How large does your ERP reseller need to be?

When we talk to prospects, they often ask “How many people work at Friendly Systems?” This appears to be a reasonable question. Many people think “bigger is safer”. Just look at cars on the road.

An article in New Yorker magazine, in January 2004, states “Are the best performers the biggest and heaviest vehicles on the road? Not at all.” It seems that S.U.V’s became big sellers because they are often purchased to provide the feeling of safety. Even though statistics show that smaller vehicles are safer than SUV’s, the illusion that “Bigger is Better” persists. (See the details).

Maybe its because we focus on sports like basketball and football, where size really does matter. Yet, in business software resellers, reliability and endurance are more important to the performance you receive from your business software reseller. Service and reliability is not a something that “bigness” automatically provides. Remember that the large resellers also have to support a larger number of companies and users.

The question I would ask is: “How many people will be working on MY ACCOUNT?
Whey you call them, will they be there for you? Who will be there? Will the person who spent two or three years still be working at the large company you chose because of their size? Or will they have gone on to greener pastures, along with the knowledge of your company and system – knowledge that you paid good money to pass on to the people you worked with.

Perhaps the questions need to focus on individual people. Whom will be assigned to my account? How long have they worked for you? What is their background and experience? What is your turnover rate at your (reseller) company? How long will they be here for me?

At Friendly Systems you will get the attention of people who are all owners of the company or people who want to become owners. That is one reason why we provide superior service. Being small makes your company more important to us, than you would be than if you worked with a large reseller. And we have some good-sized allies who understand and will tell you that Friendly was there when they needed us.