Trapeze Leverages Channel to Drive More Sales

Recognizing the value the channel brings to the sales process, wireless LAN vendor Trapeze Networks has revamped its sales model to lead with its partners and bolstered its channel program to support the increased responsibility.

Trapeze, which is owned by Belden, has reconfigured its VAR program to a three-tier model and has broken its Value Added Distributor program into two tiers. In addition, the new setup leverages the knowledge of the Belden channel, said Ray Glynn, vice president of channel sales at Trapeze Networks.

The channel programs are now all similar under Belden using consistent terminology and tiering,” Glynn said. The leveraging of the Belden channel sales team is focused on providing additional resources for our partners to rely on. The Belden channel team will be the primary interface for the Silver and Gold partners, with the traditional Trapeze personnel serving as subject matter experts.”

VARs now can achieve Silver, Gold or Platinum status by completing the requirements associated with 17 performance criteria, and they can move up the ladder by completing additional training and marketing requirements. Currrently, Trapeze has about 75 partners in the United States and Canada, and about 15 are Platinum-level, about 30 are Gold-level and about 30 are Silver-level, Glynn noted.

Regardless of level, all channel partners have access to deal registration and leads from the company.

In addition, resellers are now assigned to regions to reduce channel conflict. Many of our channel partners are regionally/geographically focused, and we will be working to our strengths in areas with these partners for lead generation, lead follow up and customer satisfaction,” he said.

Glynn noted the cause for change in the channel program was simply to better align its partner progress with that of its parent companys partners.

The impetus was to conform more closely to the existing Belden programs and to reward partners that were embracing the Trapeze products more passionately by making them Platinum partners,” he said. We were also interested in utilizing the Belden resources more effectively and efficiently, and we believe that tiering the channel and defining the programs more in line with the comfort level of the existing Belden salespeople will accomplish the goals to increase revenues, raise the knowledge level of the channel and benefit the customers of Beldens Trapeze Networks technology.”