All-Star Challenge

The Challenge

When NetApp engaged with Yeager, they were looking for a big win with their global channel partners. NetApp wanted to provide a one-day sales-push program that partners would want to use to sell NetApp solutions. It was imperative that the program included product training, motivated reps to sell and upsell, and provided partners with all the resources they needed to be successful. The solution also needed to attract and hold the interest of a broad range of individuals from a variety of cultures.

The Solution

In order to incite enthusiasm with sales reps across the globe while equipping partners with the tools and information they would need, Yeager’s creative and strategic teams worked together with NetApp to conceptualize the All-Star Challenge. Based within a microsite, this “sales blitz in a (digital) box” covers all aspects of training, incentives and implementation in a fun and engaging one-day push. Wrapped within the microsite’s global sporting-event theme, the All-Star Challenge encourages partners to register by simplifying the sign-up process. Once engaged, partners receive competition-themed getting-started guides, contact list instructions, activity tracking spreadsheets, prize recommendations and more. The site provides all the partners need to plan and execute their calling day, from nurture campaign tools to social media posts to call scripts. They can even order fun incentive kits that include banners, sports balls, foam fingers, stickers and goal nets to energize the sales reps and get them into the spirit of the challenge. Yeager also customized the digital and physical collateral for the partners and provided email lists to help them expand their reach.

The Results

The results speak for themselves. The partners love it! Of the 30 partners that signed up to date, many completed their first challenge with fantastic results. The Australian team achieved $1.9M in pipeline during their first one-day rollout of the All-Star Challenge. The Americas Channel team garnered 21 net new appointments scheduled during their first round. NetApp’s partners weren’t the only ones to take notice of the All-Star Challenge. The integrated campaign was given a platinum award by the MarComm Awards, a Spectrum award by the American Marketing Association and it was a finalist for the Content Marketing Awards. The enticing nature of the All-Star Challenge and the comprehensive resources made available to partners led NetApp to victory, and the flexibility of the platform allowed NetApp to continue to leverage the site for quarterly challenges that keeps partners coming back.