HP Innovation Journal Issue 09: Spring 2018 | Page 31

Partner Corner
In every industry, digital transformation and disruptive
innovation are changing the tools, the processes, and
even the business models required to succeed. The pace
of business is accelerating—and with it, the complex-
ity of managing a constantly evolving IT infrastructure.
This new reality changes customer needs, and it changes
(and elevates) the role HP and channel partners play in
meeting those needs. The growth driven by more holis-
tic, services-led sales relationships is eclipsing old-school,
transactional product sales. We are called upon not just
to provide the technological, digital power tools for our
customers, but to work side-by-side with them, helping to
optimize and maintain the businesses they build.
Enterprise devices and apps have become more intu-
itive to users, who are more empowered and productive
as a result. The familiar phrase, “anywhere, anytime, any
app, any device” describes the expectations of the modern
workforce. But this flexibility and freedom come at some
cost to enterprise IT leaders, who are asked to:
• manage a proliferating array of choices and capabilities;
• provide seamless access for mobile workers while safe-
guarding the business;
• invest in the most strategic choices for today and
tomorrow (future-proofing);
• and, secure their company’s networks, devices,
and data across a widely dispersed set of workers
and locations.
Customers (IT buyers, and increasingly CXO buyers)
want to adopt, integrate and implement products and ser-
vices that will help them accelerate growth and minimize
risk in this rapidly changing world. They are looking not
just for the fastest printer or the most secure laptop, but for
the combination of products and services that will enhance
and secure their business from top to bottom. They will
buy from the vendor who earns their business by helping
them identify the technology solutions that are optimized
for their specific needs.
New Skills and Behaviors, Bottom-Line Growth
Delivering value in a more consultative sales process
requires a significant level of expertise: an understand-
ing of the customer’s business, their infrastructure, and
the way their industry works. There’s a steeper learning
curve for the technology vendor, and a greater imperative
to scale it.
Some of the most successful HP partners are driving
multiyear strategies and subscription service models—
cultivating deeper customer relationships and recurring
revenues. The growth they have found by embracing new
behaviors validates the need to move beyond the box. Still,
there’s knowing what you need to do…and then, there’s
knowing how to do it.
Growing consensus around the “what” and concern
around the “how” for our own sales force at HP and for
channel partners led us to make not evolutionary, but rev-
olutionary enhancements to the way we equip our own
sales force and our partners to sell HP solutions. HP Uni-
versity, announced at our Reinvent World Partner Forum
in Chicago last fall, reflects an unprecedented investment
in channel partner training.
Every vendor equips partners with product knowledge
and training, but until now no vendor has really helped
partners tackle how to sell in the new enterprise landscape.
This is about transforming the mindset of a salesperson.
Selling an annual recurring revenue stream is different
than selling a product: you need to understand financ-
ing, balance sheets, Capital expenditures (CAPEX) and
operating expenses (OPEX) decisions, how to sell services
and not just products. This is not an intuitive shift, espe-
cially for sales forces that have traditionally been very
product-focused.
We believe that HP University will have a tremendous
impact in helping the channel make the transition to ser-
vice-led selling with a contractual and subscription focus.
Partners can learn how to address these profound shifts,
and see how doing so will increase their bottom line
growth. HP University will provide sales skills education,
product training, and certifications to help all its partners,
regardless of level, to optimize revenue streams, minimize
wasted efforts, and future-proof their business.
Deep and Wide Curriculum, Choice of Learning Formats
HP University will empower and equip thousands of our HP
Partner First Program partners around the globe through a
range of online training modules as well as instructor-led,
face-to-face learning opportunities. Training is not man-
datory, but the curriculum and certifications available will
yield significant advantages. Our goal is to deliver valuable
selling skills to partners and their employees. These new
skills are not limited to HP products: developing a more
sophisticated sales competency is relevant to sales efforts
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