Tech Data has reorganized its channel partner support sales organization to provide a more personal touch, increasing the headcount by 15 percent to 20 percent.
With the so-called "teams of two" structure, each VAR gets two designated sales people to handle all their needs when they call into Tech Data.
"It's a higher touch model," Murray Wright, senior vice president of U.S. sales for the IT distributor, told Channel Insider in an interview. "Instead of just getting anyone, you get one of two people."
Tech Data announced the new model during last week's TechSelect conference of partners in Salt Lake City. The new model has been in place since Feb 1.
"Our goal is to create a high performance culture with a focus on customer satisfaction, accountability, urgency and teamwork," Wright said in an address to the TechSelect membership last week. "We want to create more intimate relationships with out resellers."
Taking the high performance culture further, Wright promised partners a new cadre of tools, coming in July, to provide partners with access to new information.
For example, following on the success of its MyOrderTracker online tool that provides VARs and their customers' shipment tracking information under the VARs brand, the company will soon roll out MyOpportunityTracker. The new online tool provides reports about contract renewal opportunities so VARs can capture the low-hanging fruit sales.
"We've made an investment in SMB," said Wright. "And as we see revenues increase as a result, we will add more and more resources here."
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