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Dell global channel boss talks up dealer training
Hard-pressed resellers struggle to make sales grade
Dell is talking up the importance of training to resellers despite upping the revenue requirement for those wanting to cling onto the Premier Partner badge.
The Texan-tech titan, which put resellers through 34,250 training courses in Q1, claims certified partners have been growing at a 40 point premium to non-accredited dealers.
On top of that, Dell says the top 25 resellers ranked by their investment in training are growing at 71 per cent year-on-year.
"We delivered 135,000 training classes last year and want to deliver 250,000 this year," Greg Davis, global channel boss at Dell told The Channel.
"It's like with everything; we've got companies that are highly invested and looking to invest more with Dell, some are getting started and clearly some don't see the value in the training," he said.
The Dell courses are free but Davis acknowledged "time investment is a commitment; you are taking sales and technical people away from customers, away from billable hours and that costs money".
"If you look at many our competitors they absolutely charge for training, if you want to take their training you've got to pay them. It's a different approach for us," he said.
Despite this, recent moves by Dell to up the revenue contribution resellers must make to hold onto the Premier Partner badge has led smaller dealers to fear that only the biggest sales engines will be recognised at Dell's top table. ®