A powerful attachment

The quickest way to understand why customers will thank you for selling them a service contract is to look at what happens without one, when all they have is a warranty. Warranties only guarantee the integrity of the product and provide certainty that Cisco will repair or replace it if there’s a defect. If the customer has issues that relate to the proper operation of systems or devices, the warranty won’t come to their rescue. 

Instead, they’ll end up spending an unknown amount on technical support, money that wasn’t budgeted for. Plus, they won’t have the benefit of 24-hour access to the Cisco technical experts who can help to rapidly resolve network problems and keep software current—or access to the Cisco.com knowledge base. Not a position any business wants to be in.

All the positives

When network reliability matters, a service contract is essential. But it’s not just there for when things go wrong. Technical services are an excellent way for your customers to get the best possible value and efficiencies from their IT investment on an ongoing basis. With Cisco Services looking after your customer’s network, they benefit from higher network standardization, utilization, availability and reliability. Decreased downtime and fewer incidents help to drive down costs. At the same time, it frees up the IT team to work on strategic projects rather than troubleshooting, taking the business forward. A reliable network keeps every employee productive and happy, and with employee experience fast becoming a metric for IT performance, this matters.

A business-ready network

For customers, another advantage of having technical services in place is that it enables faster deployment of strategic projects at reduced cost. This means shorter time to market and a stronger competitive position. The organisation can focus on new initiatives, safe in the knowledge that Cisco Services is also helping to reduce compliance risks and data breach risks through audit reporting.  In short, network reliability is a foundation for business success. Investing in it makes business sense.

Increased reach and opportunities

For resellers partners, Cisco Services can be a fast-track to offering new capabilities and opening up new revenue streams. Many companies are looking for a solution that goes beyond products to give them certainty about performance. You can capitalise on this without the need to deliver the services yourself. By offering Cisco Services, you can meet your customer’s requirement with confidence, knowing the contract is backed by the Cisco brand and will deliver on its promises. At the same time, you can own the entirety of the contract and become the trusted advisor that your customer is looking for.

Extend the reach of your product-led engagements

By bringing in Cisco Services when working on a product-led engagement, you can have a deeper conversation with the customer and extend the scope of your sale. This positions you for higher sales volumes and larger transactions. And larger transaction values mean you can retire sales quota faster. Cisco Services are made more affordable by Cisco Capital, giving your customers a different way to finance their service needs. You also have the competitive advantage of offering attractive pricing via Cisco incentives and promotions. In this way, services can round out your Cisco offering, so you’re able to provide everything that customers need and stay relevant to them as time rolls on.

Loyalty and long-term returns

Services can be the key to building long-term customer loyalty and recurring revenue streams through contract renewals. For customers, renewing their service contract protects network stability, lowers the total cost of ownership and improves operational agility. For resellers, renewals are important to help build a predictable, renewal revenue stream. What’s more, renewals are a natural time at which to discuss additional equipment and service sales with customers. It’s an opportunity to demonstrate your strategic role as part of their team and strengthen the relationship. By being in a position to understand their challenges, you can help them find solutions and ensure customer satisfaction stays high.

Services account for 70% of reseller profits¹

Every time you make a sale and attach Cisco Services, it can become a revenue stream for five to seven years. And there’s a $41 billion services market opportunity out there². Ingram Micro is ready to help you maximize your sales potential to ensure you’re leveraging Cisco Services to the best strategic advantage.

Quoting and ordering Cisco Services through Ingram Micro

The Ingram Micro team is on hand to make the process easy and seamless for you. We’ll start by helping you figure out which Cisco services will best address your customers’ needs. Then we’ll manage the quoting, ordering and contracts for you—always making sure you and your customers are getting the most value from your service options.

Let us manage your Cisco portal

Loyalty has its rewards for reseller partners too. We can offer a package of Cisco portal management that gives you the advantage of having Ingram Micro do more of the hard work. We’ll stay up to speed on TPV and LCA, so you never miss a renewal or attach opportunity. It means you’re always on top of your customers’ network needs, making you an invaluable partner. Meanwhile we take care of the admin, so you have more time to win new business. After all, if you’re loyal to us, it’s only fair that we’ll look after you.