Throughout the entire technology industry, businesses are moving from a transactional model to contractual, subscription-based sales. We have seen this take place across the board from software and applications to hardware and services. The fast pace that technology continues to move forward has helped drive this shift. Users are no longer purchasing for the long term, and want to upgrade sooner as devices and software get released with new updated features.
This shift has happened so rapidly that some channel partners are having a hard time transforming their business focus and sales. During this week's HP Reinvent conference in Chicago, HP Inc announced HP University -- a training and education destination to help channel partners navigate the shift to subscription models. Much like Xerox's new Accreditation Program, this new program will combine product training, certifications, and soft skills education.
The global program includes online and instructor-led training throughout 170 countries, and will be offered in 11 languages. The program was piloted and tested with strategic partners in three markets prior to deployment. The company hopes to enable HP’s partner ecosystem to migrate to evolving business models such as contractual and subscription sales with HP University.
HP states that more than 30 worldwide partners beta tested the program prior to deployment. They also state that the program is clear and simple allowing partners to get the most out of their training time, instead of wasting it learning a complex platform.
Offerings include:
- Instructor-led face-to-face training
- Sales skills development
- HP core competencies, including
- Security
- Device-as-a-Service (DaaS)
- Mobility
- Managed Print Services.
HP also stated that courses such as Strategic Solution Selling will immerse attendees in realistic business problems, and provide strategies to uncover key customer business challenges, craft proposals and deliver the right messages to the right customers. The coursework is geared to evolve towards a solution oriented sale, build deeper relationships, minimize wasted selling effort, and maximize recurring revenue streams.
