Vendors need to be shown how to teach channel partners

Stan Beer
Thursday, 02 December 2004 21:00

IT Industry - Development

Question: Assuming you are a multinational ICT vendor, how do you show your channel partners the way to sell your product effectively. Answer: Pay a few tens of thousands of dollars (chicken feed for a big vendor) and get Carolyn Henley of channel programs specialist, IDL, on board.

Henley, Asia Pacific marketing director at IDL, a UK-based company that develops channel programs for multinationals such as Cisco, HP, IBM, BEA, BT, Cable and Wireless and others, has set up an office in Sydney. She intends to show the local branch offices of some of the world's biggest ICT vendors how to get their channel partners to perform better in terms of sales and repeat business. And repeat business is the key phrase, according to Henley.

'Our core methodology is repeatable solution sales,' says Henley. 'Repeatable sales beats one-off sales when it comes to maximising your profits. Vendors often sign up lots of partners but they don't get the returns that they're looking for.'

According to Henley, the IDL methodology, which is a four step process, that includes sales training for partners, a planning workshop for partners and vendors, building a database of prospects and online prospect building support, more than pays for itself within 12 to 24 months. 'The program is designed to generate new and repeatable business,' she says.

IDL, which has just 40 staff worldwide, is hoping it can leverage its way into the Australian branches of multinationals through its associations with overseas offices. Henley has a lonely job as she is effectively been tasked with planting the IDL flag for the whole of Asia Pacific. However, she has ten years' experience working in global marketing and channels teams, including six years within IBM's software division and eight years in channel marketing, development and program management. If you can hack that sort of environment, you should be able to do just about anything.

Enquiries to can be addressed to Carolyn Henley on 02 9909 3859.