The Transformation of Quest - Part 5

QUEST
Transformation leader: Tim Burke, President and CEO
Number of employees: 100
Year established: 1982
Original transactional business model: VAR/IT systems integrator/Interconnect
Post-transformation business model: Transactional business continues to be a part of what we do, but we work with our clients as partners helping them deliver technology.

What are your company's next steps in its transformation away from a transactional business model?

We are looking for people who have not made the transformation yet and we want to bring them into our process so that we both can benefit moving forward. Our goal is to grow our Quest Technology Partners, not by acquisition, but by finding the right partners and helping them understand how to engage in a "gold standard" sales approach — that is, to help position them with their end-user customers in a non-transactional sales process. We want to show them the value of moving beyond one-time sales.

The smart partners we seek understand that their clients have other needs besides the single technology transaction that is top of mind. If a partner can expand their footprint by having a broader offering ... they can maximize their customer relationship and keep the technology conversation ongoing. You are then perceived as their trusted provider for the next project and the next one after that. That’s gold. When you are the go-to provider in your customer’s mind, you protect your business from competition. This long-term relationship as supported with a broad tech offering is the polar opposite of the singularly focused transactional sale. If you don’t embrace this thinking, someone else will and that’s not the place to be — not now, not ever.