Channel roles in demand as vendors sell indirectly
The growing demand for channel roles suggests vendors are favouring the indirect sales approach to shake off recession
Helping hand: More vendors are freeing up resources to help tap into the customer bases of resellers
Vendors are increasingly switching to an indirect sales strategy to help kick-start their post-recession business growth, research suggests.
Figures from IT recruitment firm Acumin have revealed a growing demand from vendors for channel-focused staff over the past 12 months, especially those with management and sales experience.
In the firm’s recent salary survey, the average maximum salary for a channel management role rose from £55,000 during the past year to £60,000 in May 2010.
Meanwhile, the amount on offer to those in direct sales management roles has fallen from £85,000 to £80,000 over the same period.
Gemma Paterson, marketing manager at Acumin, said the increase in channel salaries is indicative of the growing demand for indirect sales roles.
“We are noticing that channel roles are outnumbering direct roles 2:1 at the moment,” Paterson added. “We are currently working on nine channel roles compared with four this time last year.”
Bob Tarzey, service director at market watcher Quocirca, said it is not unusual for vendors to turn their attention to the channel during times of economic instability.
“When things get harder, direct sales staff start to look expensive and those who underperform often get the boot,” he said.
“But vendors still want markets covered, so they let resellers carry more of the risk and reward and increase their channel activity.”
Disaster recovery software vendor Core Consultancy recently announced it is focusing its efforts on growing its channel operations after trimming back its direct sales team.
Sharad Saggar, managing director of Core Consultancy, claimed more vendors are choosing the channel as their primary route to market to help trap new business.
“Trying to find new end users to market your product to is time-consuming,” said Saggar. “It is easier to sell through a VAR because they already have a customer base.”
Culling direct sales also frees up funds that can be ploughed back into the channel and new partner initiatives, added Saggar. “We have used the money to develop a partner programme and provide marketing support to our VARs and have been rewarded with a 30 per cent rise in business.”
Document automation vendor ReadSoft announced in March that it wanted to double the percentage of sales that come through its channel to 80 per cent by 2012 and has recruited a new channel manager, Michael Gray, to oversee its growth target.
“By developing a channel, it allows vendors to cover a wider geographical area and utilise VARs that have industry-specific specialisations,” Gray said. “It also provides them with a greater market reach because they have indirect access to their resellers’ in-house sales teams.”
However, Kay Bruen, owner of vendor consultancy Clipsham IT, warned that once the impact of last week’s emergency Budget starts to ripple through the channel, there could be an increase in the number of vendors that favour the direct sales approach once more.
She added: “A lot of resellers’ businesses are dependent on public sector IT work, which means there could be a certain degree of attrition on the staff side at firms that concentrate in that space.”