When it comes to outside sales, partners are looking for a way to make a buck without confusion. That’s exactly what VTech Communications Inc. delivers to the channel, according to Graham Williams, vice president of SMB for VTech, which manufactures AT&T (News - Alert)-branded home and office telephones.

VTech’s channel program is all about simplicity. It’s a simple program and it’s a simple product. And that’s important, Williams said, because partners don’t want complexity, especially those in the SMB space. To join the VTech channel, partners go through an online certification program.

The company, which has a license agreement with AT&T Intellectual Property, offers various products through its SMB division. These include the Synapse line, which can serve up to 100 users and is mainly sold through value-added resellers; and SynJ, a 10-user DECT (News - Alert) product brought to market through an e-commerce program. The below 40 space is VTech’s sweet spot, according to Williams.

Some competitors offer a lot of different products, options and extended warranties, but that just complicates things. That’s why VTech designed its SMB Partner Program, which launched in September of 2011, with easy-to-understand silver, gold and platinum levels. The company’s standard product warranty is two years.

Earlier this month, however, the company launched an optional three-plus-year extended warranty option. VTech in January also expanded its SMB Partner Program by including sales of the AT&T TL7600 series of cordless headsets to qualify for joint marketing fund accruals, and it offered a discount promotion on those headsets in the first quarter of this year. “The AT&T TL7600 cordless headsets are a natural companion to the Synapse product,” according to VTech marketing literature.

VTech also recently joined forces with Marlin Leasing Corp. to offer SMBs flexible payment options for Synapse. Through Marlin, the companies will introduce a zero-percent lease offer in the U.S. and Canada.