Vodex Communications has announced the formal launch of its channel partner program, aimed at business partners looking to sell a range of next-generation business phone and data systems.
While Vodex has always worked with sales partners, the formalized launch officially opens the doors to an active recruitment effort, beginning with selected master agents, independent agents, VARs and other partners in the Southern California market. The Vodex portfolio includes tailored solutions for everything from HD voice and video to conferencing and unified communications, plus Ethernet, dedicated circuits and other connectivity solutions.
The company is kicking off a staged rollout that will see the program expand throughout California and then nationwide over the next few quarters.
The Vodex Channel Partner Program includes four compensation tiers: Star, Elite, Channel and Referral; plus a special Inaugural Partner tier developed for the launch.
Star partners are generally master agents, value-added distributors and other large-volume partners, who will received the largest commission splits and Star-only incentives, including the opportunity to customize a hybrid compensation model that includes both upfront and residual elements. Elite partners receive recurring monthly commissions based on volume, for independent agents, VARs and other channel partners. Vodex will provide product training, dedicated sales and technical support, and ongoing program support.
Inaugural partners will receive Star partner benefits plus additional sales incentives and spiffs, along with preferred customer service status.
The Channel partner tier offers independent agents, VARs, integrators and other sales specialists an upfront payment for a sale, based on a sliding percentage by volume, rather than residual compensation. Vodex will provide customer support and technical assistance for the end user. And finally, Referral partners are consultants, industry contractors and other agents, VARs, integrators and vertical market specialists who refer a qualified lead to Vodex in exchange for a one-time referral award.
“We are excited to formally launch our channel program for sales partners, after putting in a lot of work and effort in the last year to architect an offering that will help them grow their businesses with a stand-out addition to their portfolios,” said Vodex vice president of channel distribution, Kevin Sullivan. “We are looking to on-board trusted advisors who understand where we fit in the market, and how we can help their customers boost their business viability through streamlined communications decisions.”
Target customers for Vodex solutions include all tiers: small, medium and large businesses. However, the “fit” for each varies, the company noted: For instance, typically a small business is trying to project a bigger business image, giving rise to unique requirements.
“In most cases, the cost to have high-end features is prohibitive – plus, existing carriers are often too big to be concerned with the three- or four-line business,” Sullivan explained. “Together with our channel partners, we can change the game for them by helping them to figure out what is needed to have the image the business wants portrayed—and then we can customize the telecom configuration for them. Whether it’s designing an efficient Auto Attendant, or making it so a call from a customer always get answered by a live person, the idea is to make sure that the company’s customers have confidence in the viability of that business.”
Mid-sized businesses on the other hand are not quite large enough to have a full-time communications person, but they have more extensive needs than the small shop. As a result, they tend to pay too much for their services and are often sold more features than they need –increasing their monthly bill. Channel partners targeting these businesses can offer an ideal, streamlined communications solution via the Vodex portfolio. And, they can make use of Vodex’ extensive customer service and dedicated technical team to act as their on-call, in-house telecom and IT guy—thus gaining a big differentiator with customers.
Apart from the SMB opportunity, Vodex also targets large organizations—clients include a courthouse with several hundred phone lines and a publicly traded energy company with more than 1,000 employees.
“When working with companies at this level you absolutely need to have the in-house tech team that can speak the same language and be able to configure the telecom and data network with iron-clad reliability,” Sullivan said. “We offer our sales partners that experience at the highest level, which makes it easy for their big-guy customers to feel confident in the solution and in them.”
