BTIC adds to upsell incentives
Telco to focus on higher-value sales and getting more VARs
BT Indirect Channels (BTIC) will next week announce new incentives for VARs selling broadband as it attempts to encourage upselling on the back of its already successful broadband sales.
BT's indirect selling arm unveiled broadband incentives last year, as it set out to reach two million connections by the summer of 2004.
Having reached this target, the vendor is setting its sights on higher-value sales and getting more VARs, as well as setting "mighty targets for 2004," according to Chris Jagusz, BTIC's general manager of chapter management.
He added: "The VAR incentive scheme has been amazing. We've hit the '500 active resellers' mark and reached our two million broadband connection target four months ahead of schedule."
During November and December the company offered resellers up to £100 on top of their normal revenue share for every broadband connection sold.
"We are currently negotiating our targets for next year, and they will be mighty," Jagusz said.
He claimed BTIC is BT's fastest-growing route to market for broadband. "More online orders for broadband are placed by resellers than end-users," he said.
More than 80 per cent of reseller orders are online, he added.
Although details of the incentives are yet to be released, they will be geared towards upselling. Potential target areas are the sale of Ethernet products rather than USB and broadband packaged with security and web tools.
Manny Pinon, sales and marketing director at BTIC distributor Norwood Adam, which has more than 100 resellers selling broadband, said encouraging upselling is a good move.
"BT needs to move up the value chain because USB products are becoming commoditised, and there is aggressive competition from alternative carriers and ISPs," he said.