Seth Oxhandler, founder and CEO of Coolcat Inc, is a man with a mission. His company is already the 7th largest IT reseller in the United States but he insists that a placing among the top 3 is his target within the next 12 months.

Mr. Oxhandler owes his success to a hardworking team of employees who understand the market and the needs of small and medium sized enterprises but it also boils down to the choice of vendor solutions that Coolcat provides and some innovative marketing strategies.

“In our business you need to understand your customers and their needs. Our clients are IT administrators who want solutions that are easy to set up and that work. As a former network administrator, I know what it’s like to have read piles of product manuals. With all the demands on IT, greater complexity takes time away from production. IT administrators want a single executable that gives them functionality just by looking at it. This is something we look for in all the products that we sell,” Mr. Oxhandler explained.

One IT vendor that perfectly fit the bill is GFI Software, a developer of messaging, content and security software: “GFI is one company that has complemented our business. We do not focus on desktop offerings and GFI’s product portfolio is specifically targeted at the problems of IT administrators, the same group of people that we speak to on a daily basis and those who have to decide on what products to use. GFI’s product line speaks to these people directly,” he added.

Mr. Oxhandler was first introduced to GFI’s products around 10 years ago when his company started providing services to clients with 10 to 15 employees. GFI FAXmaker, an integrated fax server, was the first GFI product he began installing.

Coolcat continued to work with GFI’s software however it was only 18 months ago that Mr. Oxhandler became a GFI partner.
 

“We were contacted by GFI USA nearly two years ago because they wanted partners in the compliance vertical market place. Coolcat was a match there since our Off Site Backup Service is SOX, FDC and HIPPA complaint. At the time I did not know about GFI’s reseller program. We already knew the products and that GFI was not in the desktop space. For us as a service that’s a perfect match. I never hesitated to refer clients for solutions to GFI since I knew it could never reflect poorly on my Firm. Where we are is a tight market and you can’t afford to partner with anyone who can tarnish your reputation or limit your potential. That is how we started to cement our relationship with GFI,” Mr. Oxhandler added.
Coolcat’s decision to become a GFI Partner has paid off and today his company is one of GFI’s top partners with an outstanding sales record.

Although the products in themselves are key drivers for the business, it is Mr. Ox handler’s marketing of GFI and sales strategy that have contributed to Coolcat becoming a top 10 GFI partner in a matter of months.

He firmly believes that sales staff should be focused on individual products and given full training.

“We have hired people who are GFI centric, are product savvy and have the necessary GFI certifications to provide solid business solutions based on the product line. This makes an enormous difference when talking to customers about GFI,” he explained.

He also introduced an ecommerce portal on his website with a shopping cart to enable his customers to purchase the products with ease.

“Some people know what they want. They want to be able to go online, download the software and purchase there and then. Our ecommerce facility has helped us increase overall company sales,” Mr. Oxhandler said.
 

Finally, he believes in branding GFI in as many ways possible and at every opportunity. Every presentation or face-to-face meeting is an opportunity to speak about GFI and the product range.

“Our business relationship with GFI is excellent and it is through GFI that we have clients like NASA, Key West Housing Authority, City of Holly Hills FL, Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts as some of our clients. However, no other channel is allowing me to do business with so many customers in the SMB sphere and GFI is the reason why I’m doing business so successfully.”

Although having an innovative sales & marketing strategy, and an outstanding and dedicated, hardworking team is one reason behind Coolcat’s success, Mr. Oxhandler is quick to point out that the support and integration he receives from GFI is equally important. It is also a combination of a targeted product line, outstanding people at GFI and the fact that GFI is so different from other companies in terms of channel business.

“GFI is different in terms of the breadth of offering and that GFI is reseller focused. I would not have had this success without the support, close working relationship and business intimacy that we have with half a dozen people at GFI. If it weren’t for people like Jim Semersky, David Rubright, Rachel Phillips and Chip Bieler we could not achieve this level of success. We have a focus on GFI on our website and GFI seems to have focused on us. What we have is a symbiotic relationship,” Mr. Oxhandler explained.

When compared with other channel programs, he believes that GFI’s program is somewhat more developed, it makes sense and it is very easy to work with the people in the USA office.
 

Selling GFI is also relatively easy, according to Mr. Oxhandler, because everyone that his company speaks to has either tried a demo or has it installed: “There is no battle of perception and that facilitates sales because we don’t have to explain who GFI is. We also use GFI’s market development funds to further our marketing reach. That puts us in front of potential clients at shows and events.”

GFI’s product range allows Coolcat to build residual income by utilizing different service platforms.

“Products like GFI NetworkServerMonitor and GFI LANguard create a platform upon which we are able to build a residual profit income. Not only are the services focused on the product but the offerings from a service perspective are numerous.”

Mr. Oxhandler firmly believes that GFI is a key element in his business’s current and future growth plan. Coolcat are currently working with a recruiter agency for top notch sales people with the goal of building a team around the GFI products.

“We want to be in the top 3 largest resellers and I’m confident that this time next year we will be up there. Having GFI’s portfolio and its suitability for the type of clients we have will surely help us get there.”
 

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

October 2008