Podcast: Why VARs Need To Sell Total Solutions

Sheila O'Neil, VP of Channel Sales for Panasonic, talks with Jameson Publishing and Business Solutions magazine President Jim Roddy in this exclusive Executive-To-Executive interview. In this interview, O'Neil discusses which technologies are the easiest and most difficult to add to a VAR's linecard, what additional resources an expanding reseller might need, and which markets are the best opportunities for you to enjoy high margins as a total solution provider.

O'Neil says customer "entanglement" is the biggest benefit enjoyed by total solution providers. "The more entangled you can become with that customer, the less likely it is that they're going to go someplace else," O'Neil says. "That would then allow you, the VAR, to be able to move into other areas within those companies that they are working with, and be able to see different opportunities that would create new solutions.

"It's harder and harder to pick apart piece-by-piece what the components are and price out something like that vs. being able to offer a total solution as a total price, and that can allow for more margin in the sale."