Xerox Revamps Channel Program

"We want to take this opportunity to say we really are committed to this channel and we have made some significant changes to our Peak program because of the feedback we received from our channel," said Paul Criswell, channel marketing manager for Stamford, Conn.-based Xerox.

"We've opened it up to allow them to sell more of the hardware and we're giving them more reporting and management capabilities for their business so they can help manage their business with Xerox," Criswell said.

The top two levels of the peak program have been combined into a Platinum tier which offers resellers a dedicated account manager and applications engineer and marketing development funds for regional promotions. Gold partners can submit proposals to receive marketing funding and are eligible to receive sales leads from Xerox. Silver partners have access to the partner portal and monthly reports generated by Xerox on solution providers' sales.

In addition to the streamlined program, resellers have access to instant rebates on Xerox products and an expanded portfolio of products bringing some of the company's high-end multi-function devices like the Xerox Work Center 7300 series to the channel. "A lot of those were sold through our direct channel. So this is another step in that recommitment to our reseller," said Criswell. "Those are the products that the customers have been asking for and we're going to open those up to them."

The company will also offer Peak resellers training to help them get up to speed on the multi-function products.

"We've opened it up to allow them to sell more of the hardware and we're giving them more reporting and management capabilities for their business so they can help manage their business with Xerox," Criswell said. Resellers will also be evaluated on an annual basis. In the past, assessments were quarterly.

Xerox is also putting more money on the table for Peak resellers. "We've taken our MDF dollars and we've actually increased those over 2007 so we're making a concerted effort with our key partners to help them use the MDF funds wisely," Criswell said. "We want to continue to improve our program to make it an even more compelling program for our partners and to make money with them. That's the name of the game and we want to help them."

One Xerox reseller who requested anonymity gave Xerox's outreach to the channel and its programs mixed reviews. While he said that Xerox has programs he thinks are "phenomenal" like Page Pack, the company's segmentation of programs can be overbearing. "The biggest thing that I see is that they really don't have a unified channel. They're trying to have all these [programs] and separate things out, and they're trying to determine what is high value and high-touch. But when it comes down to it the customer is going to determine what's high value," he said.