When looking at investing in your channel it’s important to consider the different routes of driving growth while thinking about ROI. Always think about which types of partner and sales you’re supporting with the investment and what your likely return is.
Improve Quality and Access to Content
Invest in your partner-specific content so your channel reps have clear and thorough information about product specs, case studies, contact scripts, cheat sheets, and other materials. Quality counts so don’t skimp on the writing or graphic design, and make sure the materials fit with your brand. And to improve access, invest in a seamless cloud-based platform that lets channel reps pull the information they need on demand.
Financially Support Top Performers
Channel program managers should always be on the lookout for optimal performers. They have to notice and then quickly incentivize reps that are driving quality sales. These reps warrant extra resources to reward their performance and encourage continued growth. Here are a couple of ideas.
- Enable them to perform pre-sales outreach with access to demos and other customized marketing tools. It’s a great “we got your back” statement when you’re making their job easier and more productive.
- Offer interactive sessions to help deepen their knowledge base.
- Roll out new bonuses to keep them motivated and engaged.
Provide Continuous, Engaging, and Rewarding Training
You have to invest resources into training if you want impactful results. And remember that training reps about your specific products is just part of your strategy. The training should also help them build sales skills and give them insights into the broader industry and competitors. Help them talk to potential customers as a peer in the industry, not just someone hawking a product. A core part of this investment is embracing technology. Here’s some tips:
- Invest in automated training. You can better engage your distributors by providing them with automated training tips. Tell them about new marketing plans or give them updates on the latest products. Frequent communications show that you care about the partners.
- Add gamification. Training is only useful when it sticks. Adjust to the Millennial-aged sales rep by adding gamified learning. Offer points for completion of various modules and then let them trade the points for merchandise or other rewards. Invest in behaviors and actions.
- Revamp your onboarding. When bringing on new channel reps, you have to make an immediate impact. The initial training must hold their attention. Conduct surveys about past onboarding and make adjustments as necessary. Pay your trainers bonuses when onboarded students are successful. Spend money on tailored training programs that match with the new reps’ actual position.
Pick the Right Partner
This is where we come in. Our Channel Solution help you get the most out of their existing reps. It focuses squarely on the 95%, you know the ones that are doing alright, but they aren’t that amazing five percent who are already top performers.
Investing in our platform pays dividends because it enables connections and removes stress points from your internal team. It strips away communication barriers so you have more visibility into what your channel reps are doing (and how you can help!). We offer gamified prescriptive learning so the channel reps truly understand the product so they can speak contextually about its benefits in a language customers appreciate. Our sales incentive capabilities mean you can offer merchandise (we’re partial to scarves and funny socks), cash spiffs, and experience-based incentives.
Our solution lives up to its name because it’s value-optimized for every client. We talk to you about business goals, and then adjust accordingly. It’s an investment strategy that pays off.
