- 3 Questions to Ask About Your Agency as the Channel Evolves - August 26, 2024
The channel’s landscape has changed dramatically over the past several years, so you may feel some days like you’re still stuck in corporate America.
Today, you’re trying to compete in a crowded market where it’s harder to find opportunities, keep up with new tech and stand out.
As the saying goes, “What got you here won’t get you there,” and as an independent or small agency, it’s increasingly difficult to compete with the big TSDs and tech advisory firms.
With these changes, it’s natural that you may have looked at different opportunities to help you stay competitive. Over the last two years, many independent tech Strategists with established agencies have chosen to work under the Bridgepointe brand. (Many of whom didn’t take on an investment from us.)
As you consider what’s next for your agency and how you’ll stay competitive in an ever-evolving market, here are three questions to explore.
1. What Opportunities Are You Missing Out On?
As a Strategist, you likely have an area of focus like UCaaS or networking, meaning you may be missing out on other technologies your clients need.
You know that to increase your revenue, you need to increase each client’s total spend. The easiest way to do that is to offer a broader range of tech solutions to your clients.
The only problem is that it’s next to impossible for you to be an expert on every solution and supplier on the market. That’s why you need to align with a partner who can fill in the gaps with both knowledge and a bench of suppliers and services that enable you to get in the door with new clients or expand your work with existing ones.
In today’s landscape, your clients are looking for more than a broker; they’re looking for a strategic partner who can provide hands-on support for implementing and managing their tech.
Many of the Strategists who’ve joined Bridgepointe in recent months have done so they can get the support of our Lifecycle and CX teams and dramatically expand the revenue from each account.
2. What Level of Engineering Support Can You Offer?
When you have a hot lead, you rely on sales engineering to help you close it.
What happens next can make or break your deal. Does engineering act as a traffic cop and simply connect you to the suppliers? Or are they taking calls with you and providing hands-on support, examples, and experience throughout the process?
The quality of support you’re getting from engineering is critical, and you need much more than warm introductions to suppliers. The more support you get, the better, as having an engineer working with you on the deal increases the odds of closing the deal. (As well as future deals with that same client.)
Bridgepointe has one engineer for every 15 strategists, the lowest ratio in the industry. Our engineers aren’t just here to direct you to the supplier. They’re with you through the discovery process and all subsequent meetings through to the close. This leads to more deals being closed and higher lifetime value per client.
3. Can Your Brand Compete in This Market?
Tech leaders are now directly accountable for business results in the boardroom, so they prefer to work with reputable and trusted brands. Unless you have an existing relationship, getting their buy-in as a smaller player in the market is challenging.
Case in point: Consider the first impression you’re making.
Long gone are the days when you can get by on relationships alone. When the director of IT brings your name to the table as a potential partner, the other executives will check you out, so you can’t afford not to have a polished and professional brand and website.
The harsh reality is that you’re up against other agencies with the backing of big brands that invest millions of dollars per year into branding and marketing. Unless you’re prepared to make significant marketing investments, you’ll likely struggle with getting tech leaders to trust you.
Bridgepointe has made significant investments in our brand, marketing and Strategist support, and many existing agencies have opted to operate under our brand to leverage this with customers.
Every Bridgepointe Strategist operating under our brand has access to:
- A branded email address.
- A Bridgepointe Strategist website.
- Done-for-you social media posts.
- Branded email campaigns.
- Marketing collateral and presentations.
Ask yourself how your company is being perceived at the enterprise level. With Bridgepointe, you have a trusted, 22-year-old brand with over 12,000 clients backing you.
Ready to Explore What’s Next for Your Agency? Let’s Talk.
As a Bridgepointe Strategist, you’re in business for yourself, not by yourself.
When you work under the Bridgepointe banner, you’ve got the nation’s leading tech advisory firm at your back. Our over 200 support staff help you expand your client base and close more business with our proven tech and tools.
Book a call with me today to discuss how Bridgepointe can support you in a rapidly changing market.
