships with value-added resellers in our market.
Here are some thoughts about working with VARs:
- Discount to the VARs for installed software is between 10% and 30%, depending on how much the VAR can commit to sell
- Of the 20 or so worldwide VARs we worked with, there was a huge spectrum of performance, with some selling next to nothing and others contributing sizable orders to our early company
- International VARs are vital in establishing the ability to sell software overseas; the best VARs will even translate your documentation for you into their language
- Focus on creating streamlined handoffs of sales and orders; VARs rely on simple, fast transactions; nothing complicated
- VARs need regular training and communication to best sell your product
- VARs will not sell your product with your same passion, so don’t offload your sales, just supplement your own excellence
Inside sales should be the focus, but where VARs have strategic value, they can become wonderful partners.
What are your thoughts on partnering with VARs?