Every StreetSmartVAR should see themselves as a Trusted Advisor—and position themselves that way in the eyes of their clients. Not following this strategy is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

Instead of trying to become the Trusted Advisor, too many VARs, MSPs, etc., rely on their vendor’s marketing and brand. This strategy focuses the attention and the customer awareness on the product and the vendor, not on your expertise. Think about it—if your customers keep thinking of NetApp, IBM, HP, etc., they’re less likely to think of you as an important and indispensable resource.

You need to communicate to your customers that “We understand your business and we can help you improve your business.” Unfortunately, very few VARs, MSPs, etc., position themselves in this way. Actually let me restate that. Many companies say they are Trusted Advisors but they show little proof of this expertise. Which bring us to the next section: Tangible Ways to Be Seen As A Trusted Advisor

TANGIBLE WAYS TO BE SEEN AS A TRUSTED ADVISOR

I am fond of the saying, “a confused mind chooses what it knows” — and for your clients that usually ends up being price. However, if you position yourself as a Trusted Advisor—by having content such as a blog, newsletter, articles, ebook or book—you will gain a leg up on the competition. As of matter of fact, in regards to books, very few if any VARs are using books as a differentiator. Imagine going into an account with a book you’ve written based on your expertise or specialty? What kind of impression will you set with the client? A pretty good one, I’ve venture to say.

When done correctly, this strategy is what makes content marketing so effective. Essentially you are simply using your own expertise or what we call “Intellectual Capital” and its not as hard as you think. For example, let’s say you wanted to create an audio series. Your tech department should be able to provide a few 3-4 minute responses to some pressing IT problem that may be common to your client and prospect base.  This audio than becomes content and could be used in tons of different ways.

Other ways to position yourself as an Trusted Advisor include:

• Speaking
• Writing reports, articles, blog post, etc.
• Webinars
• Videos
• Using Social Media as both a way to deliver your content as well as a way to share your intellectual capital through the conversations you create.

Because you’re providing and sharing value content in the form of your expertise and experience you’ll find that your clients will quickly change their perception of you. In additional, your sales reps won’t be questioned on your firms expertise, it will be readily available through many different platforms. At this point, assuming you truly are an expert, you’re no longer perceived as just a product reseller but you’re a valued Trusted Advisor with important and critical knowledge that can help clients with their problems.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Adopt the model used by consultants. Position yourself as a Trusted Advisor whom people will want to hire. You don’t want people using price as the main factor to hiring you (or may be you do?). You want them to choose you because they see and understand the perceived value that you can provide.

SUGGESTION

If you have questions or need help with how to position and market yourself as a Trusted Advisor, take a look at our comprehensive program that we’ve created just for this purpose. Its called the Trusted Advisor Program.

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