ust last month, we went to represent Mindmatrix at two trade-shows, the Channel Partner Conference and Expo and the SiriusDecisions Summit in Vegas. These shows were packed with vendors, channel partners, MSPs, ISVs– all looking to network and connect. It was a great opportunity, and like everyone, we hoped to come home with lots of connections. The tagline for Vegas, though, offers a teachable moment.
“66% of core IT products representing an estimated $200 billion-plus, flow through or are influenced by indirect sales channels.” COMPTIA
The marketing for Vegas has been “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” Well, maybe for after hours, but that is the opposite of how you need to handle the connections you make at any business conference. If partner recruitment is one of your goals for Conference attendance, the hard work begins only after you get back home. First you need to work with marketing for a strategy on how to reach out with consistent, quality messaging. (Remember recruiting partners is the same as generating leads and prospecting end users) Then you will need to make sure to develop a recruiting process (playbook). If done correct and you are using a PRM platform that has automation and provides analytics on what partner is most interested then you know who to reach out to and what play to run.
“Companies with >60% of their revenues derived from channels, allocate 3% of their channel spend to recruitment. Companies with >60% of their revenues derived from direct sales, spend slightly more (4%).” SiriusDecisions
Recruiting a good channel partner is the same as prospecting and closing the deal on a lead. The life-cycle is the same. Identify partners, understand what they are looking for, explain why you are a good fit, and keep responding specifically to where they are in the decision-making process. The tools that you use are identical: landing pages to attract partner-sign ups, partner scoring and segmentation, nurturing text and email drips, activity monitors, and triggers to send the info they want to see at any single point in the process. The difference is we just swap out the term “lead” for “potential partner.”
“The average channel partner size is less than $5M in gross revenue.” The 2112 Group
So, while the Vegas slogan is a good, catchy marketing tagline for the city where you can get up to anonymous antics, it is a terrible bit of advice for developing long term relationships. Love it or hate it, Vegas is where business happens. The question is, do you want to come home with new partners or just a headache?
Follow these simple steps to beat the house
Channel Marketing
- Organize your contacts in “one platform”
- Create a strategy with content and deployment in “one platform”
- Use a PRM tool to automate delivery of content, track opens and score
- Distribute hot leads (partners) to recruitment/sales team through “one platform” Recruiting / Sales Identify hot leads (partners) in “one platform” Build a Recruiting playbook with consistent messaging and clear goals in “one platform”
Cheers to Las Vegas and VIVA Partner Recruitment!
About Mindmatrix
Mindmatrix offers Channel & Sales Enablement software for direct and indirect sales channels. Mindmatrix is the only provider of a Single Unified Platform that combines PRM software, Direct Sales and Channel Enablement, Channel Marketing Software, Marketing Automation software and Marketing Asset Management. Mindmatrix takes you through every step in the sales process from lead to revenue, enabling your salespeople and channel partners to sell more, faster.
