Re: New iSeries Purchases ? "Family loyalty"; IBM's big mistake (IMHO)

["Paul Nelson" <p_nelson-br@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Let's get back to my client's original problem. I don't have any issues with
a BP selling his software and taking the order for the hardware, provided
the BP has staff capable of sizing the box correctly. If I've seen it once,
I've seen it fifty times where the box has been sized to make the sale. I
once saw a situation where a client called the BP to get a config for an
upgrade. Upon receiving it, he called me to come in and double check it. The
config would have given him about six month's breathing space, and he would
have had to go back to his boss for more money. When I called the BP to ask
about the config, I was told that the person who had prepared it had just
gotten back from config school in Rochester. But I digress.

The problem comes in the area of the IBM software. The customer ends up with
a customer number referring back to the BP, so unless the customer is sharp
enough to insist that their software subscription and support line contracts
are made directly with IBM, they are at the mercy of whoever the BP assigns
to care for that customer. As a result, in the shops where there is a
minimal or non-existent IT staff, PTF's get missed, operating systems don't
get upgraded, etc.

 My proposal is this: Let the BP's provide the Solution support and collect
the revenue. There's a difference between solution software and the OS. Let
the BP's sell the hardware and get a commission. Let the BP's take the
orders for the IBM software and get a commission. Allow the customer to make
the contracts directly with IBM for the subscriptions/support/maintenance,
and please, please assign him his own customer number, rather than one
pointing at the BP. I think this would allow the customer to matter more to
IBM.

Hey Buell, I checked my voice mail last night, and I still haven't heard
back from you.


Paul Nelson
Braxton-Reed, Inc.
877-777-2729 Office
630-327-8665 Cell
708-923-7354 Home
pnelson@braxton-reed.com