The Lenovo Score program is limited to 80 selected partners, 10 of whom will win a $5000 reno prize for exceeding growth targets, while the Lenovo Opt-In program is for non-registered, Authorized and Silver Lenovo partners, and provides multiplied D&H credits on sales to help partners advance in the Lenovo partner program.
Chris Ralston, Director of Vendor Management at D&H Canada
Distributor D&H Canada has unveiled two new channel programs, both of which revolve around Lenovo. The Lenovo Score program is limited to 80 selected D&H partners, has ten $5000 prizes towards a home makeover project, and is likely to be an evergreen, recurring program rather than a one-shot deal. The other new program, Lenovo Opt-In, is open to all non-registered, Authorized and Silver Lenovo partners, and provides multiplied D&H credits on specific product categories to help these partners advance their tiering with Lenovo.
Lenovo is one of D&H Canada’s top three accounts. D&H distribute Lenovo IDG [Intelligent Design Group] products like ThinkPad laptop, ThinkStation workstations, and HD Lenovo ThinkSmart View videoconferencing solutions, as well as tablets and accessories. D&H does not distribute Lenovo DCG [Data Center Group] product.
“We run promotions all the time,” said Chris Ralston, Director of Vendor Management at D&H Canada. “This new Score program we are announcing is more than a promotion. It really is a program. It contains incents and also value-add elements to help a partner grow their business.”
D&H Canada is describing the program as an exclusive one – meaning in this case that it is limited to a relatively small number of invited partners.
“We only invited 80 partners, and we have an Advisory Council within the 80,” Ralston said. “We didn’t choose the 80 by size but by loyalty, because we know our partners so well. The ones that we selected are all ones that we consider have the ability to grow. We will wrap our arms around them, and offer value-added elements, education, executive engagement, peer-to-peer networking opportunities, and the Advisory Council.
“Each of the partners has a growth target based on year over year growth, and the ones that overperform the most win,” Ralston noted.
The program runs until June 30, 2021. Ten prizes of $5,000 toward a home makeover project, on cumulative Lenovo purchases of eligible computing solutions will be awarded. Ralston indicated that the prize actually goes to the business’s owner-operator, who decided who gets it. It’s not a salesperson SPIF.
“Lenovo is a critical part of our SMB strategy,” said Randy Churchill, Director of Marketing and Business Development, at D&H Canada. “There’s a lot of behavioral characteristics in how partners move to market, and we are investing millions of dollars in downstream credits to make them more effective.”
Ralson noted that Score is intended to be a recurring, regular program.
“It’s not a one time program,” he said. “It’s evergreen.”
The second new program, D&H Canada’s Opt-In program, is for D&H Canada’s Authorized or Silver Lenovo partners, and is designed to help them increase sales and sales credits to advance in tiers in the Lenovo program. Eligible participants can earn multiplied monthly D&H credits on specific product categories. These monthly D&H credit payouts are in addition to the MDF funds that Lenovo awards to Silver partners.
“We have done this type of program with most of our tier one vendors,” Ralston said. “We created a program that’s a good fit for the wider partner base.”
Unlike the Score program, the Lenovo Opt-In program is not designed to be ongoing, but Ralston said that this is a possibility.
“We will see how it goes in terms of continuing, in which case we would tweak or eliminate elements that they think don’t have value.”
