Executive Partnering

Despite the channel becoming more multivendor, Mitel is trying to encourage VARs to sell its products exclusively.

As part of the operational review, Mitel provides executive partnering, where an executive is assigned to spend several days with a partner to understand the company’s entire sales and operations processes.  This was expanded when Inter-tel and Mitel merged and now covers areas such as recruiting and training personnel, accounting procedures, inventory management, and customer support, he said. 

Partners have really embraced this aspect of Mitel's EBP program, Chapman said.  "What happens in the long run is VARs create a special relationship with the executives who have come out to their site. The executives become like a mentor," he said.

Some of the other EBP benefits include access to Mitel's marketing and sales initiatives, Chapman said.  Mitel uses its large call center to offer telemarketing-based lead generation for its partners, he said.  The company runs the "telemarketing blitz" campaigns for one week on behalf of partners, and at the end of the month delivers customer leads to the partners.

McKersie said he became a Mitel EBP after feeling there was a lack of assistance from other vendors. "Mitel has been giving me the support I need so I can more easily support my customers.  I lost that with Avaya," he said.  "If a vendor stops the support, it makes it difficult to support end users when they have a problem." With approximately 3,500 customers, McKersie said the support and the communication with Mitel is critical to his business.  

Partnering with Mitel also will help him grow his business in 2008, said McKersie.  "It wouldn't be a stretch to say I could increase business by 20 percent this year when I get ramped up on the new products," he said.  Even in the slowing economy, he believes there's opportunities created by the Mitel and Inter-tel merger.  "There are people buying, and Mitel is going to help me get to the customers with its sales support and new products," he said.