This is the first of a series of posts regarding the sales best practice in the B2B ICT channel.
Even if it deals mainly with the distributor’s practice, I think other partners of the chain channel can find it useful. The end user itself might use this best practice to understand if his partner his making the right questions (or just understand why the partner is making so many questions ).
In this post I will deal with one of the basic – and more frequent – question in my current sale activity: what’s the best (technically and economically) way to connect to Internet?

What is it a best practice?

I like to think about the B2B ICT channel like a chain of partners specialized in giving a value and effective answer to a business need.
Fig  1 presents a classification of the channel based on this simple concept. The companies  in Quadrant II and III are still providing a good service to their partners but they can be a serious threat to the vendors (and to their shareholders and creditors, of course).

fig 1 - Effective and Value Channel

At the bottom of this chain, there is the end user that poses the original business question.
The partners of the B2B channel must give a partial/complete value answer.   For me, an answer has value if somebody, somehow, accepts to pay for it. 
Adopting the terminology of Stephen Covey, an answer is effective if it can be replicated in time with little effort.
Are you still there? For me best practice is the best way that a partner of the chain (in my case a distributor) can organize himself to give value and effective answers to his customers.  The best practice can be related to any part of the activity of the partner: organization, operations, sales, etc.

As a sale manager, I have to organize the work of my (inside) sale team in order to give value and effective answers to the questions of my customers (they are IT resellers, System Integrators, Var Resellers and ISP).
One of the most frequent question is:  what device (modem/router) do you advise me to connect to internet?

Best practice: value answer.
In my business, it’s fundamental to understand the current ICT architecture of the user; so, the first question must always start from there:

Q1- Can you please tell me what kind of connection the user employs  to connect to Internet and how many plugs has he?
Normally,  the answer will be:
- Raw Copper (it is just the telephonic cable without any phone number attached);
- a PSTN (analogical) – indicated also like “Annex A” or D1;
- ISDN (digital) – indicated also like “Annex B” or D3;
- Television Cable.
Don’t be surprised if you get, even from professionals, ‘I don’t know’ as a possible answer.  Just tell them to look at the invoice of the incumbent (for example, in Belgium, Belgacom or Telenet for cables).
If you discover that there is more than one connection, ask your customer if the user wants to use them combined for special services (for example: if one line fall, the traffic in internet will go to the second line).  For this post, I suppose that there will be only one line.
In the case of a cable connection, you don’t have choice:  the provider of the service usually obliges you to buy a specific device model (this should be a subject of discussion for the telecommunications regulators – in Belgium www.bipt.be ).

Q2 – If it is not a cable connection, you must understand what kind of connection service that the user has (or will have).
Usually, the answer you will get is:
-          ADSL
-          VDSL
-          SDSL 
Also in the case of VDSL, usually the incumbent will oblige you to a specific device choice (like in the cable connection).
A question that can avoid future problems – and RMA – and that often is forgotten (also in my team and by myself) is to double check if the connection is a PPPOE (mainly used in Belgium) or a PPPoA (mainly used in the Nederland).
In the case that the connection is not raw copper, ask if the user use also a telephone line on the same connection.  In this case you should suggest a filter or a splitter solution. If you have doubts, ask for a photo of the connection.

Q3 – the next question (in our best practice) is to understand if the user wants to manage the firewall function in the modem/router itself (the modem/router is often called Customer premises equipment – CPE for friends).
If he has doubts, ask how many people will navigate at the same time in internet. If he answers  “more than five”, the best practice is to advise for a specific firewall device. In general, you should ask at this point if the user has or will use a specific device for firewall, antivirus, IDP or other functions as it would help you for the next question.

We are getting close to the end.  
Q4 – We need to know if the user wants to have a Wifi Solution.
If yes but he has specific equipment (for example firewall) to assure the defense of his connection, you should advise for a specific Wifi connection appliance (so called Access Point – AP for friends).
If you advise for a CPE with WIFI integrated, ask your customer what kind of Wifi Client is using.  Suggest AP with the (expensive) protocol N only if the user has (or will buy) WiFi client of the same vendor. Just remind your customer (better if you write this in your offer) that the AP integrated in the CPE might not guaranteed a full WiFi coverage and in case of protocol N not even full compatibility.

Q5 - Does the user want to use an IP SEC VPN  between his building and another location?
In easier words, does the customer needs to work from another location like if it was attached to the switch of the main location?

Q6 – Final question. Does the user wants (or will) use the CPE to makes phone call by internet (VOIP)?
Because of the decreasing prices of these CPE and the widespread of VOIP (we are not talking here about Skype), probably this last question will become superfluous very soon

Best practice: effective answer.
An effective answer starts from your price list. It must follow the flow of your questions. 
Figure 2 shows Valadis’ price list for the CPE. 

Fig 2 - CPE price list

If (like us) you use datasheets to support the inside sales job (and to send them together with the offer) you should have them ordered in an intranet in the same way of your price list. 
The best practice would be that also your on-line shop reflects the same logic of your price list ; figure 3 shows how Valadis is organized.

Fig 3 - Valadis' on line shop

Ideally, the inside sale and the partner should share the same information.  
The last step would be to help the inside sale to make his offer from the On Line shop. I am speaking to have an integration between the CRM and the On Line shop  (working in progress ).

Does this best practice make sense to you?