Synnex Rolls Out Sales Management Outsourcing Program for Varnex Members

Synnex has opened the floodgates to an exclusive program that teaches sales reps in its Varnex community companies how to build a pipeline, forecast revenue and generate leads.

The Fremont, Calif.-based distributor launched a pilot of its Virtual Sales Manager program in 2016 and, in just nine months, Synnex said the eight companies and 125 sales reps testing the program doubled their weekly outbound prospecting calls and built a sales pipeline with more than 100 active deals with a forecast value of $2.5 million.

In fact, four of the eight companies participating in the pilot program enjoyed sales growth in the six figures, according to Varnex ambassador Mike Brogan.

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"We don't just give some esoteric ideas and skills," said Brogan, chairman of the board for Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based solution provider ETS. "There's regular follow-up, regular feedback, and regular reporting."

Following this initial success, Synnex has made the program available to the couple hundred members of its elite Varnex partner community. The Virtual Sales Manager program is led by Ryan Morris of consulting and business development firm Morris Management Partners, Synnex said, and costs $500 per participant, per month with a minimum 12-month commitment.

"These [sales rep] folks have to be accountable to the program," Brogan said. "If I'm making an investment, I want to make sure that's a component of it."

This offers Varnex members a significant cost savings since, through the Virtual Sales Manager program, partners can obtain oversight for five sales rep for $30,000 annually. In contrast, Morris said a credentialed full-time sales manager could command an annual salary of $150,000 to $200,000 in many markets.

Less than 7 percent of Varnex members have a sales manager on staff, Morris said. The clear majority of those instances are either an owner handling sales management duties, or an employee that serves as a part-time sales manager and a part-time sales rep, he said.

"[Sales manager] is never a function the channel has been expected to have," Morris said. "Virtually nobody has one, and those with them outperform those who do not have them."

The shift from hardware-based resale to an annuity-driven business model means that solution providers need to constantly be adding new customers to maintain sufficient levels of profitability, Morris said. The Virtual Sales Manager provides Varnex members with a systematic approach to adding new clients and improving sales productivity, according to Morris .

"To be successful, a solution provider organization needs to be more of a selling organization that they ever have been," Morris said. "As the market has changed, the recipe for thriving as a channel company has changed has well."

The program is a good fit for resellers who don't have enough people on their team to support a full-time sales manager, Brogan said, as well as for solution providers where the owner or executive wants to focus on things other than sales management. It came about as a response to feedback that solution providers needed follow-up and management going beyond sales training classes.

The Virtual Sales Manager program is intended to deliver Varnex members increases in outbound prospecting calls, face-to-face sales meetings, pipeline value, and sales team revenue. Synnex said it would help reps uncover additional cross-selling opportunities, more effectively monitor a sales pipeline and develop leads that result in increased revenue.

"This thing really can be a huge success," Brogan said. "We would like for your whole team to participate in it."

Components of the program include activities and structure, benefits for the sales reps and benefits for the overall business, Brogan said. The Virtual Sales Manager program has three tiers, Morris said, with the lowest tier focused on tracking baseline metrics and results for sales reps and coaching sales activity and pipeline visibility.

The middle tier places greater emphasis on teaching salespeople how to be more effective with solution sales development, strategic account planning and large deal consulting, Morris said. The highest tier is intended to fill a vice president of sales role, Morris said, working hand-in-hand with the owner to write compensation plans, interview and hire sales reps and set territory goals and objectives.

Varnex members participating in the Virtual Sales Manager program should be giving virtually all of their business to Synnex, he said.

"This has to be win-win," Brogan said. "If Synnex is going to make investments in Varnex, then we've got to continue to make investments in them."

Infratactix doesn't currently need the Virtual Sales Manager program since the company today does just $600,000 of business annually, according to President and CEO Stuart Selbst. But as Infratacix grows its business in hopes of achieving $1.7 million of annual sales, Selbst said he might want to hire a resource that's available virtually.

"VSM [virtual sales manager] sounds pretty cool," Selbst said. "It could be of great benefit to companies."