Global Communications Technology Provider Grows Market Share and Increases ROI

INDUSTRY
Technology Provider

SOLUTION
Channel Partner Program

Situation
A technology provider for unified communications (UC) and collaboration, contact centers, customer experience management, networking, and related services needed a way to cost effectively resell and support its equipment/UC solutions to small and medium businesses (SMBs). In addition to a direct sales model, the client had strong channel sales, relying on more than 12,000 global channel partners to resell its UC solutions. At the same time, one of its largest premier channel partners, a global telecommunications company, struggled to support the sale of the client’s equipment solutions to SMB customers cost-effectively. As well, the channel partner’s sales force lacked the expertise and experience required to successfully resell the client’s equipment/UC solutions to this segment.

CHALLENGES

Lack of SMB market penetration

At-risk premium channel partner

Cost-prohibitive sales support

Sales team’s lack of segment expertise + experience

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Turnkey SMB customer solutions center

Channel partner management

SMB sales expertise

Solution
Given its heavy reliance on—yet struggles with—partner channel performance, the client engaged MarketSource to tailor a unique solution that would both empower channel partners and overcome persistent roadblocks. To increase our client’s sales of its SMB solutions through and strengthen support for its partner channel, MarketSource launched, staffed, and managed a turnkey customer Solutions Center whose aim was to empower the channel partners to drive greater sales. The Solutions Center included inside and field sales reps and management, training, engineering, business analytics, and support personnel. MarketSource leveraged these resources to directly and indirectly support customers of differing sizes and complexities in any B2B segment within the client’s channel partner ecosystem.

Results
This unique, three-way partnership between the client, the channel partner, and MarketSource has resulted in a highly functioning Solutions Center that has delivered results for more than two decades.

Co-funding the MarketSource Solutions Center with the client has enabled the channel partner to align their cost of sales with the SMB market, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in revenue per year and enabling the partner to support the solution needs of millions of its business customers for a competitive ROI.
The Solutions Center addresses the channel partner’s need for sales and product expertise in support of the channel. The channel partner now markets the Solutions Center as the “easy button” and directs its sales force to partner with the Center to position total solutions for its B2B customers. As a result, the channel partner has become the sales leader in North America for our client’s SMB solution.
Our Solutions Center has shown consistently favorable results for all parties, driving more than a half billion dollars in sales across the partnership over the last decade alone.
- The Solutions Center drove 30% year-over-year revenue growth for the channel partner in client equipment sales over a five-year period.
- The client has realized an ROI exceeding 150% over ten years.
- New solutions sold in the Solutions Center have generated a significant lifetime revenue stream for the partner, delivering an industry-leading, post-warranty, service-agreement attachment rate approaching 85%.