Dell EMC Opens 20,000 Commercial Accounts For Partners To 'Hunt' With New Program

Dell EMC is opening the floodgates for partners to tap into 20,000 commercial customer accounts in which Dell's inside sales and channel teams will work with partners to drive new deals.

"We want you to take the lead in these accounts and hunt for new business," said Dell EMC Channel Chief Joyce Mullen during the company's quarterly Dell EMC Partner Broadcast on Wednesday. "Show these customers the power of Dell Technologies. We're going to back you up while you do it."

The new Commercial Partner Preferred Program, similar to the company's Enterprise Partner Preferred Program launched in August, will provide the channel with incremental discounts, new acquisition deal registration and competitive pricing for partners in 20,000 accounts where Dell has identified itself as underpenetrated from a Dell Technologies' point of view. "This gives you the front-end margin you've been asking for," said Mullen.

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Additionally, Dell EMC is protecting its own sales team commission on these accounts, meaning sellers will be incented to work more closely with channel partners.

"We're investing in a compensation 'True Up' for our sales team to protect their commission on their accounts and neutralize the impact, and to provide even more incentive for you and them to partner closely together," said Mullen.

Scott Winslow, president of Winslow Technology Group, a Waltham, Mass.-based Dell partner and CRN 2018 Triple Crown Award winner, said his company has been successfully working with Dell on the Enterprise Partner Preferred Program to capture new deals.

"What's great about the program is there's higher target margins, you can get extended registration and you can get protection, so that when you open up these new accounts, you're going to get protected as a partner of record," said Winslow. "Their sales people don't get dinged at all if they go through a partner. It's a compensation-neutral model whether they go direct or through a partner. It creates a very good environment for us to team up with the Dell EMC team to chase after these accounts."

Winslow said the commercial accounts won't be as large as the enterprise accounts, but there will be more opportunities. "It's promising because there's so many more accounts there in commercial compared to enterprise. It's going to open up more opportunities for a Dell-centric partner like Winslow Technology to go in and work closely with these Dell sales teams," he said. "It's about working hand in hand with the Dell channel teams and the Dell direct sales force and putting together a strategy on how to attack specific accounts that we think we can go win together. If we have a few commercial successes together, it's going to lead to more."

Dell EMC is refocusing data center partner account managers on these 20,000 commercial accounts. The vendor will collaborate on joint accounts plans with channel partners and incent Dell EMC sellers to work closely and scale with partners, according to Mullen.

"Trust has to be earned every single day in the field with our teams. We are serious about this and we are keeping our eye on the ball," said Mullen.