The event, held at Mottram Hall, Cheshire, offered partners the opportunity to pitch business deals, strategic plans and marketing ideas to Orange, Vodafone and O2 during Dragon’s Den style meetings and the overwhelming response was “I’m in”.
Julian Parven, Marketing Director at Daisy Distribution, said: “The clinics have uncovered a huge amount of opportunities for our partners who not only get the chance to speak with network partners face-to-face about individual connection opportunities but also get a decision on the deals they have prepared on the day.
“The events give networks an insight into how our partner businesses operate and vice versa, enable partners to see how we are performing as a distributor and ultimately how, by working together we can all help generate more business.”
“Across the series of clinics we have run to date, and not including this latest event, we have received 8,800 connection opportunities across all networks and all types of business and 30% of these have converted into business. That is immense.”
Following on from the success of previous events the deal appointment clinics were extended to run throughout the day in order to give partners more time in front of the networks.
Formal presentations were removed to be replaced by three zones; a Daisy Distribution zone, a network zone and a manufacturer zone.
In the Daisy Distribution zone, partners were able to tap into the expertise of staff knowledgeable in the company’s inTouch job management systems and Daisy Partner Portal, as well as gaining advice on retentions and marketing.
Daisy Distribution partner Dave Webster, of Midland Communications, said: “The clinics are always worthwhile coming to and have, to date, proved commercially viable for our business.
“Attending these events helps us to concentrate our mind on the deals we are looking to close, without distractions of the phone ringing and emails coming through. They also give us the chance to look at some of the new products coming to market.
“As an experienced partner I know which deals will be of interest to the networks. But sometime it is the deals you think you are going to close that don’t appeal, but the ones that you yourself were uncertain about that do.”
Kate Hibbert, partner marketing manager, Vodafone, said: “These events are good for us in terms of driving business and we have certainly seen spikes in performance directly after they have taken place. The clinics give partners the chance to put information directly in front of the networks and build relationships with them.”
David Humble, senior marketing manager at Orange, said: “These events provide a great opportunity to meet partners and listen to the questions they have for us about our products and services. I have attended several clinics now and many faces are now familiar to me. It is a great way to build relationships and to listen to partner ideas and opportunities, as well as concerns.”
And Graham Cameron, Head of Region at O2, said: “This is my first time at one of the clinics and it is definitely a good chance to get in front of partners. It has been beneficial for me to speak to partners and get an insight into how they operate.”
Partners have been asked to feedback their thoughts on the enhanced clinics so that future events can be further tailored to their business needs and Daisy Distribution is now looking forward to the sealed deals coming through.