06/30/2010

Reseller of ISV Apps (also known as 3rd party products) are very important to the ISV community.

There are 2 degrees of separation between resellers and IBM (IBM -> ISVs -> Resellers). True, some resellers sell Lotus Notes, so there is a direct relationship with IBM. But mostly, they are not on IBM's radar. But they need a home, just like ISVs need a home on the web.

Most ISVs have a small group of 10-20 resellers that sell their products in their home country. These companies know the local buyers and decision makers and speak the local language, which is very important to the buyer. Then, they introduce an ISV product, like SpamSentinel to the customer.


What happens when a company does not have a relationship with a reseller of Lotus Notes and Domino products? Well, then Google hell happens! Which means they struggle to find a qualified local resource. If they want Domino server admin, they will find, via google, a very capable firm on the other side of the world! That is a useless result for a firm searching for a local resource that knows the local language.

If it takes more than 30 minutes, they may abandon the search altogether! Which is why we have a Reseller section in the NotesAppStore. To best demonstrate how this works, I will use my own SpamSentinel as an example of how the products and resellers should be listed on the NotesAppStore:

It works like this: There is a list of Resellers by Country (and we insist that the reseller only lists one country, their main base of operations or headquarters) which shows the products that they carry. Resellers and Products they carry by Country A second list shows all resellers of a certain product. So a buyer, when looking at SpamSentinel, can see SpamSentinel and Resellers This will show resellers of this one product by country (with Ratings and Reviews, too).

Reseller Reviews and Ratings
How do you decide which resellers are best for you? Look at their ratings! Just like the products on the NotesAppStore have ratings, so do resellers. These are ratings of their services, not the products they represent. You can pick resellers that have ratings and reviews that you find match your needs.
These reviews should also follow the review guidelines of the site

Once a review is posted on the NotesAppStore, a reseller can post a link to it on their own website. For example, here is one for a SpamSentinel reseller, Donova in Sweden (from a hockey company, of course !)

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Note: This is not the best review, as it should focus more on the reseller and less on the product, but part of my work is education of how best to use the NotesAppStore, and it is an ongoing process.

How does the reseller get the code for their website? When a review is posted to the NotesAppStore, an email notification is sent to the Reseller (or Product vendor) containing the review, along with the HTML code for their website (if they choose to show the review).


Easy Quotes work for Resellers, too.
Quotes can be requested from an ISV or from their reseller. It is a decision made by the prospective buyer. When a prospective customer decides on a reseller of a product, they can contact the reseller directly, or request an Easy Quote for a product that the reseller carries. That reseller can then respond with pricing before a prospective buyer decides to engage them, if they choose.



How do Resellers Get Listed?
Resellers list themselves and the products they represent. They should only list products that they are authorized to represent. Just like they wouldn't put products they don't resell on their own websites, they shouldn't put them on the NotesAppStore, either. They self-manage their listings, so this page is effectively an extension of their own website.

The process is simple: Click on the Partner Login button and use your LinkedIn ID to login. NotesAppStore does not have access to your LinkedIn password nor does it store your LinkedIn password, it only has proof of your identity. Combined with a confirmation email to your work email address, we are confident in your identity so you can then manage your listings.

Click here to list yourself as a reseller: Partner Login

What about a company (reseller) that both makes a product and resells other ISV products? The NotesAppStore lets you have one listing per product that you manufacture and one listing for all the products that you resell:




So, the NotesAppStore is also a home for Lotus Notes and Domino Resellers.


Next: What is the NotesAppStore - Part 3: The Easy Quote Process and how it protects privacy.