To the Point... One Question Every I.T. Reseller or Service Provider Must Answer Immediately

Market changes are well underway that will dramatically change how your clients think and what they want. Transformation is in the air, cloud computing has created an explosion of new alternatives for virtually every I.T. function and I believe it won't be long (to be measured in months not years) before this explosion will have an equal effect on your client’s expectations and your business. Of the thousands of I.T. Resellers and Service Provider executives and their salespersons I’ve met, 99% of their time seems to be consumed with the crisis de jour while literally less than one percent is invested in seeking real answers to the following question:

How will my business be relevant to my clients in the future?

In order to answer this mission critical question, you must answer these two questions:

First, do I understand how the shifting market effects my client's expectations?

>When is the last time I asked?
>Who am I relying on for these answers?
>Am I meeting with the right people?
>What is my exposure to these changes?

Second, how can I best leverage my current business model to meet the new expectations?

>How honest and realistic am I that my offering today will sustain value tomorrow?
>What new skills and offerings do I need to acquire to capitalize on the changes?
>What do I need to invest to assure I/we will capitalize on the new changes?

Consider these “evergreen” questions you ask yourself every three months. Acting upon this type of self-inquiry as a regular practice can help you steer confidently through market changes and avoid the dangerous myopia that occurs when day-to-day urgencies dominate your focus.

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