Jun
19

The channel loves a secret (Victoria)!
Posted by timl @ Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:08:15 -0400

I recently noticed a big spike in sales from one of our security-focused resellers - I called to thank them and asked why the sudden jump in sales?

The reseller launched a WOM program (word-of-mouth) for current customers that referred new business - simple twist was for every referral that ended up purchasing, the customer would receive a $10 Victoria’s Secret gift card as a small token of appreciation.

59 referrals in 8 months.  100k in new business. Cost $590.

Never under estimate the power of a simple but creative word-of-mouth program, especially those that come with added benefits!

Posted in Uncategorized
Jun
11

How Big Is Your Vendor Graveyard?
Posted by timl @ Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:15:32 -0400

By: Tim Larocque

Admit it, you have done it at least once - courted and said anything to a vendor so that you could close that one big deal!  Take the money and run, then place the partnership into the vendor graveyard - piled with other one-hit wonders.

Sounds harsh but it is true - most vendor-reseller relationships start off with a flare but do not reach the full potential of their partnership - each party to some extent can take responsibility for the failure.

Every quarter, resellers can benefit by reviewing vendor relationships and assessing which vendors you truly are and are not committed to.  Regardless of who may be at fault, it is critical to end the relationships that don’t make sense (this doesn’t mean we’ll do renewals but no push product).

Take a moment to reflect on your current vendor line-up and ask yourself the following questions:

1) How much of my business is new products versus renewals?  A good benchmark is 70% product and 30% renewals.  If your renewals are bigger than new business, it will only be a matter of time before the vendor questions your commitment - take action and reach out to the vendor to discuss ways to grow the biz.

2) How many single-sale vendors do I have?  Admit it, everyone has chased down a vendor based on a customer request knowing that this will be a one-hit wonder!  If there are no active leads or sales in the past 6 months, perhaps it’s time to part ways - everyone from your customer to you and the vendor will benefit.

3) When was the last time I spoke with each vendor?  If you haven’t heard from a vendor representative or your distribution account manager in a while chances are you are not doing enough business and not a priority.  Clean up these relationships by reaching out to determine if it makes sense to continue or search out new vendor partners and distributors that are maybe smaller but can do more for your business.

Focusing on fewer vendors and being proactive can do nothing but improve your partnerships, deliver happier customers and provide better financial success.  What’s to lose? Maybe that one big deal.

Posted in Uncategorized
May
22

A Statement from the Response Point VAR Council
Posted by timl @ Fri, 22 May 2009 10:58:50 -0400

Originally posted from www.rptricks.com/blog

A Statement from the Response Point VAR Council

The Microsoft Response Point VAR Council is a group of Partners that were invited early on in the development cycle of Response Point to collectively and periodically meet with the Microsoft management and team to give feedback and direction on Response Point from a Partner’s perspective.

This group held a conference call to discuss the announcements surrounding Response Point and determine how we could help Microsoft, the Partner Community and the Customer community in support of the product. The consensus was that while concerned on the lack of detailed information about the product roadmap, we partners would and should continue to support, sell and market the product and we would continue express our ongoing concern and support to Microsoft.

John Frederiksen, the GM of Response Point, had offered to join the call but had a conflict. We were however joined briefly by X.D. Huang, the original GM of Response Point and John’s direct manager. X.D. assured us that:

1) Microsoft will continue to support partners and customers running all current 1.x versions of Response Point;
2) Microsoft is NOT shutting down Response Point, and does have non-mgt personnel assigned to the product;
3) Microsoft is currently discussing what to do as far as Release 2 of Response Point
4) Microsoft plans to release more information about the future direction of Response Point soon, perhaps in one or two weeks
5) The best way we as partners can help the Response Point team is to continue to SELL the product.

The VAR Council was encouraged by the call; and while some of us have reservations, we as a group will continue to market and sell Response Point and we encourage and urge others to do so as well. We look forward to the upcoming Microsoft announcement on the direction for Release 2 of Response Point.

 

Posted in Uncategorized
Nov
28

Channel Dilemma for Voice and Unified Communications
Posted by timl @ Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:14:32 -0500

In recent conversations with vendors selling telephony and unified communications solutions, I get asked the same question over and over – can you recommend a great channel partner for our SMB products?  The struggle stems from the benefits and new features available with VoIP and unified communications. Selling, installing and supporting IP-based phone systems require new skill sets that few traditional telephony resellers currently have.  Data solution providers with experience in network and server support  possess the technical ability but lack the sales experience and knowledge in telephony.

Here is a great example, just last week I received a phone call from one of our telephony partners installing a IP PBX at a customer site.  After 20 minutes of troubleshooting with the reseller, we realized that the technician had little to no knowledge of servers or hardware – we identified the problem as a faulty motherboard and had our vendor ship a new one overnight to the customer site.  The technician then damaged the motherboard when installing the CPU chip causing a larger problem.  We located another partner, a data solution provider that arrived onsite and resolved the issue in a matter of minutes. I think this summarizes the current state of the channel for voice and unified communications in the SMB market – telephony resellers will generate faster sales but data solution providers can deliver the support needed to keep customers happy. 

So who should vendors partner with, data solution providers or telephony resellers?  Both.

VoIP is a fast-growing industry that is currently underserved in the SMB market.  There is an excellent opportunity for solution providers to secure first-mover advantage in many local and regional markets.  If you are a data solution provider,  it is worth the investment to train your sales team on voice and unified communications – consider hiring a sales representative with telephony experience that can share their knowledge with other members of your team.  For telephony resellers, take the time to train your sales team on solution-selling and partner with a data solution provider that can fulfill your needs for network support.

Resellers that focus on solution selling, offer network support, and have a working knowledge of voice/unified communications will have vendors knocking at their door with marketing dollars ready to spend.  Trust me, they are already asking.

Posted in Data Security, IP PBX, IP Phones, VoIP, Voice Over IP

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