Career change selling Macs to SM biz?
AI-ers- I've been a b2b sales guy for many years and make a decent living. Bought a iMac for the family last Christmas and frankly it changed my life. Super corny I know, but it has. That and I invested in the stock in the winter and well that's been a good development too. 
Anway, I thought I'd ask the collaborative members of this site a career question. Can a guy who has been pretty good at sales for 15 years make a good living (+$100K) selling Mac's to small businesses? The growth in the retail sector is obviously crazy and sm biz sales seem to be catching on....worth a career change?
Thanks in advance.
rambhlinman[/COLOR][/COLOR]
Anway, I thought I'd ask the collaborative members of this site a career question. Can a guy who has been pretty good at sales for 15 years make a good living (+$100K) selling Mac's to small businesses? The growth in the retail sector is obviously crazy and sm biz sales seem to be catching on....worth a career change?
Thanks in advance.
rambhlinman[/COLOR][/COLOR]
Comments
Maybe you should work at an Apple Store and get first-hand experience before you turn it into your career.
AI-ers- I've been a b2b sales guy for many years and make a decent living. Bought a iMac for the family last Christmas and frankly it changed my life. Super corny I know, but it has. That and I invested in the stock in the winter and well that's been a good development too.
Anway, I thought I'd ask the collaborative members of this site a career question. Can a guy who has been pretty good at sales for 15 years make a good living (+$100K) selling Mac's to small businesses? The growth in the retail sector is obviously crazy and sm biz sales seem to be catching on....worth a career change?
Thanks in advance.
rambhlinman[/COLOR][/COLOR]
Yes you can make a nice living selling and supporting Apple products. My recommendation is to enlist the help of Apple.
1. Create your business. Get Apple certified and join the Apple Consultants Network http://consultants.apple.com/ you get all major updates to the apps you are certified in for
free and access to NFR apps from Apple and 3rd parties. There are co-marketing benefits as well.
Use the program's Apple logo to market your services.
Network with other consultants using private technical and business lists.
Get discounts on certification training and exams.
Get listed in the program's online referral directory on apple.com.
Access valuable members-only resources to help you grow your business.
2. Become an Apple Authorized Business Agent http://www.apple.com/channel/programs/agents.html
- Diversify your business, earn fees with minimum investment, and receive professional support from Apple by joining the Apple Authorized Business Agent program:
Now do what you've always done. Sell your ass off. Create a website and beat the streets and build your name. I've been in Sales most of my life as well and frankly it gets tiring working for someone else. Being the Big Kahuna means YOU profit the most from success. You go first chief..I'll follow your lead :PSell Apple and third-party products.
Use the program?s Apple logo to promote your business.
Access Apple training, marketing, and support resources.
Network with other Agents using private technical and business lists.
Access deal and demo coupons.
Earn fees from customer transactions that are managed entirely by Apple
Great advice, murch... but my understanding is that he is a salesperson who may not have Apple or computer experience at this point. That's why I recommend getting in on the ground floor at an Apple Store. Perhaps I misunderstood the post.
I don't think the retail reps are making near 100k in Apple Stores I'm sure the managers of larger stores approach that. I concur about the lack of Apple experience. The only way to circumvent that is to get certified. If I was to follow this path I'd probably do this.
1. Get my Apple certs in OS X Server
Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) is the perfect starting point and addresses basic Mac OS X troubleshooting.
Apple Certified Technical Coordinator (ACTC) adds Mac OS X server support and troubleshooting skills to your repertoire.
Apple Certified System Administrator (ACSA), our premier certification, addresses the needs of system administrators who manage networks of systems and complex deployments.
2. Focus on not only SMB but Media Companies.
Leopard is finally the Server OS we all expected from Apple. With the all important Calendar Server and better management tools and security it's time to start pushing OS X Server into areas were Windows Small Biz Server is going.
If your Geography permits (meaning you have enough media companies to warrant the effort) a focus on media would help as well. From companies that create commercial spots to Videographers to TV stations Apple's purchase of Proximity and Silicon Color is the starting pistol "crack" announcing that they are going to push Final Cut Studio into the heart of Broadcast companies.
Appropriate Certs here would be Final Cut Pro Level 1 & 2, XSAN, Logic Pro 8 and more depending on your focus.
Apple has a benefit called Certification Alliance that is free and comes with some significant price discounts on test taking and reading materials.
Certification Alliance
n recognition of this phenomenal growth, Apple is proud to sponsor the Apple Certification Alliance to acknowledge and support the thousands of Apple experts worldwide who hold one or more current certifications on Apple technology for Mac OS X, Apple Hardware, and Pro Applications. Certification versions that are eligible for the Alliance are listed to the right.
Public searchable directory of name, location, certification(s), Apple Consultants Network status (if applicable) and email and/or phone
25% discount on all Apple exams taken at Prometric Testing Centers
35% discount on Apple Training Series and Apple Pro Training Series books from PeachPit Press**
Not too shabby. You save a significant amount of money on tests and texts and these are tax deductible for your business.
From my perspective that was Apple's second "wave" into the market. This whole new wave is more of a change in the tide. It's true too that SpamSandwich is right in that It'd be a good idea to start in a store to learn the product more.... I'll dive into Murch's information and will post back again. I'll reach out to you when I get back in case you don't happen to back to this thread.
BIG THANKS! (any and all other thoughts still appreciated.)
Now it be time to explore what you enjoy and you find fulfilling in your sales experience, with a product that (corny, but true, I believe) actually makes a difference.
Retail may or may not be your thing because it is quite different from corporate/edu sales. I *despise* corporate/edu but enjoy retail side.
Depending on how you do, if your annual target pre-tax is USD$100k ; or say $7.5k monthly ; within a year of immersed in Apple, you could reasonably reach that or even exceed. Given a decent dose of passion...
I would propose Retail as a base to get a feel of what is going on, while also pursuing corporate - small to medium business is a very important space.
What I am finding with Mac resellers in my city is this. There is very strong synergy (cheesy, I know) between Retail and Small-to-Medium business. You may try and do both when starting out.
Retail generates a lot of leads for SME and SME has a very good "touchpoint" with the Retail stores. Kids start using Macs, parents get interested, try it themselves, or adults just browsing around, just try out a Mac, and then Boom! .... Thy realise how sh1te their work environment is.
Given a lot of new PCs that were cheap but bundled with VistaCrippled, viruses, printing, network, wireless problems, ... also SME have very limited budget with IT support. Not having the need for an "IT guy" because they are using Macs, is a very powerful selling point.
Storage and backup is also a prime area of concern for SMEs ... Particularly now network management, wireless networking, file sharing, file backups, file repositories, archiving, "paperless" workflows.
...............
So, good luck. As you can tell, I am more on the PR hack/ marketing side of things.
The iPhone has tremendous potential to be integrated with pm software and an EMR. An apple solution could offer things that windows software can't.
I think think that Macs are going to do well in medical and dental practices. I see more and more Mac based practice management software available and colleagues with iPhones.
The iPhone has tremendous potential to be integrated with pm software and an EMR. An apple solution could offer things that windows software can't.
Excellent point backtomac. How could I forget this lucrative market? With Medical and Dental offices there's a huge push to go as paperless as possible and heighten security so as to not run afoul of HIPAA compliance.
The tools involved here are
Centralized Servers
Document Scanners (ScanSnap being my fav)
And a good Electronic Medical Record (EMR) or Practice Management application. The good news is that unlike the PC market where there are a bajillion EMR apps the Mac has a few that seem to be actively developed.
http://www.macpractice.com/mp/
http://www.comchart.com/
http://emr.liferecord.com/ (10g price
Good vibes to all for helpin a working stiff out.
rambhlinman