Vendors, VARs Weigh In On Leads | CRN Magazine

By Steven Burke

Solution providers say vendor lead-generation programs are more often than not a waste of time. At the same time, vendors are generally dissatisfied with how their partners follow up on those leads.

The findings came from two separate surveys by consulting firm Baptie & Co., presented at the recent Channel Focus event last month, of which CRN parent CMP Media was a sponsor.

A survey of vendor channel executives taken during the conference found that 62 percent were very unsatisfied or somewhat unsatisfied with the way solution providers follow up on their leads. Meanwhile, a poll of 400 solution providers taken before the event found that almost the same number, about 60 percent, were only somewhat satisfied or not at all satisfied with the quality of the leads received. Only 1.8 percent were very satisfied with the quality.

The vendor executives were willing to assume at least some responsibility for this disconnect: At least 66 percent said they were at least somewhat or very unsatisfied with how they currently feed leads to their channel partners.

Jennifer Shine, vice president of marketing and business development at eMazzanti Technologies, a Hoboken, N.J., solution provider, said only a very small number of vendor leads actually pay off. Leads are often garnered from Web sites where people make up names and contact information. “Half the time we get leads where the contact information is fake. No one wants to give accurate information because they know they’ll get a call,”she said.

Frank Basanta, director of technology at Systems Solutions, a New York systems integrator, said only a small number of vendor leads pan out because they are not passed to VARs quickly enough. “The leads need to be turned over immediately because they have a shelf life,” he said.