SBSC & MSP Buzz

CompUSA - TechPro Picks Up Speed

Is the hurry up and wait over for all of us that rushed out and signed up to be an official SBSC CompUSA TechPro Business Provider?

If you were one of the 100+ that have been accepted into the program, you too should be receiving your long awaited email with further instructions and a few more of the obligatory forms that you would expect with a program of this complexity.   

So before I they send us some bright red logo shirts (that would have clashed with anyone at WPC) I wanted to find out more about what to expect so I called Stephen Walker, CompUSA Technical Development Manager,  who manages the program. 

What I can tell you is that this looks promising.  Their intentions are to use SBSC TechPro’s to assist in closing and deploying solutions for customers that inquire of server solutions.  So now, we don’t have to drive some less than manly car around fixing broken keyboards…

They have promised they would be focusing their partner efforts on the server deals that they just are not equipped to advise customers on (you think!?!).    It seems that CompUSA realized that if they want to sell more desktops, hardware and software to businesses then it helps if they also sold the server at the center of the SB network.  Not a bad idea…  The only thing currently missing for the solution/process he described was Hardware as a Service (HAAS) for those customer (or my existing ones for that fact).  Did I say “currently” - you read between the lines.

 So why would I partner with CompUSA anyway?  This past year I’ve make an unplanned killing on selling hardware.  This was not planned, it is just one of the fruits of managed services.  While this may seem like a good thing, the truth is that it’s a pain in the @#$!  It seems that when I have a salaried technician whom could be billing $150/hr instead spending an hour shopping local distributors or calculating the markup on shipping costs from D & H so we can make $30 on a $100 part that maybe paying a few dollars more (or less) to use CompUSA’s Business portal for quick ordering and convenient pickup might be worth the exchange for services orders that could lead to another managed services customer.   Don’t me started on RMAs!!!  I would gladly give up the majority of the 30% margins from misc hardware to have somebody else do the dirty work. 

So if you are buying into this program, have been accepted, and still have a CompUSA store near you (that last part is key) then here are a couple of suggestions that you will due to make note of:

1. Visit you local store and take the Business Sales Services Manager (BSSM) to lunch.  This is a business relationship you are forming.  
2. Treat the BSSM like a potential customer with several hundred sites.  Be ready to give to get.
3. Get the statement of work for every job assigned.
4. Get the limit of liability document signed by every customer PRIOR to doing any work.  CompUSA should provide this.
5. Share your success or issue with me or Stephen Walker so we can continue to make the C in SBSC stand for Community. 

Good luck and let me know how it goes please.