Verizon channel executives aim to drive closer relationships between direct sales and channel partners through their new partner recognition program and an internal road-show initiative.

The carrier, which revamped its Partner Network last year, has unveiled the Verizon Partner Network Recognition Program. Verizon will highlight six partners for their performance in several categories. The winners will get additional co-branding materials and digital badging, as well as increased visibility among Verizon’s internal sales team. MSPs, VARs, agents and technology solutions brokerages that contract directly with Verizon are invited to apply.

Verizon Business Group’s Sarah Marsh

The six categories are operations, marketing, innovation, business internet sales, client business impact and social impact. The business internet sales category will measure sales performance in 2021. The other categories will require self-nominations and be judged by a Verizon panel.

Verizon has not offered a partner recognition program before. Sarah Marsh, director of channel strategy and sales enablement, said the program emerged after extensive partner feedback and advisory councils.

“One of the opportunities we identified is, how do we help our partners elevate their brand presence across the Verizon Business Group and across our sales organization? And also, how can they leverage the power of the Verizon brand externally for their own customers?” Marsh told Channel Futures.

Benefits

Marsh said the recognition winners will earn more opportunities to team with Verizon than before.

“These six will be held to a much higher regard and have additional visibility to our executives as well in terms of how they collaborate on a deeper level,” she said.

For example, Marsh said the partner’s award will be visible on the internal tools of the Verizon direct sales team. She said the recognized partners can drive more customer opportunities in tandem with direct sales as a result.

“We have a tremendous amount of collaboration that happens between our direct sellers and our partners. We can really be better together in that capacity. And one of the biggest advantages to our partners is, they have the ability to leverage an enormous sales organization here at Verizon. We have sellers in public sector, global enterprise, and SMB all across the world that they can partner with and work with. It gives partners that force multiplication behind their own sales organization. So driving visibility across the Verizon sellers is a huge advantage to our partners, because they now have thousands of sellers who can position their solutions to their customers,” she said.

She said Verizon hopes that the awards will drive partners to “double down” on the key categories it listed.

Channel Integration

Wendy Taccetta has emphasized building relationships between indirect and direct sales in her tenure as Verizon’s senior vice president of small business and channel chief.

Verizon’s Wendy Taccetta

“The Verizon sales team and the partner can go and win. And we shouldn’t be in a place where the partner feels like they’re in conflict. They shouldn’t feel as if we are fighting against them; they should feel like they’re at the table as a partner,” Taccetta told Channel Futures.

Marsh said Verizon has been running an internal “roadshow,” in which partners have met Verizon sales team members in various cities. Those sales teams include public sector, SMB and global enterprise. Channel partners are participating in roundtable discussions and account mapping at these events, Marsh said. Verizon hosted the first event in April and has scheduled eight for 2022.

“We’re doing a lot of work internally to shine a light on our partner community. All of the capabilities they have, the unique solutions that they’re developing, and how they can help augment the efforts of our sales organization and deliver a much more meaningful customer impact,” she said.