Spectrum Enterprise digitized its quoting process and gave selling agents expanded portal access.

The cableco has enhanced its PartnerLink portal and added an entirely new channel sales portal. Spectrum gave PartnerLink enhanced marketing resources in addition to making its navigation simpler. In addition, the new Salesforce Communities portal gives partners visibility and control for their order activity.

Spectrum’s Michelle Kadlacek

Michelle Kadlacek is vice president of the Spectrum Enterprise channel partner program.

“We’ve enabled our partners to sell Spectrum products and solutions to their clients much more effectively and in a streamlined and trackable way,” she said.

Kadlacek said the company two years ago embarked on an initiative to improve its partner program. A lengthy series of partner interviews, surveys and advisory councils helped Kadlacek identify two needs. Those were digital transformation and an elevated partner experience.

A New Selling Experience

Kadlacek said the Salesforce Communities portal gives partners insight into the sales funnel. They can view all in-progress deals, from site surveys to proposals to contract delivery to installation.

Moreover, the portal allows partners to create branded proposals and contracts electronically. As a result, partners can streamline the sales process with the ability to send a digital contract to their customer or subagent in real-time.

Kadlacek said this change represents a huge shift in the way Spectrum does paperwork.

“That was all manual with us. We were working with Excel files, creating quotes and helping partners brand them,” she told Channel Futures. “When I refer to digital transformation, we are truly going from a manual paperwork process to a new online, digital platform.”

Deepened Access

Kadlacek told Channel Futures earlier this year that direct selling agents could join their service distributor (master agent) partners in viewing Spectrum’s partner portal. The same applies to Salesforce Communities.

“They don’t have to reach out to their master agent or reach out to their channel manager. They now have this information at their fingertips and can review reporting dashboards in real-time,” Kadlacek said.

Spectrum continues to work with its main base of service distributor partners, but Kadlacek said Spectrum has seen more selling agents approach the company.

“We have definitely seen an uptick in selling agents that want to work with us,” she said. “We have some big strategic initiatives underway in the Spectrum Partner Program for recruiting and working with our master agents to bring on new selling agents.”

She also said Spectrum now employs more than 100 dedicated channel personnel.