BTIC to push Business Plan

Telco looks to drive one third of scheme sales through channel

BT Indirect Channels (BTIC) is aiming to push one third of its Business Plan scheme sales through the channel by the end of the year.

The telecoms giant launched Business Plan – a UK-based calls package that rewards customer loyalty – two years ago.

Rakesh Mahajan, general manager of strategy and business development at BTIC, said: “Five hundred resellers have taken up the Business Plan in the last 12 months.

“A fifth of Business Plan sales are from resellers and this is rising. My ambition is that a third of all Business Plans sold in the UK will be through resellers by the end of the year.”

Mahajan claimed Business Plan has been successful because it is “simple” and “easy to sell and process”.

Kevin Weeks, network divisional manager at distributor Nimans, said: “Business Plan helps a reseller drive its business and there are a lot of benefits for the end-user too, with 80 per cent claiming they are making a saving. Between 70 and 80 per cent of our call line revenue is from Business Plan, and I think this will grow.

“BTIC is the leader in terms of quality of service. They are not the cheapest in terms of ‘pence per minute’, but they are the best value for money,” Weeks added.

Paul Silvey, general manager of managed services at reseller Damovo, which recently signed with Cable & Wireless, was less complementary about BTIC.

“They [BTIC] have not pushed their new initiatives to us very well. They are not as active as other partners and we don’t get the attention we feel our spend deserves,” he said.