Proofpoint revamps channel program to encourage smarter partners 1 February, 2010 By Mark Cox

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"We rebranded and changed our old program to provide more clarity in the structure of the program and better indicate the indicate requirements and benefits between the different levels," said Dave Crilley, Proofpoint's director of channel and international marketing. "We wanted more self-sufficient resellers, and thought we had taken our old program as far as we could."

The new program is designed to empower partners and encourage them to develop their sales and technical skills. It offers high profit margins, deal registration discounts, training certifications, demonstration systems and marketing support for resellers. Its' objective is to develop stronger partners who are more capable of bringing in new business, and less dependent on Proofpoint giving them assistance to close individual deals.

"One of the things we always struggled with in having our roots as a direct sales organization is that we always wanted to help, perhaps more than was healthy," Crilley said. "Our enterprise suites, which we introduced in Q4, really changed the math for us and let us give healthy discounts for resellers and easier selling. And the program offers very good margins now. They shouldn't need to come to us for special pricing."

The new program recognizes this with its' emphasis on training, knowledge and skills development.

"How proficient are you at identifying and qualifying sales opportunities?," Crilley said. "Have your salespeople gone through our training? Do you have the technical wherewithal to take the lead on service opportunities? These are the main issues. Sales volume counts, but smart partners don't need a lot of help."

The Proofpoint Advantage Partner Program has three membership levels -- Authorized, Select and Elite -- with distinct program elements for each.

Proofpoint Authorized Partners are the ones that the company doesn't ask anything of. They have access to the complete product line and Proofpoint Partner Portal, and are eligible to participate in partner promotions. Select Partners get increased margins, access to market development funds, an online technical database and lead sharing. Finally, Proofpoint Elite Partners can earn additional margin opportunities such as leading professional service engagements for Proofpoint pre-sales evaluations and security assessments, in addition to all the benefits of the Authorized and Select levels.

"There are very few Elite partners," Crilley said. "The differentiation is knowledge."

Programmatic elements have been reworked to reward focused partners with initiative.

"We have had a deal registration program for years," Crilley said. "But now there is a clear differentiation between ones we dole out and ones brought to us by resellers proactively driving the sales cycle. There is a pretty rich reward for partners out scouting."

"That's the one program element that has had the most impact since we launched it in early December," Crilley added.

"We also launched a new online training curriculum to make them more self sufficient in ways that we can track," he said. "It's short, takes less than an hour, and lets them ask the right questions."

Crilley said these changes will facilitate sales in a market where there is demand for compliance-related solutions and ones that address the cloud, and where they can make value easy for customers to understand.

"We found in 2009 that we couldn't sell as we had before as a better mousetrap, with more effective elements," Crilley said. "Companies wanted something that was easier to administer and less expensive to own. That's where security is focused now."