Porsche incentive gives Kyocera an edge

Kyocera has signed 580 resellers for a program that offers a red Porsche Boxster 987 as a prize for partners that achieve the highest aggregate sales for the vendor over the next two years.

The reseller employee with the highest sales wins the right to use the Porsche for one month with the first winner being announced at the end of August.

The top reseller of the year gets the car for 12 months and if the individual stays on top for two years running, he or she wins the car outright.

"We’ve already seen a definite lift in sales of about 20 percent," said Kyocera managing director David Finn. Demand was high and some printer products were out of stock through distribution including its 1020D 20ppm printer, he added. "We’ve stimulated the market and it’s turned to our product," he said.

The company has also claimed success for a MasterCard promotion -- launched in May last year -- which entitled channel sales staff to earn credit on a card for each printer that they sell.

Finn said the company was paying out between $25,000 and $30,000 per month for this promotion. Around 500 cards were already out in the channel and a further 600 were being produced, he said.

Participants in the reseller program receive special government pricing, dedicated account and marketing support and sales tools.