Summary: Considering a Sage 100 alliance partnership with VBCC? Here’s the detail you need on how it works, who it’s right for, and what to expect (including the situations where it isn’t the right fit).
You’ve spent years building your Sage 100 practice. You know your clients and the software; you’ve built solid relationships. But recently, something changed. Maybe your top salesperson moved on, maybe you’re stretched thin supporting existing clients, and you’d like a break. Or maybe you’ve watched your Sage tier slip, and the commission math no longer works in your favor.
Nodding along? The VBCC Alliance Partnership was designed for you. For years, it’s been the way Sage 100 partners maintain excellent client service levels and generate revenue in their practices, without having to go it alone.
(And yes, before you ask, we did hear your sigh of relief just now.)
We get a lot of questions from Sage resellers who are considering the Alliance program, so we’ve answered the most common ones here. Though we had to choose how much detail to include (we are publishing this on our customer blog, after all), it’s no fluff piece. It explains how the program works and even covers situations where the arrangement doesn’t make sense.
What Is the VBCC Alliance Partnership?
It’s a collaborative arrangement where other Sage resellers or consultants partner with Vrakas/Blum Computer Consulting (VBCC) to extend their capabilities, fill knowledge gaps, and better serve their clients, without giving up control of client relationships.
We’ve been running this program for years, and we’re proud to say that only one partner has ever left it – and that’s only because he decided to close up shop and retire for good.
Is It the Right Fit for You?
That depends on where you are with your Sage sales.
It tends to work well if any of the following sound familiar (we covered a few of these a moment ago):
- Your salesperson retired or left, and you don’t have the bandwidth or desire to replace them
- You’re no longer hitting your Sage tier requirements, which means you’re earning little or nothing on renewals
- You have clients who need additional support in modules or areas outside your team’s expertise
- You’re winding down your active practice but want to keep supporting the clients you’ve had for years
It doesn’t tend to work well if:
- You’re actively hitting your Sage tier on your own and want to keep growing your sales footprint. In that case, keep doing what you’re doing.
As for industry vertical, it doesn’t matter. As long as your client base is on Sage 100, VBCC can support them. We fill in where needed rather than replacing your consultants, so your vertical focus isn’t a disqualifier.
What Does VBCC Do with Your Clients?
We try to stay pretty invisible, honestly.
VBCC doesn’t reach out to your clients directly or independently. Every interaction happens at your request and with your introduction. For most alliance partners, the number of times VBCC has spoken directly with their clients is countable on two hands, and every one of those conversations started with the partner making the connection.
Our model is built around you staying the relationship owner. Your clients continue to see you as their primary contact, so you just maintain that relationship. We stay in the background and take care of the dull stuff: handling Sage renewals, quoting, license changes, and any support your clients need.
What Does VBCC Expect from You?
Primarily, transparency, the same kind we extend to you.
The most important thing: if you have a new deal in the works, let us know. Since all sales run through us, we need to avoid inadvertently working both sides of the same prospect. No need for a big to-do; a quick heads-up is all it takes.
Beyond that, here’s what we ask of our Alliance partners:
- Alert us if a client is considering leaving the software. We can help address this before it becomes a loss.
- Pass along VBCC marketing materials to your clients. This keeps your clients informed about what’s available to them.
Our expectations are simple: be responsive, keep selling when possible, and keep us in the loop on anything that affects the clients we’re supporting together.
What Does a Successful Alliance Partnership Look Like?
After 180 days (the amount of time it takes Sage to handle the reseller of record paperwork), the picture looks like this:
- You enjoy ongoing commission on renewals that previously weren’t generating revenue
- Your clients stay fully supported while you get some much-needed breathing room
- Your practice has a lot less administrative overhead than it did before
Some partners want to stay more involved, and the VBCC Alliance Partnership program accommodates that. Partners can choose to handle as much of the implementation and support work as they’re comfortable with, while VBCC fills in the rest.
You may also start out expecting to be more hands-off, but because you no longer face the constant pressure to hit sales numbers, you’re free to focus on the relationship rather than the quota. Partners have told us this helps them sell more comfortably.
Want to grow your capabilities? VBCC will let partners shadow our consultants on client calls at no cost, which gives you a practical way to build your or your consultants’ expertise in areas like Production Management or other modules your team hasn’t handled before. It’s not a formal training program, but it’s a good opportunity to see how other experienced consultants handle the intricacies of live engagements.
Ready to Talk Through Whether the Alliance Partnership Makes Sense for You?
The best way to figure out whether the VBCC Alliance Partnership is the right move for your practice is to schedule a conversation.
