1. Partner Sales Teams Hone Skills on “Blitz Days”
Cisco co-marketing accelerates sales call success among target
customer groups.
Customer Name: APX Business Impact
Industry: ICT • Dedicated presales training for targeted campaigns
using Cisco prospect list
Location: France and regions • Competitive drive of partner sales team enhanced to
optimize productivity
Number of Employees: 1500
• Multiple senior-level pitch meetings arranged in single
day with fresh leads
Case Study
Business Challenge Alain Mariotta, APX regional director for Ile de France, was Blitz Days helps to generate new sales
APX is a national information and communications keen to try out a dynamic and innovative approach that would quickly, and fosters a more robust “hunting
technology (ICT) consulting, integration and outsourcing focus exclusively on targeted Cisco solutions and, at the same culture” among the sales team for the
company, specializing in infrastructure, applications and time, enhance the ability of the APX sales team to convince longer term.
workspace services. It operates in six regional units across prospective customers of their value. He wanted to enhance Solution and Results
France, serving large and medium-sized enterprises in the the company’s sales effectiveness in a new way.
Cisco Blitz Days is a flagship programme for partners who
financial, distribution, industry, healthcare, transport and “For two years, we’ve had our own programme with a join the innovative Cisco Avant Garde partner enablement
telecommunications sectors. Its annual revenues are methodology to address the ‘big stories’ we use to promote programme. Typically, Avant Garde covers over 20 Avant
€180 million. sales in the enterprise,” says Mariotta. “As an integrator, we Garde Plus partners, who want to boost their sales to target
Formed in 2000 from a three-way merger, APX is a major resell products from various vendors. So when an APX groups; and 300 partners in Avant Garde Start, which is
player in technology information systems and services. The salesman is working from our offices, he’s not just designed for small business integrators. The guiding
company sets out to optimize infrastructure performance, and prospecting for business; he’s representing the full APX offer. principles of Cisco co-marketing programmes are
to develop, integrate, and evolve customer applications in line effectiveness, competitive differentiation, and ease of use.
“In those circumstances, we don’t want to put forward Cisco
with the needs of growing businesses. It aims to enhance solutions in advance of researching a customer project in
competitiveness, business agility and cost control. full,” Mariotta says. “Our function at APX is to respond to the
specific needs of a project we’ve identified, as the solution-
“On a special day like this, your team is able
As a dynamic commercial organization, APX also depends on
builder (constructeur) for that project.” to concentrate exclusively on prospecting
driving sales volumes and finding new customers to strengthen
its market position. In a competitive environment, where
for new customers. The Cisco Blitz Day not
This broad, solutions-based culture helps build customer
businesses have reacted to economic difficulties by reviewing intimacy and loyalty, but it can be very effectively
only enables us to focus new business, it also
their ICT investment priorities more carefully than ever, APX complemented by a more proactive sales approach to new sharpens our proactive sales skills.”
relies on an effective sales force to keep revenues flowing. prospects. In this way, the highly focused approach of Cisco®
Alain Mariotta
Regional Director, Ile de France, APX