How to become a technology advisor

A technology advisor sits between a business and the suppliers it buys from. The business describes a problem: a failing phone system, a new site that needs internet, a security question from an insurer. The advisor works out what to buy, gets quotes, and stays involved until the service is live. Advisors are usually paid by the suppliers they place business with, not billed to the client.

The role runs on trust, and on enough knowledge to be useful in a conversation. The steps below build both.

Advisors who try to cover everything on day one rarely sound sure of themselves. Start with one or two categories you can already talk about: connectivity, voice, cloud, security, SD-WAN or contact center. Choose the ones your existing clients are most likely to ask you about. You can widen the range later.

You do not need to engineer anything. You do need to understand the questions a client will ask. These guides cover the first ones:

• How much bandwidth does a business need?
• Dedicated internet access explained
• UCaaS buyers guide: the features that matter
• What is SD-WAN?

Write down the businesses that already trust you: past employers, clients, peers, and anyone who has asked you for a recommendation. For each one, note the next date that matters, such as an expiring internet contract or a planned office move. That list is your pipeline. A program is only useful if you have someone to bring to it.

Most advisors sell through a program rather than holding every supplier relationship alone. Compare programs on who does the quoting, how a deal is recorded, how statements read and what you sign. Read the agreement before you commit.

On Oqitor, you register each opportunity, raise a quote request for each supplier you want a quote from, and our operations team works each request with its supplier. Each request goes to one supplier, and the quotes come back on the same deal. It is free to join, and one partner agreement covers the categories you sell through Oqitor. You can read what changes for technology advisors before you apply.

After you apply, a person reviews your application. If it goes forward, you get the documents, a walkthrough call, a portal invite and a chance to register your first deal. We suggest you bring one real account to the call, so we can show how its opportunities would be registered, quoted and tracked before you sign anything.

From there, you stay your client’s point of contact. Oqitor does not sell to end customers under its own brand. Commissions follow the supplier’s payments on each account, and each line appears on your monthly statement.