Verizon Gets Props from Co-Sell VARs, Wireless Agents, Visits TD Synnex Inspire
Partners are asking Verizon and other carriers for simplified processes and deeper access to systems and tools.
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Leads came up as a big advantage for members of the Mobility Co-Sell Program.
“Although the other major mobility providers also offer lead share, I feel Verizon truly embraces the program,” said Masters Telecom’s Douglas Kerl. “It is very common for executive leadership to attend partner events and encourage their teams to utilize partners.”
CSG’s Michael Pittman said his firm is getting a lot of leads from Verizon. Verizon relies on partners like CSG and Masters Telecom to give its network customers additional services, such as hardware and applications.
“If you’re able to show your value and help Verizon and its teams win business because you brought a cool solution to the market into the table, then they’re going to come back to you. They want that help,” Pittman said.
Pittman said he emphasizes the “value-added” aspect of the term VAR.
“At the end of the day, we’re not trying to sell you just a piece of hardware. You can get hardware from anywhere. You can go online and go to CDW and order hardware. But we’re going to enable it for you. We’re going to work with you to understand how we can best benefit your business, and we’re going to make that device make you better,” he said.
Verizon launched a new partner portal in May 2021.
That portal received a grade of 7.6 out of 10 from partners in the latest survey.
“This new portal provides a more tailored, personalized experience, making it easier to access the information and resources partners need, when they need them (including a robust lead-share API for The Mobility Co-Sell program),” a Verizon spokesperson said. “As a result, we have been able to expedite the time it takes to get a lead to a direct rep and ensure all leads are assigned within our committed SLA.”
Wireless-focused partners reported a mean “likely to recommend” score of 8.5 for Verizon. Moreover, a Verizon spokesperson noted that the company’s Wireless Business Agent program also reported above average across all four measured categories: channel managers, program office, overall program and partner portal.
CSG, which has led the Mobility Co-Sell Program in activitations for the last five years, said the firm is seeing tremendous opportunities in fixed wireless.
He said companies of all industries and sizes are adopting the technology. But SMB and midmarket in particular are turning to fixed wireless in order to make their workforces more mobile.
Consider, for example, a company that owns five food trucks.
“You want to be able to power your point-of-sale systems every time you’re on the road and at a new venue. The ability to take that fixed wireless business capability with you has been really intriguing to a lot of customers,” Pittman said.
In addition, Pittman said rural businesses are turning to fixed wireless as an alternative to wireline and fiber.
“That C-band is starting to creep out there and really high-level LTE as well that can represent some of the fastest internet they can receive. It’s affordable, and the hardware is coming down a little bit too,” Pittman said.
The survey revealed two areas where partners are suggesting improvement.
First, partners asked for enhanced access and navigation for Verizon’s systems and tools.
“Since the channel program was launched, we made significant enhancements leveraging partner feedback to simplify their experience with Verizon,” a Verizon spokesperson told Channel Futures. “We have made improvements that include more self-service, improved transparency with direct sales.
They also asked for Verizon to make some of its processes more simple and easy.
“We are committed to a streamlined approach for post-sale installations,” the spokesperson said. “Once installed, wireline partners tell us that our Verizon wireline network services are strong and highly reliable. We have added intelligence to ensure partners know the next best offer to select, network capacity and availability, ease of finding orders and ability to get support without needing to place a call or email.”
Kerl said he sees a need throughout the entire vendor ecosystem for simplified processes and improved access.
“Verizon has shared with partners their desire to improve in these areas and they are constantly reaching out to get our input individually and through the Partner Advisory Council,” Kerl said. “We have already seen a lot of positive impacts with recent changes in the ordering processes. This not only reduces our workload but also creates a better customer experience.”
Verizon dropped in on the TD Synnex Inspire event las week, hosting a booth and conducting multiple sessions.
Mark Tina, Verizon’s vice president of SMB sales for the Eastern region, gave a general session keynote focused on Verizon’s 5G network.
CSG came in on short notice to set up equipment for a speech by vice president Kamala Harris in New Jersey. Verizon had referred the partner.
Pittman wrote on LinkedIn that CSG coordinated with the Secret Service to bring in a set of hardware including, Wi-Fi extenders from Cradlepoint and Aura Wireless.
CSG came in on short notice to set up equipment for a speech by vice president Kamala Harris in New Jersey. Verizon had referred the partner.
Pittman wrote on LinkedIn that CSG coordinated with the Secret Service to bring in a set of hardware including, Wi-Fi extenders from Cradlepoint and Aura Wireless.
Verizon-exclusive mobility value-added resellers (VARs) are praising the company’s channel managers and lead-sharing activities.
The New York-based telecommunications giant unveiled results from its recent Channel Partner Experience Survey. Overall satisfaction ranged from 6-8.7 out of 10 depending on the partner program. Verizon queried members in multiple programs about their experience with and recommendations for the vendor. According to Verizon, all partner programs represented in the questionnaire reported an above average satisfaction.
The respondents included co-selling value-added distributors and resellers, and wireless and wireline-selling agents and subagents. The respondents totaled 148.
Mobility Co-Sell
Masters Telecom’s Douglas Kerl
Verizon’s Mobility Co-Sell Program earned special recognition in the survey results. Program members of gave their channel managers an average score of 9.5. According to Verizon, “a significant majority” of these partners consider the program more favorable than those of Verizon’s competitors.
Douglas Kerl is the founder and CEO of Masters Telecom, which participates in the Verizon Mobility Co-Sell Program.
“As an elite partner in the Mobility Co-Sell program, Masters Telecom is exclusive to Verizon Wireless; however, we do have relationships with other programs that are not in conflict with our exclusivity. And prior to becoming exclusive, we tested the waters with multiple carriers. In my opinion, the Verizon Mobility Co-Sell program is by far the best,” Kerl told Channel Futures.
Kerl cited support, a focus on customer satisfaction, and lead sharing as his favorite aspects of the program.
Program Continuity
CSG’s Michael Pittman
Connected Solutions Group (CSG) CEO Michael Pittman founded the company specifically to operate in the Mobility Co-Sell Program. Pittman said Verizon has done a good job maintaining the foundation of the program.
“My experience with other programs has not been that way. It has been very much blow-things-up-and-start-over-from-scratch seemingly every year. That makes it incredibly hard as a partner to build out your model and how you’re going to service these customers based on the terms of this partner program, only to have it completely … blown up and redone, and compensation changes and rules of engagement changes,” Pittman told Channel Futures.
Channel Futures spoke to these partners and Verizon about how the carrier’s program has evolved and the opportunities facing the channel.
Scroll through the eight images above to see their comments, as well as images from Verizon’s appearance at TD Synnex Inspire.
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