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Our Criteria for Identifying the World's Top Resellers |
The reseller
must be a top quality reseller with a good reputation and you must be
in good standing with their product vendor. If we hear otherwise -
you're off the list. We check customer references, account manager
references, and also talk to the reseller's competitors in an attempt
uncover problem resellers.
The reseller must resell at least one of the products listed on our Top
40 Products List. We ignore all resellers who sell
inferior products.
The reseller must attend their vendor’s annual conference. We find
that resellers who are not actively involved in their reseller's
events often do not possess the relationships, and the up to date
knowledge to perform as a top reseller. Attending these events takes a
great deal of time and resources, but is often a good indicator of
success resellers.
The reseller must send their consultants to product training every
year. It is important that formal training programs are attended on a
regular basis to keep the consultants up to date, informed, and
prepared to meet the demanding needs of the client. Without annual
training, the customer may suffer.
The reseller must conduct a continuous and sustained marketing effort.
An ongoing marketing effort is needed to generate continuous and
steady sales. Without steady sales, the reseller's revenues will most
likely fluctuate and lead to poor cash flow months, lower
profitability, the loss of personnel, less support, less longevity,
and less long term reliability.
For each location, the reseller must have a minimum number of
consultants on staff (1 for entry level products, 3 for mid-range
products, and at least 5 for high end products.) Reseller bandwidth is
a frequent problem which often leads to customer neglect and extended
engagements. We want to make sure that the customer is well-served by
an adequate number of personnel with reasonable backup personnel at
the ready.
The reseller must have a minimum number of client implementations (50
for entry level resellers, 35 for mid-range resellers, and 25 for high
end resellers). If a reseller has not installed an adequate number of
systems, they most likely do not possess the wide breadth of knowledge
and experience needed to be classified as a world class reseller.
The reseller must have a minimum number of dedicated support staff (at
least one for mid-range products and at least 2 for high end
products). Good support almost always translates to customer
satisfaction. Without adequate support resources and personnel,
customers take a huge risk.
The reseller
must provide us with a minimum of 3 client references whom we call and ask the following basic due diligence questions:
a.
Did XYZ reseller implement your accounting system?
b.
Was the job completed to your satisfaction?
c.
Has the system functioned to your satisfaction?
d.
Has support been provided to your satisfaction?
e.
Would you recommend XYZ reseller to another company?
You must pass background checks with the Better Business Bureau, and your product account manager.
Approved resellers are authorized to display the following logo on their website.
Important Notes
• Please note that we do make reasonable exceptions to the above mentioned rules. For example:
If a company has only 2 consultants in a given location, but 12 consultants at another location across town, then we would normally consider that the reseller possesses an adequate number of consultants on staff.
If a reseller has fewer than 25 customers, but they can show that they have installed their product dozens of times while working for another customer, then we will consider that reseller to have adequate experience.
We will make other similar considerations as well.
• The resellers pay a fee to be included on this web site. You can view these fees here.
• To sign up, resellers must complete the following application.
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