Resellers off to flying start
Toshiba launches new partner programme to speed up VAR competency time
Toshiba Business Communications Division (BCD) has launched a new partner programme to help its VARs become product competent in a shorter time frame.
‘Flying Start’, will arm resellers with the tools needed to ship Toshiba products within four weeks, the vendor claimed.
Toshiba will offer sales and technical training for products in the SME market and hopes the programme encourages resellers wary of delayed profits from new vendor relationships.
Tim Webb, general manager at Toshiba BCD, said: “We are looking to increase our number of resellers from 50 to 80 over the coming 12 months, and beyond as distribution gathers pace.
“From our point of view it gives us a quicker turnaround, and resellers need this momentum too. This format has worked well in the US.”
Webb added that Toshiba BCD is constantly assessing its route to market and is always looking to increase direct reseller and distributor reseller relationships.
“We have been recruiting more sales staff to make resellers aware of the opportunities on offer and we are undertaking marketing aimed at end-users too,” he said.
Webb added that the firm is looking for new resellers who predominantly come from a telecoms background, but IT resellers are also keen to access new communication products.
“The whole product set is moving down the IP route and we want to strengthen ourselves in the channel. This area is a natural progression for a lot of resellers,” he said.
Jess Thompson-Hughes, managing director at voice distributor React Technologies, said: “It is possible to train a core of pre-and-post-sales staff in a month, but you will need to make a commitment that could defocus resellers from their core business.”
Thompson-Hughes said that despite the channel’s ability to learn new products quickly, the most difficult challenge will arise when taking the product to market.
“Toshiba may be targeting telecoms resellers but VARs who have an existing telecoms vendor would have to be pretty unhappy to want to change. The best method is finding resellers with no experience and who are looking to break into telecoms,” added Thompson-Hughes.