As businesses continue to be asked to do more with less and their budgets continue to tighten, cost savings is more important than ever. So how can Cisco partners offer that ability to save without asking their customers to compromise on necessary technological needs, especially in today’s new work environment? The answer is Cisco Refresh, a program that offers deep discounts on Certified Remanufactured Cisco equipment.
To learn more about Cisco Refresh, we reached out to Brett LaCourse, Cisco Refresh Account Manager at Cisco. Before joining Cisco, LaCourse worked for a Cisco partner for over 20 years as a Cisco practice manager focused on finding ways to add value to their customer solutions while ensuring profitability. According to him, Cisco Refresh was a key part of that strategy.
Here’s what he had to share about Cisco Refresh’s pivotal role in building profitability for Cisco partners and their customers:
EDGE360 Editors: Tell us a bit about this program. How would you summarize its main mission?
Brett LaCourse: Cisco Refresh is a key part of Cisco’s Circular Economy strategy. As Cisco’s authorized brand of remanufactured equipment, we receive equipment from a number of sources, both internal and external. While a portion of that equipment is end-of-use and recycled, other equipment goes through our comprehensive and proprietary remanufacturing process. Those products are made available for sale to Cisco authorized partners and include the same warranty and support options as our new products. Cisco Refresh products are also included in popular Cisco incentive programs such as OIP, TIP, MIP and Fast Track.
EDGE360 Editors: Why is this program so important and beneficial for Cisco partners?
LaCourse: Successful Cisco partners are looking for ways to better service their customers while increasing their overall profitability. This program can help in both areas. It not only gives partners a way to address customer pain points such as budget challenges and lead time issues, it also provides them with additional margin and the flexibility to offer their own value-added services. For customers, these products are competitively priced, which helps extend their budgets, and they include the same warranty as our new products. The same warranty. That’s important. It means customers can buy a mix of new and Cisco Refresh products and be confident in the quality of those products across the board.
EDGE360 Editors: What challenges does it address and/or mitigate for partners?
LaCourse: This program has the potential to address a number of challenges that partners face in supporting customers. For example, the cost savings of these products give our partners the flexibility to offer customers a higher-end model or offer their own professional services to improve the overall customer experience. Cisco Refresh is also a great option to consider when products are needed quickly for projects with tight timeframes because they can often be shipped faster than new Cisco products.
EDGE360 Editors: What do partners need to know about using Cisco Refresh Certified Remanufactured Equipment?
LaCourse: You can sell Cisco Refresh products with confidence. As the original manufacturer, only Cisco can remanufacture our products to the same quality standards you would expect from a new product. Blending in this program to your existing Cisco selling strategy will give you an important tool to enhance your customer support and increase sales.
For more information, visit www.cisco.com/go/refresh
