I simply don’t understand why a business would sign partnership agreements with a new reseller on the understanding that if they deliver nothing you will “tear up the agreement”. What a waste of everybody’s time and effort.
If you don’t think it’s going to work as a partnership then, you’re probably right. Like all relationships a business partnership takes time and effort and commitment from both sides and usually a degree of planning and expectation setting doesn’t go amiss.
A few areas to look at in detail before you even think about signing a partnership.
Suitability of product/solution or offer Why you’re taking this route Margin chain – is there enough in the margin pot to feed all tiers? Your resources to support this activity Training/knowledge transfer Sales Marketing Support Operations/logistics Finance Affordability and impact on pricing and margins available Potential for sales conflict with your current operations and sales teams And most importantly how you will resolve them
Line up for success and remember that less is more. Fewer of the right partners is infinity preferable and scaling can follow
We’re going to grow our sales revenue by selling through partner resellers.
How hard can that be?
Just recruiting a bunch of partners who are keen to make some additional margin?
Give them a price list with a buy and sell price and they’re away – right?
Wrong!
So, so wrong 😔
Easy in, is easy out.
Any focus on your solution here? Nope. Opportunistic at absolute best.
Opportunity for miss-selling is huge – intentionally or unintentionally.
Who’s supporting them? Oh the direct sales team will – yeah sure, cos they have a ton of spare time to nursemaid a greenhorn sales team chasing shadows, don’t they?
And when they miss targets for lack of time on their role, a flea in the ear and worse still, low commission months… Not happening is it!
The ONLY way is to do it properly
Start with the end in mind and plan backwards.
It takes
TIME PATIENCE INVESTMENT ATTENTION RESOURCES (FOCUSSED) SUPPORT HAND HOLDING UNDERSTANDING REPETITION FIT FOR PURPOSE TOOLS TRAINING ETC
And so much more… and critically unlike your direct sales teams, THEY DO NOT WORK FOR YOU.. YOU ARE NOT THEIR BOSS
So if you do want to do it properly, give me a shout, I’d be happy to help you
It’s not unusual to hear a business leader say that their customers do not ask for certain solutions.
So what does this tell us?
Should we rely on our customer to always ask us if we can help? It’s certainly a great place to be when we’ve become a trusted advisor.
But this isnt always the case. Often we’ve been pigeonholed as the network guys, or the desktop guys or whatever else.
Does this mean that they’re not seeing us as capable of offering something else? Probably. It could also mean that they’re engaged elsewhere with someone who has made an approach that’s caught their attention. The threat is that whilst they’re busy building trust elsewhere, they’re not spending time with us building trust.
So do you think you’re going to “stick to your knitting” or segue into positioning yourself as a trusted advisor where you’re always the “go to” guys?
Whenever you’re thinking about HOW TO GROW your business, just consider how you sell more things to more people, and start with those customers who’ve already said we trust you.
You’re in an organisation that is providing solutions to address a certain business problem, and you’re seeking opportunities to grow your customer base.
You’re thinking that maybe you’ll find some resellers, as that’s a lower cost than hiring a number of new salespeople. The resellers get to sell your offer and you’ll give them a share of the revenue, or sell to them at a “dealer” price for them to invoice their customer and add a margin.
Happy days
Yet who should sell it and why aren’t folks beating down my door to sell my product?
Those that I’ve spoken to haven’t really engaged yet and haven’t heard anything back from them.
Some of them haven’t enough resources to add new products, services or take on new skills at the moment and others have none at all, so they are struggling to get started.
We have a few partners who have signed agreements but haven’t sold anything yet, and I’m not seeing any marketing activity from them.
How do I get this machine moving, as all I have managed to achieve is to divert my energy into trying to find partners and reduce my available time for what I was already doing…
This is not an unusual story, but actually, rather a common experience based on a lack of experience and knowledge. Businesses wanting to identify and develop a channel sales strategy, need to do so with eyes wide open and a good plan.
Often a business gets lured into thinking that hiring a sales partner is less costly than hiring additional sales heads, but this is simply not true. The cost model is merely different.
A sales channel definitely offers a greater opportunity to scale, and also potentially gives access to customers whom you might otherwise expend significant efforts to build a profile with, more easily. But do not think this is the cheapest way of growing sales. It simply is not.
How hard can it be?
There’s so much more to this than a vendor thinking that it’s worth giving it a try…. Because that simply will not end well. Why would a potential partner invest any of their time or effort if you’re not prepared to? If a channel partner gets the slightest whiff that you’re just “giving it a go”, you are toast and you will get nowhere. Do not expect a reseller to damage their hard-earned reputation by introducing your solution if they think you’re not here for the long term to support them, and their customers. It’s not going to happen.
Done well, the channel is beautifully symbiotic and it’s very much the way to scale your business
Need help getting figured out and getting started? Then get in touch with me and I will be able to set you on the right track – here or use the WhatsApp link below.
100% focus, commitment and attention is what’s required to build a sales and support channel go to market model.
We’ve seen several businesses decide to acquire channel partners to build their business with. Their failure has been lack of understanding and commitment to the task at hand.
Giving it a go doesn’t work. It’s a lot like deciding to get pregnant. You’re all in or don’t bother.
Start with a five year plan and work backwards
Ensure you’ve really understood the landscape, and covered all the angles. Research well and hire professionals.
Remember the quote. “If you think hiring professionals is expensive, wait until you’ve hired amateurs”.
Graham Bunting -The Partner Catalyst 
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