Time. Time is always something you and your sales team struggle with as you navigate the world of sales.
And we know that you love to see Benjamin Franklin’s face on your favorite piece of green paper. But his quote “Time is money” might bring you far more anxiety.
But that quote is true. Time is money. How are you optimizing your time? What about your sales reps? Are they even able to?
To scale your revenue, you need to take advantage of a channel sales model. This is a cost-effective way to level up your sales operations. And you will not have to worry about recruiting, hiring, onboarding and training a new sales rep every time you feel like you are falling behind.
What is a Channel Sales Model?
Before you can work on your sales channel strategy to develop your channel sales management approach, you have to understand channel sales as a whole.
What’s it all about? What do you have to do to master it? Who are the key players here?
We can help you out with those questions.
Channel sales is a model in which your company uses partnership sales. In other words, you work with third-party sellers who provide value to your business but do not work “for” you, by definition.
These sales channel affiliates can include channel resellers, affiliate partners who earn commission through their sales, and more. There is an almost endless number of channel partnerships you can pursue to the advantage of your company.
Channel sales is in direct contrast to direct sales and all that comes with it, like every direct sales channel and all direct marketing efforts. Direct sales entails you selling directly to the consumer, as with B2C sales. Channel sales entails you selling to a third party who will then sell to the consumer, as with B2B channel sales.
What Are the 5 Known Advantages of Channel Sales?
Maybe we haven’t sold you yet on the idea of channel sales. But do not let that get you down. Channel sales is your fast track to scaling your revenue and elevating your entire business model and processes.
Here, you will find the top five known advantages of channel sales.
You may have recently been contemplating a channel sales model, but find the idea of channel distribution to be one that leaves you with little control over the business you created.
And then there is also the problem of misrepresentation to contend with. But read through below and you will find all the benefits of adopting a channel sales model for your business.
1. Ability to Expand Your Brand
1. Ability to Expand Your BrandHave you been looking to expand your brand reach lately, but have been running into some troubles as you try to do so?
Say that you run a business in the U.S. Maybe you have a massive target market in England, Ireland, or anywhere else in Europe. (In the world, really.)
Without channel sales, you will have a hard time (to say the least) actually reaching that market. You can count on that.
But with channel sales, you can count on having a well-seasoned and local channel partner in the area into which you want to expand.
Looking for someone in that market is low-risk, low-cost, and high-reward.
2. Inherent Credibility From Partners
Maybe your trouble with expanding and driving profitability has been with a lack of recognition or positive reputation.
So where do you go?
Channel sales is where.
One of the best ways to get your name out there is to sort of piggyback on other credible partners. Not in the sense that you will do none of the work and take all the credit. Rather, you will both put in work so that you can both reap the rewards of your channel partnership.
For example, say that you are an independent fashion designer trying to sell a new product. You can work with an established brand like Amazon Fashion to sell so that your market will view you with far more credibility than before.
3. Cost Savings
Distribution, shipping, and web hosting on your own can cost you an arm and a leg. But the best part is that you do not need to do it alone with channel sales.
Most of the partners you will be working with already have contracts with distributors and the like. Plus, you will be splitting the cost to an extent with your partner(s). This means you are saving time, which as we already know, is money.
4. Leverage Efficiency
Direct sales can feel like the right option when you are first starting in sales. But it may soon come to your attention that it is not the most efficient way to scale revenue.
It is true that channel sales can sometimes take a little longer to leverage. But this is not always the case, and when it is, the success that does end up coming from it comes fast.
Your other efficient channel partners can bring you to branch out to the right customers and do it faster than before.
5. Opportunity to Acquire New Customers
Maybe you do not need any sort of global expansion at all. Maybe you are happy where you are now.
But regardless of that fact, you still want new customers. Customer retention is key, but you cannot retain those customers unless you have new ones, to begin with.
You will be able to find the majority of those customers you need to sustain your business (or at least a vast increase) from your channel partners.
5 Aspects to Look for When Finding a Good Channel Partner
Now you know why a channel sales model is so important, and some of the many ways it can help you grow your business.
But how do you find the right channel partner?
There are several things you have to look at before deciding on whom to start a channel partnership with.
So let’s go over the top five things to consider before you do.
1. Consider Your Market Alignment
You know who your customers are. Long ago, you conducted market research to discover everything you needed to know about them. And it is something you still have to do to this day in order to stay relevant within your target market.
But what about your channel partner’s (or prospective channel partner’s) customers?
Who are they, and would they benefit from what you are selling?
Is there any area where your partner is having a hard time delivering for them? And can you fill that gap? Also consider big-ticket items like location, buyer trends, and behaviors here.
2. They Should Work Well With Your Products or Services
When it comes to channel partnership, think “complement,” not “replace.”
You are not competing with your partners here. That would defeat the purpose.
Instead, you are working to allow your products or services to complement those of your partner. You want to streamline a process for their customers or improve it all together.
3. The Technical Expertise
3. The Technical ExpertiseWhat kind of service do you offer? Is it a tricky one, that requires years of experience to master? If so, you need a channel partner who has that experience. Otherwise, you are wasting both your and their time.
But imagine that you have a potential channel partner who is too good to pass up but lacks the right technical expertise. In this case, determine whether or not taking the time to educate and train them is worth it.
If it is, then you both win again. They get more experience and you get a great channel partner.
4. Compatibility With Processes
You cannot team up with a channel partner who has a sales process so different that there is no hope for merging the two.
The biggest thing to keep in mind here is that you want an organic time in their process where you can introduce your product, or upsell.
5. High Levels of Commitment and Expectations
From your partner’s end, you need to make sure they commit themselves as fully as you do to your partnership.
This does not mean they necessarily have to put in the same level of work that you do for your products or services. But to identify what you expect of them (and then communicate that to them), create an ideal partner persona.
Like your ideal buyer persona, you will have a better understanding of who you are working with.
How Are You Revolutionizing Your Sales?
We really want to know: how?
It is important to make the distinction between another evolution and an entirely new revolution.
And here at Selling Revolution, we can help you do that.
More so, we can bring you that revolution. If you need sales training, top talent recruitment, better leads, and higher conversion, you’ve come to the right place.
Check out our blog for more industry news and tips on how to help your business succeed and grow.
Are you ready for a revolution of your own?
Book a call with Selling Revolution today, and watch it start to happen.