sales channel partners

Go the Extra Mile with Your Sales Channel Partners and Get More Sales

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With B2B selling, it can be a challenge to move your product through an indirect sales channel. In a typical B2B sales channel, you make a sale to other businesses. Those businesses in turn sell your product to an end customer. The challenge is to motivate the people who are your sales channel partners so that they sell your product instead of others.

 

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Your Indirect Sales Channel Partners Must See Value

If there is more money involved in selling something else, your sales channel partners will most likely be interested in selling the other product rather than yours. This is why you need to be able to give them incentives. Motivating your sales channel partners in this way is far more effective than advertising your services. This is because incentives will provide value to them.

 

Providing Greater Value Requires Going the Extra Mile

You have to be committed to giving your sales channel partners greater perceived value.

For example, one possible way to do that is through training only a limited number of partners. Then commit to giving those partners all the training they need. This approach will help you to garner greater loyalty from your sales channel partners. That’s one way to provide more perceived value, and it will lead to more sales from your channel partners.

Click here to find out how more about you can go the extra mile.

 

 

Create Better Sales Tools

Sales channel training must go above and beyond the usual. Naturally, you provide training to your immediate sales force. This helps them to be more effective.

For your sales channel partners, however, you’ll need to provide more. For example, you need your channel partners’ representatives to get data sheets, sales video, testimonials, and sales scripts. Additionally, they will need spec sheets and brochures so they can learn in depth about your product. Armed with this knowledge, they will be more eager to promote it.

What’s more, if value addition is their primary sales focus, they’ll need to see how they can add greater value to your product.

 

Enhance Technical Support

Sales channel partners need to have greater technical support. It is your job to give them that.

Your sales channel partners enhance the product that you are selling to them. Because of that, they most likely will come across a few technical issues. Therefore, go above and beyond in terms of technical support. This is another reason why you need to maintain only a manageable number of B2B sales channel partners.

 

Establish Frequent and Meaningful Communication Avenues

You have to stay in constant contact with your sales channel partners. This is because it is crucial for you keep their efforts aligned with your goals. Update them frequently about your target markets, your base of operations, and any changes to the company that concern them.

An invaluable way to move forward is to provide a daily or weekly update for them. In this update, include information that they need to be effective. This update can also act as an incentive for them to stay with you. That’s because by staying in frequent communication with them, you provide them greater value. This alone can keep them from searching for greener pastures.

 

Provide Your Sales Channel Partners with Appropriate Incentives

Speaking of incentives, you need to have something that answers the question that is uppermost in your sales channel partners’ minds: “What’s in it for me?” You could have a points system that earns them points for selling your products, to give just one example. They can use those points to buy a gift or prize.

 

Conclusion

If you intend for your indirect sales channels to be effective, you’re going to have to take a committed approach. Go the extra mile and your sales channel partners will remain loyal. In the process, they will provide you with a lucrative and steady source of B2B sales.