IBM to focus on 'Show & Sell' program

In order to gather momentum in its commercial and consumer PC sales and gain higher marketshare, IBM is to focus on 'Show & Sell' program during this calendar year. Sharing IBM's strategy for 2004, Alok Ohrie, VP, Personal Computing Division, reveals that the 'Show & Sell' program is already active with 20 partners.

Under the program, partners' retail outlets or offices are being used to showcase IBM products and technologies with lot of promotional material. The program is meant to attract end-users to touch and feel IBM PCs and notebooks. The partners are expected to convert these walk-ins into sales with the vendor's support.

IBM plans to increase the number of partners participating in the program to 50 by the middle of the year. Special incentives are being planned to partners who opt for the program.

The Big Blue is also focusing on 'STAR' -- Strategic Thinkpad Authorized Reseller -- program to ensure that the full spectrum of IBM notebooks are sold to end-users. There are already 15 partners registered under the program. "We want to increase this number to 50 by the middle of this year," points out
Alok.

There will be higher number of short-duration promotional programs during the year. Alok says that one of the learnings of 2003 has been that partner interest in sales is maitained when they are provided with short-duration incentive programs. 

Alok assures that IBM is fully geared to tackle all 'clean' claims under the short-duration promotional programs and incentives will be dispatched within the stipulated time. ''We will continue to work at partner profitability by providing attractive incentives," says Alok. 

CI NEWS BUREAU