Verizon is making changes to help partners who sell its products and services to enterprise customers. The company said it will implement a master agent model in the U.S. to better support the many sub-agents who sell Verizon’s services to small and medium businesses. Master agents coordinate the efforts of sub-agents, and may represent multiple service providers.
Global expansion is a key driver of the change, Verizon said. Although the company does not hold wireless spectrum outside the U.S., it can and does offer wireline and internet of things services in other countries. Worldwide, Verizon manages more than 4,000 customer networks, and now the company is expanding its partner program into Latin America and the Asia Pacific region.
Bill Hooper, who joined Verizon when it bought his former employer XO Communications, is now director of the carrier’s small and medium business partner channel for Verizon Business Markets.
“Our updated model enables us to work with customers as effectively and efficiently as possible,” Hooper said. “We view this as a natural evolution to our program, and an obvious step to help our Verizon Partner Program members and customers. This program was designed to respond to the way companies buy technology solutions in today’s marketplace.”
Verizon said one key part of its new program will be “simplified and competitive fees” for U.S. agents. Fees will be based on total billed revenue, meaning that partner compensation will be tied to the revenue generated by customers.
