Promethean Talking heads

In the latest instalment of our ‘Talking Heads’ series, AV News talks to Simon Port (SP) at global education technology company, Promethean. As a veteran of the AV industry, and more specifically channel operations, we’re excited to learn more about his new UKI role, and why the recently launched ‘Experience the ActivPanel 9’ campaign represents a major sales opportunity for partners

After briefly speaking with Simon at Bett last month, we couldn’t wait to sit down with him post show and have a proper chat about the latest developments at Promethean, including the regional debut of ActivPanel 9 in the UK. Having been with Promethean for 15 years, we’ve seen Simon progress through several roles, the most recent of which gave him an international remit as Head of Channel Operations EMEA and Asia Pacific. Just a few weeks into his new position as Regional Vice President (RVP) of Sales, UKI and ANZ, this is the ideal time to explore his vision for the region and find out what plans are in place to support partners with growing their business throughout 2023.

AV News: Apart from our brief meeting at Bett, it certainly has been a while, Simon! That means we have a lot of ground to cover, so let’s start with the obvious question. What are the main priorities for your new role?

SP: It’s been too long, that’s for sure! Well, firstly, thank you as always for the opportunity to sit down and discuss our plans, and share how we’re going to be supporting partners throughout 2023 and beyond. As you know, my background is firmly in channel. I’ve also been at the coal face delivering end user demonstrations, although admittedly it’s been a while. I don’t know where the last 15 years have gone, to be honest. That said, I’ve been very fortunate during that time to develop a broad, and deep, understanding of what the channel needs. Plus, the international experience from my previous position support and an industry leading partner accreditation programme, remain the number one priority.

AV News: Totally agree with you, Simon. Any manufacturer who sells through resellers must put them front and centre of operations. But you’re only a few weeks into the role, and we’re already heading towards the final sales push for summer installations… has given me insights into how we could further evolve channel operations in the UK and Ireland. The priority remains what it always has been. And that’s to support partners with achieving growth and market success.

SP: I might only be a few weeks into the new role, but we’ve already moved beyond talking about plans and delivering action. While we launched ActivPanel 9 back in January, Bett was really the springboard for its UK-wide showcase. And the event was a massive success for us. Not only did we generate high volumes of interest in the product, but it also gave us a platform to promote the new Experience the ActivPanel 9 campaign.

AV News: Yes, you mentioned this to me at the show. It’s a very compelling proposition, both for customers and partners.

SP: It really is. Whenever you’re launching a new product to market, particularly when it’s a premium offering, you need to look at how best to enable the channel to drive initial demand. And we’re confident we’ve succeeded in that as we’ve already got some good data that confirms it’s delivering the results we wanted for partners.

AV News: For those who might not know, can you give us a quick rundown of what Experience the ActivPanel 9 is?

SP: It’s essentially a limited time offer that’s open to all customers who place an ActivPanel 9 order between 29th March and 31st July 2023. All customers can benefit from one ActivPanel 9 at a subsidised price. This is up to 60% off SRP for 75”, and up to 50% off for 65” panels. It’s applicable to our ActivPanel 9 and ActivPanel 9 Premium models, too.

AV News: How does that help partners sell more when the offer only applies to one panel purchased in the specified time frame?

SP: We considered this when planning the campaign. As the objective is to make the ActivPanel 9 accessible to as many schools as possible, the offer is applicable on an individual school basis. So, if a partner is pursuing a MAT opportunity with 12 schools, for example, then 12 schools could benefit from the offer. This is providing they haven’t already purchased an ActivPanel under the offer, of course, as it’s one subsidised panel per school.

AV News: This all makes sense from a commercial perspective, but what support are you giving partners with upselling further panels?

SP: All customers will receive the same level of service and support that is available with every ActivPanel. From orientation sessions to make sure they know how to make the most of the ActivPanel 9 features, to our free online CPD platform Learn Promethean. We have always championed the importance of training and support, as this is the best way to ensure schools make the most of their technology investment. In doing so, they are naturally more loyal to our brand, leading to repeat business for our partners and quite often, word of mouth referrals.

We’re a channel business, so continuing to deliver the very best

SP: Experience has shown us that the conversion of opportunity to sale significantly increases when customers have an ActivPanel demonstration, even when partners are in a competitive scenario where price is a driving factor. Experience the ActivPanel 9 takes this concept to another level, as we’re enabling schools to really put the technology through its paces. By making the first panel more accessible from a price perspective, we’re helping break down any initial sales objections.

AV News: If the special price applies to the first panel, how will this work where partners have an opportunity with a Local Authority or Multi-Academy Trust (MAT)?

AV News: But how will schools know they can benefit from all this additional support, not just the subsidised purchase price?

SP: We have a well-established demand generation programme, so we’re actively promoting the offer to schools. In all communications, we emphasise the value-add and support that’s available from Promethean.

There’s also a suite of marketing materials we’ve prepared for partners, so they can promote the offer, and the value add support, direct to their customers and prospects.

AV News: It sounds like a very well thought out campaign, and timely for partners too. Especially with everyone focused on the summer installation period.

SP: Definitely. Any AV/IT business who sells into schools knows that the summer is the busiest period for installations. That makes the next couple of months a major focus for sales efforts. Experience the ActivPanel 9, backed up with our training and support, aims to give partners that extra leverage during a key buying period.

We’ve also made the campaign accessible to all partners, across all accreditation levels. This maximises the reach of the opportunity and enables all UK schools to benefit. Naturally our existing partner programme processes remain in place, including demonstration registration and protecting existing customer relationships.

AV News: The final, and possibly most important question, where can partners find out more about Experience the ActivPanel 9?

SP: Existing Promethean partners can always speak to their channel account manager. However, the best source of information initially would be our website: Prometheanworld.com/gb/microsites/experience-the-activpanel/ AV News: That’s brilliant, thanks