Telecoms firms are leaving resellers behind
Buyout activity in the telecoms space means partners should be careful about who they team up with, says Amanda Dunn
Not since the mid-'90s have we seen such a panic for speed to market and buyouts in the telecommunications community. With CenturyLink acquiring Qwest and Savvis, and Level 3 acquiring Global Crossing, the integration challenges and the negative results are becoming more apparent.
These growth strategies often leave partners – referral and reseller – to fend for themselves while the telecom giants figure out how to mitigate the impact of inherited partner programmes and compensation changes, as well as the integration of back office systems and operational and sales support.
Running a partner and reseller programme is never easy, especially when you must balance the needs of multiple business lines and internal sales groups. But when the difficulties of integrating these diverse lines of business spill out in ugly public dust-ups, partners may wonder whether vendors truly value their reseller relationships.
Partnering implies the sharing of risks and rewards. As telecoms companies expand via mergers and acquisitions, the relationship tends to become more one-sided – with the vendor behemoth favoured over the partner.
Telecoms vendors may view partner programmes simply as revenue streams, not relationships that promote the mutual growth of both parties.
In this environment, telecoms resellers should consider joining the partner programmes of smarter companies. Choose vendors that commit to their partners so the partner ecosystem can grow and benefit from solid relationships, not just commission.
Vendors must invest in their referral and reseller communities, be human and helpful in every interaction, instead of simply looking at the financial spreadsheets.
Smarter is better than larger. It's best to partner with a company able to sustain a consistent growth pattern through solid partner programmes focused on revenue growth, profitability, market expansion and customer loyalty. This should happen alongside a fluid go-to-market offering that fuels a mutual pipeline.
It's not necessary to stick to the same mould. Partner-centric IT and hosting companies exist outside of massive telecommunications carriers.
The next time you look for a partner programme, ask the vendor how it defines partnership, how success in partnership is judged, and how its programme has evolved and grown. Also ask how the vendor plans to help the reseller benefit from the deal, and how the reseller ultimately fits into the business model.
You may be surprised by the answers you get.
Amanda Dunn is EMEA director of business development at Peer 1 Hosting