Frequently Asked Questions

08 Feb 2010

Q: What is the 2010 Best Performance Challenge for SAP Partners.
Q: Why is SAP organizing the 2010 Best Performance Challenge for SAP Partners now?
Q: Why are we talking about winning and participating within a competition and how can this affect my business?
Q: Who can participate in the 2010 Best Performance Challenge for SAP Partners?
Q: What are the pre-requisites to qualify for the challenge?
Q: Who is sending invitation and how can I as a participant be invited?
Q: How does a participant check his level of capability and skill gap?
Q: What is the participation fee?
Q: How does a team attend the 2010 Best Performance Challenge for SAP Partners.
Q: What is the “Best Performance Day” Scenario?
Q: What is the “Best Performance View” scenario, do I have to disclose deal information?
Q: Will it always be in English?
Q: What is the planned rollout and when are events taking place?
Q: Why should I as a Partner Employee/Executive participate in the competition?
Q: What is in for me?
Q: How much time does a participant or partner need to dedicate to the initiative?
Q: How is the performance evaluated?
Q: Who is the judge panel?
Q:What is the prize for the winners and how does this help to develop business?
Q: What is the prize for “finishers”?

  1. Q: What is the 2010 Best Performance Challenge for SAP Partners.
    A: Dedicated specifically to Top Partners or those with High Potential who have ambition to succeed, the Best Performance Challenge allows participants to test themselves and their skills, check their “fitness” to win new deals and be part of a high performance sales partner community. It is therefore a team competition, through different phases, starting with Qualification, then Fitness Check and Planning, Preparation and further ongoing challenges including a Best Performance Day bases on case studies and a Best Performance View based on real business, with scoring and awarding similar to an Olympic triathlon game.  It has been developed by your SAP EMEA enablement team and is backed by senior SAP executive management.

  2. Q: Why is SAP organizing the 2010 Best Performance Challenge for SAP Partners now?
    A: Like any athlete, training to succeed is a journey. When you compete at a local level you only need to practice once a week. When you reach the top of your game, you need intensive training far more regularly. You also evolve from general fitness to working on the specific muscles and skills required for your sport.  Some of the SAP channel are already competing at a high level, and need this increased focus in their training regime to become the best. This means focus on finding the right opportunities, focus on managing the sales process and performing at each stage using the right tools and accelerators in the right way to win more deals, and gain customers for life.

  3. Q: Why are we talking about winning and participating within a competition and how can this affect my business?
    A: In times of economic , market and customer change, it is so important to keep a winning spirit and to constantly strive to succeed. The 2010 Best Performance Challenge for SAP Partners is inspired by the Olympic spirit, also reflected in the logo and webpage. Everybody can be a winner and customers want to work with  and buy from winning partners for life. The website also documents, promotes, publicizes the partner teams and who performs best.  You will also find information on what is involved to be a competitor.

  4. Q: Who can participate in the 2010 Best Performance Challenge for SAP Partners?
    A: The Best Performance Challenge for SAP partners is a team competition, with 2 staff from one partner working together in sales and presales roles. I It is targeted to individual “top talents” from partners who have been through the Level1 learning and Level 2 camps, that can now act as a team and are ready for a Best Performance Challenge. Each invited partner can nominate up to two teams, consisting of 1 sales and 1 presales person, acting as one team. They can receive support from other partners and SAP staff.

  5. Q: What are the pre-requisites to qualify for the challenge?

    The Partner should have the following:
    • Executed on a 2009 Enablement Plan;
    • It is recommended to have achieved at least 80% of your joint SAP 2009 Business Plan by 31st  December 2009. This will contribute  to your points for the ranking.
    • Your should have existing pipeline for opportunities into 2010.
    The Sales person should have:
    • Qualified level 1,
    • Qualified level 2 (MasterSynCEL),
    • experience in selling SAP Business All in One.
    • Teamwork ability and practiced collaboration with Marketing is also recommended.
    The Presales person should have:
    • Qualified Level1,
    • Qualified level 2: Discovery & Demo 2 WIN (both),
    • experience in demonstrating SAP Business All in One.
    • Acted as a Presales Champion and Teamwork ability is also recommended

    Generally, we would also recommend that the team has a good working relationship and has a good knowledge of how their company goes to market, including marketing, solutions and delivery. They should therefore be able to pitch the whole package to a prospect through all stages of the sales cycle.

  6. Q: Who is sending invitation and how can I as a participant be invited?
    A: Invitations to attend are sent by the local Channel Enabler, supported by  PDAgroup starting September 2009, based on nominations from the local SAP Channel team If you have not already received an invitation, talk to your channel team and discuss your current plans and strategy and see whether the Best Performance Challenge is right for you.

  7. Q: How does a participant check his level of capability and skill gap?
    A: In each country, you can work with your Channel Enabler and Channel Development manager, to decide which connected enablement offers, virtual sessions and fitness planning activities to help the participants close capability gaps, prepare and optimize partner success.

  8. Q: What is the participation fee?
    A: 250 Euro per participant,  but you can use your company’s MDF to fund 50% of the cost. This will be payable to PDAGroup.

  9. Q: How does a team attend the 2010 Best Performance Challenge for SAP Partners.
    A: After invitation and registration, the SAP team validates and assigns a Team Number to you. Then PDAgroup sends the invoice, and finalises the administration. From then on, you are competing. The path includes a qualification period until 31 December 2009 and preparation for 2 Best Performance Challenge events, one as a “Best Performance Day ” where a case study scenario is used  to test  your ability,, the second session is in a real business scenario  called the Best Performance View.

  10. Q: What is the “Best Performance Day” Scenario?
    A: It is a 90 Minute online session presenting and working on a case study with different sections for team members to play It is aimed at the acquisition of new customers and tests, Value Proposition and Closing skills . There is a separate opportunity to try to up-sell (Business User) to an existing customer . These are role plays (with assessment and feedback), and a supporting team can also be integrated in the session.

  11. Q: What is the “Best Performance View” scenario, do I have to disclose deal information?
    A: The evaluation and scoring in this case will consider a Partners’ real capability and local results in achieving “new names capability”, “% customer satisfied with value delivered”, “sales & presales efforts”. Information on deals will be sanitized to protect privacy. If customers and partner agree they can provide endorsements or personal feedback through quotes, either on our
    linked-in group and Facebook fansite.

  12. Q: Will it always be in English?
    A: While the main information will be in English we plan information on the website and through the local Channel team in local languages where we have sufficient partners in need. Also the Best Performance Challenge events will be in key local languages, i.e. German, French, Spanish, Italian.

  13. Q: What is the planned rollout and when are events taking place?
    A: After registration, starting the 14th of September 2009, the schedule of events and phases will be from 1 Oct 2009 – 30 Jun 2010. To see the most up to date calendar please visit the calendar or subscribe to the news for participants.

  14. Q: Why should I as a Partner Employee/Executive participate in the competition?
    A: There are many reasons. First, the 2010 Best Performance Challenge helps partners in enabling their people on a complete sales process in three major ways,

      1. Internal Team challenge: Teaming, learn from the Best. helping to optimize partner success and Best Practice Sharing

      2. External Visibility as a Best Performer, be seen by the market as an SAP top performer! – This recognition will drive additional  business for you.

      3. Look into the rear mirror opportunity: The ranking and seeing how others play at the Best Performance Day allows you to do a " SWOT Analysis and identify underestimated attacks in the competitive partner landscape. A partner can thus benchmark and improve his competitive advantage.

    1. Q: What is in for me?
      A: After learning the basics through the channel camps,, you can now leverage the enablement offer and the channel team to close capability gaps, test your fitness to win, discover new tools, methods, ideas and strategies to help you in the daily business. As a participant you can refresh and up-skill on a complete sales process and achieve many benefits:

      • Learn and try new ideas, strategies, tools and methods
      • Challenge yourself, identify and close performance gaps
      • Learn from the Best
      • Gain regional and local visibility
      • Benchmark in “new names capability”, “% customer satisfied with value delivered”, “sales & presales efforts”
      • Benchmark comparison in region, country, category
      • Integrate your colleagues during and after
      • Become more proactive on your fitness to win
      • More deals
      • The competitive battles you can afford
      • Customers for life
      • Take ownership to optimize your success

    2. Q: How much time does a participant or partner need to dedicate to the initiative?
      A: It depends on the level of preparation required and can range from full preparation, using several enablement “menu card” topics to a minimum of 3-5 days if a partner participant is already “fit to compete”.

    3. Q: How is the performance evaluated?
      A: There is a scoring grid for every phase, i.e. during qualification a team can earn up to 50 standard points plus 20 Bonus points, during the Best Performance Day another 100 standard points plus up to 30 Bonus points can be gained , and finally during the Best Performance Reality View, another 50 points are available. There will also be recognition per category , topic and region or countries.

    4. Q: Who is the judge panel?
      A: Sap Management and PDAgroup.

    5. Q:What is the prize for the winners and how does this help to develop business?
      A: A partner will gain regional visibility through web banners and press releases but the real prize is the self check and commitment to be fit for business. The partner employees will get the winning spirit and benchmark themselves for real world business. There will also be local team awarding events and ceremonies.

    6. Q: What is the prize for “finishers”?
      A: Like in the channel camps, there is recognition and ranking prizes, and overall celebrations for all teams which finish qualification and the two Best Performance Challenge events.