HP Holds Sales Force More Accountable For Channel Partnerships

The change is designed to foster deeper relationships with solution providers, said David Booth, vice president and general manager of U.S. East region sales at HP, Palo Alto, Calif.

"More people will uniquely own accounts. It is incumbent on the enterprise account managers to plan with their business partners. The message to you is we need you to help us get mapped into these accounts," Booth told a crowd of 85 HP solution providers during Arrow Electronics' SBM Division's annual PowerTrain conference in Colorado Springs, Colo.

HP's enterprise account managers will be responsible for about 25 end-user accounts and should look to the channel to service those accounts, he said.

"Where do we have partners have specific expertise, whether it's a technology solutions stack or a vertical solution stack. Partners will be within the account. We need to make sure we do a better job planning that strategy," Booth said.

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HP will take the lead in about 775 corporate and Enterprise Tier 1 accounts, said Bill Weaver, vice president and general manager of U.S. West region sales.

Solution providers will lead in about 2,000 Tier 2 named accounts and about 2,500 emerging Tier 2 named accounts.

"In those Tier 1 accounts, we're not talking strictly fulfillment. HP leads, but you can augment our capability. Once you drop below Tier 1, you lead, you're accountable and we augment," Weaver said.

"That's a real enhancement from a year ago. We have few resources in that [Tier 2] space. From a solution architecture perspective, from a specialty resource perspective, we want to partner with you," Weaver said. "We are sending a clear message to account managers that their team plan is gone. They will live or die by those 20 to 25 accounts. They must make sure they get close to the right go-to VARs in that market. With 20-25 accounts, you can't have an intimate relationship. You gotta have the VARs. We want you to take the lead in those accounts."

HP will try to drum up demand in the emerging Tier 2 space through outbound call centers in Littleton, Mass.; Indianapolis, Ind.; and Colorado Springs, Colo. The leads will be passed on to solution providers, Weaver said.

"As we come across opportunities, we will link in with the right VARs in Tulsa, Little Rock, Kansas City. The way we determine who we engage with will be based on your performance," Weaver told the SBM solution providers. "We will work back with our server managers [and] our specialty managers to refresh a list that says in Tampa, this is who our top couple of VARs are to go to for storage. For those who want to partner with us, the good will get much better. We are heavily dependent on you."

Mark Denslow, vice president of Eastern sales at The Pinnacle Group, a solution provider in Stamford, Conn., said the new structure will work if HP puts quality reps in place and incents those reps to call on the channel.

"The relationship is value-based. It depends on how good the HP individual is. That's why they're bringing the spotlight on the individual, holding them accountable for numbers," Denslow said. Does that mean he will be judged on the dollars he brings in to prove his value, or how he works with us?"

HP--like other vendors--has been inconsistent in how sales reps manage channel relationships, he said.

"If they are behind on their numbers, they'll get business any way they can get it. If you tell me how he is incented, we can predict how they will behave," Denslow said.

The program will be most successful if both HP and solution providers commit to working together, Booth said.

"We know we need to be predictable, and execution has to exist at all levels of our organization. That's not to say there won't be hiccups. But what's important as we encounter those obstacles is that we deal with them openly, pick up and move on. Because there is a significant market opportunity for HP right now."