Today, I am venturing into a here-before un-trodden territory. And at the onset I also want to be honest that this thought is not entirely mine, but is a follow-up to conversations I have had with friends.
So without much ado, and coming straight to the point, I am wondering whether vendors ever ask channel partners whether they want to fly abroad to exotic destinations, or would instead want to carry that hard cash home? Or do they even ask the partner their choice of a destination?
Trust me if I say today column does not come from a sense of jealousy, yes ignorance may-be (but that is what I am set to straighten out). I have always wondered what goes behind such trips (besides of course the fact that the partners have met their targets, have been hand-picked by the vendor). I am speaking about two such freebies. One is the annual leisure trip that the vendor sponsors, and the second is the world conferences for which it handpicks its best partners.
Matured partners or the ones who have made a trip abroad to receive awards or attended such world conferences would wonder why I am writing this column at such an unearthly hour! Let me put it sincerely that I am intrigued with the selection process am trying to put forth both points of view without being judgmental.
One school of thought is that the number of resellers who make such trips is less than miniscule. Why? Because they are merely box pushers, and are at the bottom of the pyramid in the value chain. As a partner told me, “They normally take big players. In fact these big players have met all targets, some have even surpassed those. But then they have the resources. Even smaller player need some kind of motivation. If vendors do not want to fly resellers abroad, they can at least congregate them at a national destination closer home.”
Fair enough. So what about these world conferences? I have normally met CEOs and founders or co-founders at such conferences. The reason – they want to network, scout potential customers. Even here larger disties or larger SIs do send delegates, but such numbers from India are far and few.
Partner training, awards, etc are very important just as vital organs needed to breathe. But where the line end? The partners who are privy to such awards or conferences have set benchmarks for others to follow. All the same, if there is no motivation for members at the bottom rung, how can one expect them to meet numbers, churn figures? And here is where all problems begin But that is a different issue for some other time.
And so till the next week end…