“Companies who are purchasing at this end of the market often have a well established communications system and are reluctant to replace it unless there are problems or the contract is coming to an end. That said, it can be a lucrative market for resellers that get smart.
“If a company is ready to adopt IP communications it is time to start talking to them about applications. Applications bring IP communications alive and excite potential customers,
“Applications like Mitel’s Teleworker which enables employees to work remotely from any location with the functionality they would normally have in the office is a great example of a solution that could really make a difference to day to day productivity. Mitel Teleworker can be used to enable employees to adopt a more flexible approach to the working day or, to give the company a more disparate workforce and give the impression of being larger than it is.
“As IP communications grows in popularity so do the options available and resellers have to be at the top of their game to make sure they are able to reap the benefits of the 25-50 extension market. At this particular end of the market, companies will not often have an IT team but a level of understanding of what VoIP can do for their business. The successful reseller needs to deliver more than just another good IP communications solution.
“On the whole, resellers ‘own’ the customer relationship and as a result it is the reseller that customers go to for advice. They are communicating on a regular basis and with that regular communication comes trust. While resellers support the customer, vendors support the resellers with training, sales collateral and regular one on one contact.”