Imagine you want to buy a car on a Saturday. You go to dealership A and the salesperson says he’ll call you in 24 to 48 hours. Meanwhile, you go to dealership B, test drive the car you want, ink the deal, and drive home. When the salesperson from dealership A gets around to calling […]
As a distributor or channel partner, you work with dozens of different manufacturers — maybe as many as 500 — who send you sales leads in various formats on a daily basis. Some of those leads arrive via email, others in spreadsheets. Your manufacturing partners might even ask you to log-in to their CRM to […]
In a typical B2B or B2C environment, an internal marketing department provides leads — ideally qualified ones — to its counterpart down the hall in the sales department. It’s well known and certainly well documented that the process of sales and marketing alignment is both a challenge and a great source of opportunity. Just try […]
If you’re a distributor that partners with manufacturers, odds are that a few of them generate and share sales leads with you. This indirect sales distribution model has numerous benefits for both you and the manufacturer. You obtain sales leads at little or no marketing expense, and the manufacturer enjoys expanded market share without the […]
When we think about companies that sell via channel partners, we often think of traditional industrial manufacturers who create a product and then sell that product through distributors or independent sales reps. It’s not uncommon, however, for Software as a Service (SaaS) companies to operate using a similar model — partnering with value added resellers […]
Do you find yourself guessing what the revenue contribution from your channel partners will be at the end of the month or quarter? Do you look at historical performance and “hope” it continues or even increases over time? For companies that sell through channel partners, separation between financial forecasting and a channel partners’ actual performance […]
This is the second in a two-part blog series that explores the differences between passive and active channel engagement, and provide tips on how to create a high-functioning, outcome-driven channel sales engine. If you missed our first blog that explains the characteristics of a passive approach, check it out here. 6 Steps to Active Channel […]
This is the first blog in a two-part series that explores the differences between passive and active channel engagement, and provides actionable steps to help manufacturers create a high-functioning, outcome-driven channel sales engine. 5 Characteristics of Passive Channel Engagement Selling through channel partners and distributors is an established, proven, and scalable go-to-market approach for manufacturers […]
The role of today’s CFO is evolving. Once upon a time, CFOs and budget managers were tasked with preserving the assets of an organization by minimizing risk, getting the books right, and running a tight financial ship efficiently and effectively. In today’s fast-changing digital workplace, CFO’s increasingly play a more diverse role as strategic decision […]
Struggling to motivate an underperforming network of distributors or channel partners? Looking for ways to gain a strategic advantage over your competitors while maximizing channel sales? The problem may not be the distributor(s). The problem may be a lack of support. Sure, any business with a network of indirect sellers can build revenue. But are […]