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NEWS


www.comms-dealer.com CROSS CHANNEL COLLABORATION


5,000 people selling our services is making sure each individual is focusing on the right things. That’s the only way we can make sure we get dedication and wins rather than duplication and waste. When those 5,000 also work in different channels for different companies with potentially different goals, the challenge is compounded. How can you make sure that everyone’s pulling in the same direction? How do you make sure everyone is working together to surprise and delight the customer?


O


At O2 we try to do this by working together with our partners. Great cross channel collaboration produces great results for us all. I know from my many conversations with our many partners that there can be a degree of suspicion about working with a network’s own sales team. Effective collaboration is really about people, not just companies, working well together. So we work hard on building trust and understanding between individuals.


Once the trust and understanding is established, effective collaboration can start and the results soon follow. Sometimes working in such a joined up way leads to the uncovering of opportunities in places you would have missed by working alone. Our retail people are encouraged and incentivised to work together with O2 partners. That also includes getting involved in each other’s business and social events.


ne of the


challenges of having over


PLUMB LINES Callstream acquired by Bluebell Telecom


BLUEBELL Telecom’s acquisition of Callstream last month signals an alternative route for vendors look- ing for an exit, claims the Group. Despite the takeover, Callstream


keeps its own brand and operations as part of a wider ‘buy and build’ strategy operated by Bluebell. The acquisition brings Call-


stream’s managed inbound tele- communications service and cloud- based platform to the Group. Callstream’s founder, Mark


Drury, continues to manage the business, supported by the existing team in Warwickshire, and will also join Bluebell’s board. Mick Crosthwaite, Bluebell


David Plumb, Head of SME Sales, O2


“Great cross channel collaboration produces great results for us all”


Both channels are reaping the rewards. For example, a partner recently won a 50 handset deal with a customer who only came into the O2 store to get a charger for his daughter’s phone.


A couple of months ago at one of our partner round tables, a partner commented to me that he felt his relationship with O2’s direct sales team has gone from strength to strength. He talked at length about the great trust that had developed. This intuitive knowledge of each other’s business means that they know who can best serve the customer, and so work together to deliver results. Great feedback, but I want every single one of our partners to be able to say the same things. As Henry Ford said, ‘Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success’. Cheers, David askdavid@o2.com


Director, commented on the Group’s strategy: “We represent an alternative option to vendors that might be considering an exit. We are dedicated to investing in solid companies and working closely with them on an ongoing basis, rather than merely acquiring and absorbing customer bases.” Mark Drury, Callstream Dir-


ector, added: “Joining the Bluebell Telecom Group gives us the oppor- tunity to continue our strategy of growth while delivering the same high quality of service to our cur- rent clients. “We feel this is a new and sus- tainable approach to a fast moving


Michael Smith (left) with Mick Crosthwaite


and rapidly changing market.” Bluebell Telecom has grown its


turnover significantly from £1m to £11m in just five years, and the Callstream acquisition is the first to be funded by a big ‘buy and build’ war chest secured from YFM Private Equity, Octopus Investments and Natwest. Michael Smith, Bluebell


Director, commented: “Callstream has a reputation for providing cloud-based inbound call solutions


into contact centre environments which fits perfectly with our wider strategy in key verticals. “Large and medium-sized busi-


nesses increasingly want to appoint a single communications provider with the experience, capability and track record of delivering all their voice and data requirements.”


Got a news story you want share? email: sgilroy@bpl-business.com


Capstan inks Lancom deal


EVERY year Siemens Enterprise Communications rewards its leading channel partners with a trip to Oktoberfest in Munich, and 2010 was no different. This year’s bevy of award winners included Nimans, Sphinx and Westcon along with their top performing partners. To celebrate their success, the 30-strong group soaked up two days at the world renowned beer festival, rounding off with a tour of the Allianz Stadium, home of FC Bayern Munich. Leon Mangan, Sales Director at Siemens Enterprise Communications, said: “We wanted to thank our most successful partners for their efforts over the last financial year. It was great to talk to many of them face to face.”


helping you reach customers - near or far 12 COMMS DEALER NOVEMBER 2010


CAPSTAN has signed a distri- bution agreement with Lancom Systems, the German manufacturer of network solutions. Under the deal, Capstan will distribute Lancom’s portfolio of VPN routers and gateways along- side the firm’s indoor and outdoor WLAN access points, wireless LAN controllers and hot spot solutions. Geoff Girdler, Executive Dir- ector at Capstan, said: “Lancom’s portfolio complements our growing range of products and services.” Jan Buis, International Sales


Director at Lancom, commented on the agreement: “Strengthening our sales in the UK has been a prime objective for Lancom.”


T: 0844 871 1122 E: sales@maintel.co.uk W: www.maintel.co.uk


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