The workshop was an informal event, during which Partners were encouraged to share their current challenges and raise any questions, with some partners sharing live IP VPN examples during the session. In a survey taken before the event 83.4% of Partners had never sold an IP VPN solution before with 66.6% having very limited experience in this area.
During the workshop, Partners met with Zen’s experts learning how to identify and understand complex IP VPN opportunities. Zen’s Bid Management and Pre-Sales teams also shared useful insights on how Partners can engage with them for future IP VPN success.
The event provided essential guidance on defining IP VPN solutions, understanding the current market and business drivers for this type of solution and typical customer profiling. It also illustrated how to recognise, understand and qualify opportunities, as well as solution design and example scenarios.
With Zen’s experts outlining key benefits of an IP VPN and suggested vertical markets, Partners left the session with a better understanding of these solutions and an idea of the potential customers they could target. In a survey taken after the event 58.4% of Partners said they had now gained a good understanding of IP VPN, with 83.4% saying they now felt more confident about identifying new business opportunities in this area.
Iain Simpson, Managing Director of Active Voice & Data Ltd said:”The workshop was very informative and pitched at the right level to help us understand the IP VPN proposition. The customer examples were particularly helpful in identifying potential opportunities. It was encouraging to see Zen’s commitment to pre sales technical support and bid management which I believe will assist us in securing higher value, profitable business. We also took the opportunity to meet and broaden our contact with the Zen team, which helps us build on our partnership.”
"An excellent, informative event giving a true understanding of both IP VPN and the value, benefit and services that Zen can provide to both partners and their end user clients," said Sean Lynch, Director, Nortelco Fixed Line Ltd www.nortelco.co.uk.
The Zen Partner Masterclass has been developed to help the company’s Channel Partners build their businesses with Zen through an educational programme on its wide range of products and services. The Masterclass delivers useful tools and workshops to Zen Partners, including ‘How to’ Guides which cover a variety of subjects including ‘How to use Zen Support’ and ‘How to run an effective marketing campaign’.
Partners can access the ‘How to Guides’ through Zen's online Partner Portal, where they can also order products and services 24/7 directly on behalf of their customers. The Portal offers a range of useful features and resources giving Partners online visibility of their customer orders, commission account and marketing and training materials.
“There was a real sense of ambition and enthusiasm in the session, the discussions and questions raised between Partners showed a real interest in business growth. The development of the Zen Partner Masterclass will allow our Partners to maximise their partner potential. Tailored events, tools and resources that are relevant to building their business, will ultimately add real value to their long term plans,” said Andrew Saunders, Head of Product Management and Marketing.