Channel Partners Are Key to Barr’s Success

Managed Print Services Connect (Sep 25 2012) Outsourcing , Resellers , Workflow

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   Channel Partners Are Key to Barr’s Success

   Barr EOM

   By Pate Cantrell

   Leveraging third party business partner relationships successfully is part art and part science – and relies primarily on trust. 

    

   As a customer, you trust your primary solutions providers to recommend and deliver reliable technology that enables you to achieve your goals efficiently, with a minimum amount of disruption, and at a cost that makes sense. 

    

   As a solutions provider, you trust that the partner solutions you recommend resolve your customer’s pain points, are easy to implement and support, and that your partner will be “there” every step in the process for you and your customers.  

    

   As a third party technology partner, you trust that the solutions provider understands the appropriate “fit’ for your technology at his customers’ sites and has qualified well the customers’ needs and expectations.   

    

   With 55,000+ users worldwide, Barr Systems has proven that it understands the dynamic interaction that occurs between customers, solution providers and technology partners when delivering software to address real issues in mission-critical applications. 

    

   On paper, most partner programs are similarly designed for success.  The third party partner provides solutions, plus marketing and technical content, support and education, while their channel partner provides established distribution, marketing support, and enables access to their customer base.   A press releases usually announces a new relationship with great fanfare, and, as long as the technology “fit” is compelling to the sales channel and customers, the mutually beneficial relationship’s success would appear to be assured...

    

   Unfortunately, some partners become disappointed with their ensuing results, mostly because the anticipated activities and revenue from the relationships are not realized.   This potential outcome is unacceptable to Barr Systems, so we have spent significant time during the past six months talking with our partners, especially with salespeople and analysts in the field, concerning what they expect from their third party technology partners to help them do a better job on behalf of their customers.  

    

   In concert with the launch of Barr’ Enterprise Output Manager v3.0 (Barr EOM), Barr is introducing new partnering initiatives to streamline the entire process of delivering real value to customers.   The goals of the new program are straightforward and incorporate what we learned through our research –

    

   • Provide focused, high quality solution training in the field
   • Simplify the “qualification-to-quote” process
   • Provide direct access to Barr’s pre-sales analyst community
   • Help our partners close more opportunities
   • Create a seamless process to ensure hassle-free purchasing, licensing and delivery.

   Barr Systems’ commitment to our partners is to “be there, every step in the process.”  In subsequent articles, I will share more about how this new approach will work.

    

   What are your expectations and experiences regarding working with channel partners?  Do the changes that Barr will be implementing resonate with you?   Speak2Me here >>>

    

   Pate Cantrell

    

   Vice President of Sales and Marketing

   Barr Systems

   +1-352-491-3100 x 119

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