Commercial Integrator June 2022 - 55

we provide better service to our customers?
And now, mere months after this effort's
initiation, Starin is the world's only distributor
whose portfolio includes Logitech, DTEN,
Neat, Poly, Shure and SMART Technologies.
As Swartz puts it, many distributors have
some, but only Starin has them all - and
makes them work together. And that last
part is no mere aside; as noted, Swartz has
no intention of collecting brands as a hobby.
" All these brands have a specific niche or
solution, " he explains. Starin can marshal its
incredibly robust in-house technical expertise
to help channel partners with everything
from system design and troubleshooting to
finding the right solution among the products
that are currently available. " Being part
of the Midwich Group, " Swartz begins, " it
allows us to coordinate similar types of gear,
at a high service level, all the way across
multiple countries. " One organization...all
the brands...serving all the channel partner's
projects around the world.
'Care More, Be Better'
It's worth lingering on the constellation of
benefits Starin provides its channel partners
because they reflect the distributor's motto:
" Care More, Be Better. " One of the ways
the Indiana-based company shows its care
is through its commitment. " I don't make
any money until they close their deal, "
Swartz declares of channel partners. Thus,
Starin will do everything in its power - from
commercialintegrator.com
supply-chain management and allocation
services to guidance and consultation
directly with the customer - to make its partners'
businesses a little more efficient and
make them more money. To that end, Starin
ensures its technical personnel, salespeople,
vendor specialists and product managers
are always available. Swartz states it simply,
saying, " I don't just have boxes they can buy
when they need them. I'm here for everything
that goes into getting those boxes into
a solution for the customer. And that means
I'll get involved whenever it's needed. "
This approach, obviously, breeds
channel-partner loyalty, but it also makes
Starin ever more attractive to vendors
looking to capitalize on UC&C's unfettered
ascendance. That is reflected in this month's
announcement, at InfoComm, that Starin
has brought on Crestron's Flex products
and Lenovo's unified communications
offerings. These additions, Swartz explains,
are a direct response to channel partner and
customer demand for these products. The
best part, he continues, is that the offerings
perfectly complement Starin's existing lines.
Indeed, he says, they align with Starin's goal
of having its vendor partners work together
and " make a really strong ecosystem. " This,
of course, lends itself to the bundling at
which Starin has become such an expert.
" Bundling product is simple, " Swartz notes.
" We can take it one step beyond that, [but]
we just need these extra solutions. "
Measures of Success
For a partner-focused organization such as
Starin, there's only one real measurement
for success - namely, how channel partners
feel about its pivot to being a focused
UC&C specialist. And there's no ambiguity
on that one. " They're placing more orders, "
Swartz says. " They're logging more calls
[with] our teams. We're seeing more activity.
And our business, as a whole, is growing
at nearly double the rate it was quarter
over previous year. " Starin's laser focus on
UC&C has also been a recipe for greater
engagement with partners and their clients,
yielding more frequent and more productive
touchpoints. That includes everything
from walking clients through how Zoom
works and helping set up Zoom Rooms, to
elucidating the value of certified hardware.
" The channel knows that we have all the
experience here, and they can rely on us, "
Swartz says with evident pride.
So, it turns out fortune does favor the
bold. It also favors those, like Starin, who
are committed to constant improvement
and allergic to stagnancy. " I've always
believed in business that you have to earn
it every day, " Swartz concludes, saying the
distributor will take nothing for granted.
Every morning, his team and he try to
be a little bit better...a little bit beyond
partner expectations. " That's what sticks
with people, " he advises. " Just constant
improvement. " CI
JUNE 2022 Commercial Integrator 55
PIXELS HUNTER/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
http://www.commercialintegrator.com
Commercial Integrator June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Integrator June 2022
