According to the Partner Engagement thought leader Larry Walsh, one of the biggest challenges facing channel leaders is that many partners are not ready to engage. In Mindmatrix’s whitepaper, Partner Sales Enablement : The Mission-Critical Component Of ROI Generating Channel Programs, Walsh says that his analysis of the partner ecosystem revealed that
- 47% of partners do not have a business plan;
- 59% of partners do not have a strategic plan for growth; and
- 56% of partners do not have sales plans or goals
While these numbers are certainly not positive from a vendor perspective, vendors can treat this as an opportunity to boost partner engagement, by assisting partners in these areas. At the end of the day, partners are looking to generate revenue and these 3 elements; a business plan, growth strategy and sales plans can help them achieve their revenue goals. Vendors who assist partners with these elements will help drive revenue for them, thus strengthening the vendor-partner relationship and partner engagement.
Help your partners with a roadmap to successful selling of your products/services
Vendors should prepare a clear roadmap for partners to follow when working with them. This can act as a business plan or a future growth plan for the partners as far as the vendor product/services are concerned. In a multi-vendor environment, when vendors are struggling to gain and retain partner mindshare, this approach can be a game changer.
Make your products/services easy to sell
While the channel-based sales model has evolved over the years in line with the end customer’s journey, one aspect has remained the same-ease of selling vendor products. At the end of the day, those products and services that are the easiest to sell are the ones that channel partners will focus on more. Those are the brands that will see maximum partner engagement and those are the vendors with most partner mindshare.
Help your partners see how you add value to them
Your channel partners need to be able to see value in partnering with you. By providing them with a clear business plan (for your products), offering them a roadmap to growing their business and helping them move from one step to the next by clearly setting the milestones they need to achieve, you are adding value to their business.
Liked what you read? Check out our whitepaper, Partner Sales Enablement : The Mission-Critical Component Of ROI Generating Channel Programs, to learn more.
