Europe's Skype Small Business Pack for Resellers
So you're a Skype-crazy consultant in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden or the UK. You want to sell Skype to customers. But how?
First, join The Skype Reseller Program. Free to apply, apparently, and one short form.
Then buy the Small Business Pack (shipping early June) at a discounted rate, starting at 20% off the €99 recommended retail price.
In the box:
- Skype software (business edition, Windows only)
- Skype Business Control Panel (for managing the company’s accounts)
- 10 Skype Pro subscriptions (only valid in some countries, and there are geographic limitations)
- Voucher for €50 of Skype Control Panel Credit
- Tips and tricks on using Skype for Business
Sell your packs.
Then buy €99 Skype voucher packs at 5% off and sell them.
Discounts improve with volume.
Things we don't know:
-
Skype's acceptance criteria for reseller applicants.
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What keeps a small or medium sized business from enrolling in the programme to secure discounts for themselves.
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When the programme and products will spread to the other markets.
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Whether resellers based outside the 12 core countries (e.g. Spain) may sell into those countries.
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Whether these markups are deep enough for resellers to be effective.
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How long until reseller support delivers:
- point of sale displays
- sales training
- co-operative advertising funds
- lead generation
- specialist certification
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Skype's policies on reseller inventory management and returns.
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Whether the reseller product roadmap includes Skype Certified or Skype Compatible hardware and software.
This is a great next step for Skype's ecosystem.
Thanks to Dan York for tipping me to Scott Davidson's announcement.
Skype news release below the fold.
THE SKYPE SMALL BUSINESS PACK – ONE LITTLE BOX THAT GOES A LONG WAY FOR BUSINESSES
Luxembourg, 22nd May, 2007 – Skype today announced it is making it even easier for businesses to get started on SkypeTM with its new Small Business Pack. The Small Business Pack gives businesses everything they need to get started to make calls over the internet.
The Pack includes a Skype for Business download, 10 five month subscriptions to Skype Pro™ (Skype’s new internet communications package) worth €100 and €50 of Skype credit for making calls to landlines and mobiles across the world. It is available from the Skype online store at www.skype.com/shop (in the small business section) for €99+VAT.
Skype’s popularity with businesses comes from more and more businesses turning to Skype to keep in touch with their customers for less money. A recent survey of 250 businesses showed that 95% of those questioned confirmed they save money with Skype and 80% said that using Skype has increased employee productivity.
Enrico Noseda, director, telecom business development at Skype says, “Skype has over 196 million registered users today and in some countries more than 30% of those are business users. We want to give our business users a simple and more productive way to communicate but pay less for the privilege. With Skype Pro included, people can make *0/min unlimited calls to domestic landlines along with a series of premium Skype features and discounts on Skype-certified hardware.”
Skype has also made it easier for businesses to install and manage Skype. Skype can be easily installed on multiple computers using the Windows Installer package (commonly known as MSI) giving IT Administrators greater control over how Skype communications traffic runs across their networks.
An online control panel enables companies to allocate individual users with Skype credits that can be used to make cheap Skype calls to traditional landline phones or mobiles and provides a consolidated view of what is being spent.
The Skype Business Pack includes:
- Skype for Business CD
- Skype for Windows (business edition) with MSI Windows Installer
- €50 of Skype Credit to distribute to colleagues
- *10 x 5 month subscriptions to Skype Pro (€100 value)
- Tips and Tricks Guide for getting the most out of Skype for Business
(Total value of €150 – Recommended Retail Price €99 + VAT)
*15% VAT is added where applicable and all Skype Pro calls are subject to a small connection fee of up to € 0.039 per call.
For more information on Skype for Business go to www.skype.biz.
Footnote:
** All SkypeOut calls, including calls made by Skype Pro subscribers, are subject to a connection fee. For details on the connection fee, go to http://www.skype.com/products/
skypeout/rates/connection_fee.html.
** Skype Pro local calling benefits apply in certain countries only, for calls to landline phones within the country. For details please see www.skype/linkto ourskypepropage.com.
