By Calvin Azuri, TMCnet Contributor

ADTRAN (News - Alert) recently announced that Ted Cole, its vice president of channel sales, has been recognized as CRN’s Top 25 Channel Sales Leaders and has been included in its annual Top 100 Executives Award program. The second recognition received by the company was being named as one of the Best Channel Vendors by Business Solutions magazine. Winners in the list are selected for leading performance within the categories of service/support and channel friendliness, channel program as well as product innovation.

In a statement, Rick Schansman, senior vice president and general manager for ADTRAN’s Enterprise Networks Division, said that, “Developing and implementing top channel programs is the key to success for both the ADTRAN sales team and our partners. ADTRAN remains committed to delivering the progressive channel programs, tools, and support that ensure our partners’ success in selling ADTRAN solutions. The exceptional leadership shown by Ted and his team has allowed ADTRAN to further develop innovative programs that strengthen our channel relationships and focus on our partners and their business needs. Not only does Ted’s commitment to ADTRAN and the channel provide tremendous value, but his enthusiasm and perseverance are strong driving forces for the company and partners.”

Ted Cole (News - Alert) and his team over the years have created a number of channel programs. One program in particular - ADTRAN’s Partner Enablement Program designed for new and under-performing partners, has been implemented successfully by the team. The 12-week program essentially optimizes on-boarding and helps in motivating and leading partners to embrace success via a number of tools. With the inclusion of Partner Development Managers and through the use of robust set of tools, the program encourages and enables partners to sell the ADTRAN solutions portfolio in a more effective manner.

By driving widespread distribution of education programs, the team has been successful in increasing awareness and has helped optimize partner support via a number of technical and sales champions for each distributor. The enterprise channel sales team has been divided into two teams – the first team takes care of service provider partners, while the second team focuses on VAR partners. By doing this the company has successfully optimized its support offerings to its VAR partners.

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Edited by Brooke Neuman