Partners Go Exclusive With Mitel Unified Communications

According to Mark McKersie, president of First-Tel, a Mitel EBP located in Michigan, the program has benefited his company in several ways. "In one aspect, the ability to work with one manufacturer provides a number of efficiencies," he says. "In the past, when First-Tel worked with multiple vendors, we were expected to participate in multiple training sessions, carry multiple inventories and adjust our operations to meet the specific demands of each vendor. As you can expect, adhering to the demands of different manufacturers became a very complicated and expensive proposition."

Mitel Exclusive BusinessPartners have access to numerous sales support and training opportunities to improve their business processes and ensure they have the tools to meet their business goals, such as increasing revenue, maximizing margins and improving profitability.

"With over 60 Mitel branch sales offices located throughout the United States, we are in the unique position of facing most, if not all, of the same challenges that our business partners experience on a day-to-day basis," says Chapman. "When the members of our Executive Leadership Committee work one-on-one with each of our Exclusive BusinessPartners, they focus on the same four strategic areas that we focus on ourselves: sales performance, profit performance, cost containment and balance-sheet management. Through these on-site 'operational reviews,' we ob-serve the EBP's normal processes and then jointly develop a targeted business plan to strengthen these key areas of their business. Our leaders stay involved throughout the execution of the plan and then follow up with the appropriate measurements," he explains.

Chapman says EBPs also have access to a comprehensive service and sup-port program called TotalSolution. More than 70 percent of Mitel new system sales through its branch offices are sold with this program, which includes full service and warranty, guaranteed rates for expan-sion, upgrade and recast flexibility, system software upgrades, risk-of-loss coverage, disaster-recovery provisions, system training, dis-counted system relocation, discounted MACs and guaranteed renewal op-tions. Chapman says the company additionally offers pricing discounts on product and technical training, free telemarketing conducted by Mitel's Business Development Group, expanded co-op marketing funds, hu-man resources assistance and free applications for EBPs' demo rooms.

Steve Klenner, owner of BSB Communications, a Mitel reseller with sev-eral locations in the Midwest, is a member of the EBP program. "The EBP relationship has been instrumental in how we manage our business," says Klenner. "We appreciate the ability to consult with Mitel executives on any number of issues, ranging from sales to human resources. It is an invaluable program that enables us to compete more effectively and im-prove our bottom line. In our business, this speaks volumes."

BSB Communications www.bsbcom.com

First-Tel www.first-tel.com

Mitel www.mitel.com