Citrix schools 500th VAR sales head in partner academy

Virtualisation vendor celebrates landmark in channel training

Citrix is celebrating getting its 500th channel salesperson through its Elite Partner Academy, just 20 months after the programme's launch.

The reseller training offer was evolved from the vendor's Enterprise Sales Academy, which was designed to help virtualisation players' sales staff converse with high-end customers. The Elite Partner Academy was rolled out last year to select resellers in 21 countries across EMEA.

A further batch of 150 partners, chosen for their sales levels or growth potential, were picked out this year. The training programme is not focused on Citrix-specific technology or services. The vendor claims VARs undertaking the course have seen productivity go up by a fifth, as well as enjoying an increase in deal sizes.

Kevin Bland, channel director for the UK, Ireland and South Africa at Citrix, said: "The channel community has really embraced the opportunity to enhance its skills and we have gained some fantastic insight into the areas that we could look to help develop in future modules. A new technical course we are developing at the moment is just the start."

The Elite Partner Academy consists of a pair of two-day modules, the first of which centres on encouraging resellers to take a more consultative approach. The second module, set to roll out early next year, will cover the development of long-term lucrative customer relationships.

John Johnson, vendor and alliances director at Kelway, said: "Around half our sales people have already been through the Elite Partner Academy and it is having a really positive impact on our business. Delegate feedback has been great and the quality and relevance of the training has helped our people to work smarter and more effectively."