Greg Mikaelian (Acer)
PC vendor Acer has launched a new partner program aimed at helping the Australian and New Zealand (A/NZ) channel sell higher-value products.
Dubbed Diamond Partner Program, it aims to help partners up-skill sales teams to sell higher-value products and solutions, while offering rewarding incentives and effective marketing activities.
The Diamond Program replaces Acer's Elite Partner Program, which was launched five years ago, and comes eight months after the return of Greg Mikaelian as general manager for channels and marketing.
The change was spurred on by Acer's distribution network, which includes the likes of Ingram Micro, Synnex and Bluechip Infotech, who were unhappy with the unstructured nature of the old program, Mikaelian told ARN.
"I thought, should I do just another Elite program, which was just a piece of paper really, or really think through how we can take this to the next level," he said.
"I talked to resellers and they hadn't had any information about Acer channel programs in years. So it just made sense. And I thought we take our time with the portal."
The Diamond program will comprise of four elements, the primary being ‘generous’ rebates and benefits tiered across bronze, silver, gold and platinum levels. Rebates will be tiered down from five per cent for platinum partners down to two per cent for bronze partners.
Other benefits include sales tool kits and training, Acer events participation and marketing development funds.
The Diamond scheme will also offer discounts on products for in-house demonstrations, customer evaluations, and tenders in the first month of a new model's release.
In addition, partner deal registration will give the channel exclusive rights to supply Acer products for a given opportunity.
A dedicated Acer channel manager will be assigned to partners, while business development leads to assist with tenders and opportunities across education, government and enterprise.
According to Mikaelian, Acer hopes to add another 100 partners to its network over the next three years and plans to roll out the updated program in New Zealand. A mobile app for partners to track their sales progress and register leads will also be released in the near future.
Mikaelian, who previously worked for the hardware vendor for 13 years between 1997 and 2010, earlier outlined his plans to shake up the channel program after rejoining Acer from OKI Data last October.
“We need to assist our distributors. We need to give them a proper channel ecosystem, channel programs and tools, lead generation programs, a better branding experience for the dealers, incentives and promotions,” he said at the time.
