Leveling the playing field for the small- to medium-sized business (SMB) owners and value-added resellers (VARs) is imperative in today’s digitized world. As I shared in my previous post, SMBs need simple, yet need SMB sized yet enterprise-class IT solutions to compete successfully. At the upcoming Varnex show in Chicago, the focus is on helping the SMB VAR do just that.
Varnex is a peer-to-peer community of Comstor-SYNNEX resellers who collaborate to drive growth and achieve success in the channel. By connecting with fellow members, sharing ideas and strategies, and partnering to support each other, Varnex members gain a level of strength and collective expertise that would take years to develop through investment alone.
Here’s what SYNNEX cites as the top five reasons to join Varnex (for the full Top 10 list, click here):
1. Network with top SMB peers, vendors, and SYNNEX execs
2. Exclusive training opportunities, including Varnex University
3. NET 45 and other exclusive credit programs, including SYNNEX RISE
4. Two national conferences and six regional events
5. Participate in business workshops
What I find most compelling about the group is that 81 percent of the Varnex community is SMB line-of-business executives or principles, so the first thing you have access to is a group of your counterparts who bring executive-level insight and value. You also have access to events and thought leadership — on everything from digitization and artificial intelligence (AI) to data science and recurring revenue selling — that normally only Distributor VARs (DVARs) can access.
And at Varnex events, you have access to 50-60 vendors. This is the type and size you’re used to seeing at the big events for all the big DVARS – but you can engage them in an SMB-focused discussion and how their technology fits into it.
After the event, Varnex members have continuous access to each other and to Varnex resources. For example, you can take advantage of Comstor-SYNNEX high-volume negotiated contacts, such as our travel department, our negotiated rate discount with FedEx, our negotiated rate with rental cars, etc. These are all incremental benefits that can help the SMB VAR reduce operating expenses.
We have found that most Varnex members not only take advantage of events and resources, but also create ongoing relationships to create momentum for their businesses. In the SMB space, there’s typically much less overlap than with DVARs. So, say I’m an SMB VAR in Oklahoma, and my Varnex peer and colleague is in Pennsylvania. I know I am never going to sell in Pennsylvania, and they know they won’t be selling in Oklahoma. But we have hit it off at a Varnex event and now I have a peer with whom I can exchange best practices and collaborate with, by sharing advice or asking questions on how to solve problems. I have seen this happen many times between Varnex members who trust one another and use these relationships to become more organized and accelerate their businesses.
Varnex is the great equalizer. It empowers and enables SMB to start competing in a larger fashion and bringing big things to their “little” customers by accessing Varnex resources, events, networking opportunities and peer-to-peer relationships.
Sign up for the Varnex Summit East – August 21 & 22 – in Chicago. Sign up here.
