Within the IT Channel, no business line is more stable than the public sector. Often held as the epitome of long-lasting relations, having success in courting public sector business is something that many aspire to, but few achieve. In this fast-paced environment, it can be easy to see how Cisco partners may struggle to not only maintain their public sector business but to even earn some in the first place. As such, TD SYNNEX has brought together experts with nearly a decade of channel experience between them to help those who stand to benefit the most. This program, similar to another recent program we covered, is known as the SLED Accelerator.
The two experts Bridget Hobbs and Tyrus “Ty” Gordon recently joined the EDGE360 team for a conversation about their work. Hobbs has spent years working within the IT Channel including leading the global pilot and training the former Tech Data UK and Tech Data Canada in CX practices. She is also an avid artist, whose work includes many residential and commercial murals and has art on public display in Tennessee.
Gordon, whose experience in the channel has centered on allocating the right resources to the right people, has helped partners tackle difficult markets for years. Prior experience in the IT Channel has prepared Gordon to lead others in establishing successful new businesses with staying power. His passion extends beyond IT, however, and he can frequently be found perfecting the art of grilling.
“Together, Ty and I lead the SLED Accelerator program,” Hobbs began, “I handle the western US, Ty [Gordon], handles the east. We are in direct alignment with the Cisco territory sales team.” Hobbs continued, describing the program as an invite-only, strategic program that is meant to take a partner who is already familiar with SLED selling and increase profitability by upleveling their practice and increasing bookings within the SLED territory. The term ‘SLED territory’ itself was a major focus for the duo, with Hobbs elaborating that “The term SLED territory is very specific to the Cisco sales organization, and it is roughly the equivalent of SMB for public sector. It is defined as school districts of 10,000 or less and local government with populations of 100,000 or less.” Both emphasized the importance of the definition as it provides an excellent frame of reference for partners as they work to develop and accelerate their sales.
“Our mission is to accelerate SLED territory sales and help partners develop their sales pipeline,” Gordon added. “We do this by creating a program that aligns partners with Cisco territory sales organization,” Gordon continued, noting that the SLED Accelerator Program is primarily focused on building partners’ relationships with key Cisco sales leaders and ensuring that the invited partners are familiar and well-equipped to leverage all of the resources available between TD SYNNEX and Cisco.
This alignment is created in several ways, as Hobbs noted. “By participating in the SLED Accelerator program, partners should expect multi-month regular engagement,” she said, “that will include facetime with key Cisco stakeholders, frequent opportunities to connect with key resources, and invitations to meet with Cisco executives.” The combination of those elements leads to relationship development and that is the centerpiece of the program, according to both. As to what partners can expect in terms of the process, Gordon shared that the SLED Accelerator begins with an inventory of the partners’ capabilities and needs. “We efficiently enable them in areas most relevant to them,” he said, “from there we can explore business intelligence and analysis tools to provide insights into opportunities. Next, the program orchestrates opportunities for the partner to work collaboratively with Cisco and applies marketing resources to support and reinforce the accelerator’s efforts to foster the partners’ SLED Territory growth. Every activity in the program leads to a common goal of growing SLED territory sales.”
While this program is, undoubtedly, a boon for any who participate, the invite-only nature means that partners need to demonstrate several traits before being included. “What we want to see in a potential partner is an eagerness to hunt and create new opportunities,” Hobbs said, “We need to see that you want to grow your SLED territory business, that you have a commitment to purchase your Cisco offerings through TD SYNNEX, and you are ready to commit to the program we have.”
Agreeing, Gordon added, “We also want to see that a potential partner is focused on more than just hardware sales and responding to bids. In addition, they should be ready to commit to a regular cadence and excited to explore new Cisco opportunities.”
Partners who believe they meet these criteria are encouraged to talk with their TD SYNNEX Cisco rep for more details about how to request a nomination to the program.
To learn more about the TD SYNNEX Cisco SLED Accelerator Program, partners can also reach out directly to both Bridget Hobbs or Ty Gordon at Bridget.Hobbs@tdsynnex.com and Tyrus.Gordon@tdsynnex.com.
