Some spend most of their marketing, sales, and business development
resources pursuing large major bid opportunities with Fortune 1000
enterprises and government entities.

Other data cabling companies do a lot more in the small business space, where installations typically involve networks of anywhere from 10-100 nodes.

However
it can be very difficult to profitably market to customers that really
only need your services once… with perhaps some small add-on work a few
years down the road.

This is because your customer acquisition costs can be quite high relative to the rather limited size of the job.

Think
about it…. How much can you really afford to spend on marketing, sales
and business development expenses when the upside potential of the
projects is say $1,000-,$5,000?

That’s why for many data cabling companies that want to service small businesses,
it makes more sense to partner with those technology providers that
already have existing relationships with small business owners and
managers.

How can you go about finding these movers and shakers
that can not only drastically cut the length of your sales cycle, but
also provide predictability and stability through constant referrals?

Consider these 5 ways to locate like-minded technology providers that are eager to work with data cabling companies like yours.

1. Look for Those Small Business Tech
Providers that Don’t Do Cabling In-House. At the risk of stating the
obvious, make sure those VARs, consultants, solution providers, MSPs,
and integrators that you choose to partner with are complimentary to
your core cabling skills, and not a direct or indirect competitor.

2. Check
Out B2B Networking Events. Generally those technology providers that
get involved with chamber of commerce organizations, lead sharing
groups, and local expos are pretty receptive to building their
businesses up on a variety of fronts.

3. Go
Where Techies Hang Out. Often-overlooked, IT user groups can be a great
way to network both with potential partners and those that routinely
subcontract work to data cabling companies like yours.

4. Keep
Your Ears Open at Training Events. Ever been to a reseller or channel
partner event from an IT giant like Microsoft or Cisco? These confabs
are often bursting at the seams with those technology providers eager
for opportunity. The key thing… network with those who don’t fulfill
the needs that you do.

5. Ask
Your Accountant or Attorney to Facilitate Introductions. Chances are,
your trusted business advisors like your accountant or attorney have
clients that are VARs, consultants, solution providers, MSPs, and
integrators. So don’t be shy about letting your trusted business
advisors know that you’d appreciate any relevant, appropriate
matchmaking. After all, you do already have one important thing in
common… you’ve selected the same trusted business advisor.