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Becoming a value added reseller

by dreamer123
4 replies
Say I wanted to sell enterprise resource planning (software) and start my own company from scratch how hard would it be for me to become a VAR for one of the big ERP vendors out there? And can someone clarify what the difference between a VAR and affiliate is.

How much money do you think I will need to start up a ERP company? Can I start off by myself and then slowly grow it or will i have to prove to vendors I am financially secure before I can start reselling?

Thanks
#added #reseller
  • Profile picture of the author thet
    Interesting topic. I work for a value added reseller.

    It's an interesting business. When thinking about positioning, Al Ries, the biggest question for me have been: So, how do we really add something unique to all other resellers in this space?

    Answer comes down to people. Because, frankly, most resellers in our space pretty much sell all the same things.
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  • Profile picture of the author dreamer123
    I work for a reseller atm too I think we have spoken before. I just wanted to know how hard it would be to start a value added reseller from scratch ie how hard is it to become a approved supplier of let's say Cisco?
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    • Profile picture of the author thet
      Originally Posted by dreamer123 View Post

      I work for a reseller atm too I think we have spoken before. I just wanted to know how hard it would be to start a value added reseller from scratch ie how hard is it to become a approved supplier of let's say Cisco?
      Difficult is relative. But as you know, working for a reseller, you need a certain target to get a higher vendor status. A higher status means more discount from the vendor and something to pitch to your prospects about. Those targets can be difficult, depending on your companies capabilities.
      Let's say you need 4 engineers to get the highest status at Cisco. And you have 1, being it yourself. Highest is not possible.
      So, why would a prospect buy from you?
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      Recognize reality even when you don't like it - especially when you don't like it.
      — Charlie Munger

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  • Profile picture of the author dreamer123
    Looks like I'll need to save a lot of money before I can get started then!
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