VTech Kicks Off the New Year with Extra Incentives for Its SMB Partner Program

BEAVERTON, Ore., Jan. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- VTech Communications, Inc., d/b/a Advanced American Telephones, which manufactures AT&T-branded home and office telephones under a license agreement with AT&T Intellectual Property, today announced additions to its SMB Partner Program by including sales of cordless headsets to qualify for joint marketing fund (JMF) accruals, as well as offering a discount promotion in Q1 of 2012. VTech also has formed an alliance with Marlin Leasing Corporation® to offer small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) flexible payment options for Synapse®.

By including the AT&T TL7600 series of cordless headsets into the qualifying product portfolio of the SMB Partner Program, Partners can attain Gold and Platinum Partner levels with additional product discounts and increased JMF percent levels even more quickly. The AT&T TL7600 cordless headsets are a natural companion to the Synapse product line and provide Partners with an increased AT&T-branded product offering for small business customers, while enabling incremental financial incentives and marketing support.

In addition, VTech has formed a strategic alliance with Marlin Leasing Corporation, an industry leader in offering equipment and software financing to small and midsize businesses, to provide financing options for businesses acquiring Synapse phone systems.  With a strong history of working with equipment manufacturers and distributors in the communications industry, Marlin's simple financing process, fast turnaround and low monthly payment options will help support and advance VTech product sales.

"In difficult times, these financial incentives will enable our Partners to better position Synapse even more competitively in the marketplace," said Graham Williams, vice president of the SMB group at VTech Communications. "When combined with the flexibility of our payment options, we are breaking down every possible barrier for SMB adoption and equipping our Partners to succeed."

To help kick-off the new year with these additions to the SMB Partner Program, VTech has launched an aggressive pricing promotion for Q1 of 2012. Partners purchasing any qualified Synapse product from January 1 through March 31, 2012 will benefit from a 10 percent discount off the list price of their purchase. This aggressive promotion is designed to kick-start 2012 for small business customers.

VTech SMB Partner Program

VTech recently redesigned its SMB Partner Program to be more competitive and help incentivize sales of the Synapse product line. Partners can accrue marketing development incentives under the JMF program, which provides financial resources for local marketing activities. Partners will earn more savings and financial incentives based on Synapse and cordless headset product sales. Key components of the program include:

• A new two-year warranty for all Synapse products
• Free web-based training and Partner certification
• World-class technical support from VTech's Partner Support Desk
• A product roadmap for Synapse showing future features and benefits along with free software upgrades throughout the year, ensuring Partners are able to reap the benefits of the latest technology
• Significant potential margin enhancements to help increase revenues
• Sales-based incentives, such as JMF and product discounts
• Online tools and resources, including product information, white papers, case studies, video demonstrations and inclusion in the geography-based SMB Partner locator tool

Synapse Product Line

With its rich feature set, scalability and easy maintenance, the Synapse system is designed to optimize telecommunications investments, delivering adaptability for future communications needs at a lower total cost of ownership compared to competing systems. The Synapse platform supports up to 100 extensions with an intuitive, easy-to-understand management interface. Synapse also provides the flexibility to expand from one to 39 lines with the use of analog lines and/or T1/PRI, enabling scale as the business grows without unnecessary expenses up front. In addition, Synapse offers the capability to add Synapse accessory cordless handsets and cordless headsets for greater mobility in larger work environments. These cordless devices allow employees to multitask and provide farther range than most cordless handsets and headsets.

About VTech®

VTech is the world's largest manufacturer of cordless telephones and a leading supplier of electronic learning products.  It also provides highly sought-after contract manufacturing services.  Founded in 1976, the Group's mission is to be the most cost-effective designer and manufacturer of innovative, high-quality consumer electronic products and to distribute them to markets worldwide in the most efficient manner.

For further information on VTech and its array of products, please visit www.vtechphones.com.

© 2012 VTech Communications, Inc.

Synapse is a registered trademark of VTech Communications, Inc., d/b/a Advanced American Telephones

Marlin Business Services Corp. is a nationwide provider of commercial equipment financing solutions primarily to small and midsize businesses.  The Company's subsidiary, Marlin Leasing Corporation, finances over 100 equipment categories in a segment of the market generally referred to as "small-ticket" financing (i.e., financing transactions less than $250,000).  The Company was founded in 1997 and completed its initial public offering of common stock on November 12, 2003.  For more information, visit www.marlincorp.com or call toll free at (888) 479-9111.

AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other ATT-related marks shown herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies and are used herein by permission.  This press release is not issued by AT&T and AT&T and its affiliates assume no responsibility for the preparation, content or use of this announcement.

SOURCE VTech Communications, Inc.