First moves since privatisation sees more incentives for channel specialists With new appointments aimed at boosting its channel team, Dell has introduced even more upgrades to its PartnerDirect channel programme as it is reaching out to partners and other channels by making it easier ‘to do business with Dell’, it says.
The company has announced an appointment of Sarah Shields as its UK Sales executive director and general manager for the UK and Ralf Jordan has been named executive director, EMEA Broadline Distribution. Shields will lead the UK partner direct business from end-to-end and Dell’s consumer and SMB channels. Jordan, on the other hand, will run the Consumer and Small Business team and Distribution Business in EMEA Emerging Markets where he recently worked as executive director and general manager for Dell’s Client Solutions business in the EMEA Emerging Markets.
Apart from new hires, the updates cover many business areas including networking, software, enterprise programme and new notebook announcement. This means the channel partners will see more training opportunities, such as training and support for Networking and software training competencies, and more rebates to come, the company says.
“Since going private we’ve been able to focus even more on our channel business and have seen it grow from strength to strength. Since we started our PartnerDirect programme in 2007, the channel has shown a real commitment to Dell, so the incentives and rebates we offer are designed appropriately reward that commitment,” says vice president and general manager, Channel Sales, Dell EMEA, Laurent Binetti.
Under the new deal, partners will be able to choose the preferred area of specialisation as well as they will be rewarded new incentives based on their prior commitment and success. The new PartnerAdvantage will see partners earn 1,000 points on networking and server sales and up to 4,500 points if they obtain a certification in Networking. Additionally, they will be granted access to Dell’s helpdesk and other key PartnerDirect services across the EMEA region via the new mobile application released in local languages.
The next incentive is called AllStars programme and is addressing the needs of Networking partners who want to certify and grow on Dell offerings. This includes Dell’s customer support and hands on training with Networking Partner Enablement Workshops being available to partners. What is more, Premier and Preferred Partners in the EMEA region will also benefit from access to C-level sales and marketing tools.
Dell says it sees a growing interest from channel partners in software rebates, especially that over the year ago the company introduced its Software’s quarterly rebate. Thanks to the rebate, the Premier partners will be able to receive 2% of software sales and be eligible for further sales rewards on Dell SonicWall products under Partner AdvantEdge.
Finally, the channel partners in Western Europe will be offered the Vostro 15 3000 series business notebook (above) to and new client solutions training which includes Dell Precision workstation competencies through which the partners can earn Preferred and Premier status.
“Our partners continue to be pivotal part of Dell’s ecosystem, so it is crucial that we continue to focus on and invest in our channel programme. I look forward to continuing to build Dell’s offering to ensure that it meets the needs of the partners across the UK. Our ultimate aim is to make it as easy as possible for partners – and end-users – to do business with Dell, and we feel that these new rebates and incentives help to do that,” says executive director and general manager, Dell UK, Sarah Shields.