Credit is top of mind at most solution providers: After all, without access to lines of credit, your customers can't implement IT solutions; you're unable to purchase the hardware and software they need; and some clients are taking a long time to pay off their balances in full.

Local bankers have visited some solution providers, going to great lengths to reassure their VAR clients about ready access to cash and secure deposits. And many community banks and credit unions, which steered clear of the subprime mortgage debacle, are trying to lure new clients to their saving, checking and loan offerings. Smaller solution providers can find a valuable ally in their local SMB bank, if they are armed with full business documentation.

But other channel companies have seen deals cancelled or postponed because of a customer's inability to secure financing or have seen their own lines of credit dry up. VARs may find it tough to approach banks, many of which have little knowledge of this industry. And, much as managed services have proved a revenue boon, explaining a service that doesn't come out of a box can make bank financing frustrating.

There is, however, hope for you and your customers -- and it is not a giant bailout by taxpayers or the government. Rather, the good news comes from the way that large, financially secure and channel-savvy distributors such as Ingram Micro have stepped into the breach by beefing up their already extensive financial services. Sound business strategies have enabled some distributors to deliver strong financial performances, according to the Global Technology Distribution Council's fifth annual Investors Relations Conference in October 2008. Ingram Micro is sharing its financial backbone with you and your fellow channel executives, and encouraging you to offer leasing as an alternative to customers looking to buy hardware and software.

"We continue to proactively look at our customers to increase lines. At this point, we do not see any change (in credit policy). It's really business as usual," said Kelly Carter, director of credit at Ingram Micro, in an interview with CRN. "For companies that are healthy, there is still plenty of credit out there. We encourage VARs to offer a financing option to their end users if they are struggling to close a deal because the end user doesn't have the funds available."

With leasing, you get paid immediately, removing the problem of customers that are slow to pay in good times -- and even slower during down economies. Your knowledge of your clients can help you figure out where they stand financially, and how this option might meet their IT and budget needs, she said.

Today ROI must be first or second on the checklist -- and the greater the ROI, the greater the chance you'll win the deal. Many VARs report that even healthy clients are unwilling to spend and some customers that have never faced problems before have been turned down for loans. Working with Ingram Micro's finance group, the stamp of "denied" may quickly become "approved."