Fewer than half of companies (47%) consider their indirect sales channels effective.¹ You likely invest in indirect channel sales to grow revenue and expand your brand’s reach, but are you getting the attention you need from the individual reps to achieve these things? The outside influences on any one sales rep are overwhelming and varied. So many vendors are vying for their attention, it becomes like a 3-ring circus. The challenge is to shine the spotlight on yourself in the center ring, cutting through the distractions. And the stakes are high! More than 60% of companies say channel partners contribute to their overall revenue.²What does this mean to you? You’re not the only company that’s relying on channel partner reps to succeed. Staying in the spotlight of this great, big circus is the only answer. 

When you put the right program, processes and technology in place to support channel success, the results may amaze you:³

• 28% shorter sales cycles
• 12% higher lead conversion rates
• 13% more reps achieving quota

If you’re like most companies, you’re doing a great job reaching the top 5% of channel reps who are performing at their peak. The trick lies in actively engaging the other 95%. One-to-one communication, gamified training and full-spectrum incentives can make engagement happen like nothing else. That’s when the magic happens. That’s when the revenue starts to flow in.

ONE-TO-ONE COMMUNICATION

There’s a lot going on under the big top – keep your audience engaged!

It’s a big job appealing to diverse sales audiences and keeping their attention. Open up a 2-way dialogue, eliminate communication barriers and connect directly with the 95% of channel reps that are not as engaged as they could be. At the same time, you can gather valuable front-line intel about your product, the selling process and the competition – knowledge that can really make a difference to the bottom line!

GAMIFIED TRAINING

To tame a lion, you need to teach them – never give up!

Lion taming is all about constantly engaging while teaching. Use your channel engagement program as your key training platform, add gamification to keep reps interested and collect data to track progress and encourage higher achievement. Only 35% of companies have effective training and development for channel sales reps.¹When 71% of channel reps are saying they are unable to close deals due to their lack of knowledge,² it’s important to keep them trained to help them close!

FULL-SPECTRUM INCENTIVES

Don’t just put on the usual juggling act – blow their minds!

Why juggle balls when you could juggle chainsaws? If you’re just giving a SPIF and doing nothing else, then you’re simply doing the usual juggling act. But, if you add unexpected thrills like gamification, exciting promotions and experiences, then it’s like watching someone juggling roaring chainsaws. Do something extreme and change it up every time, and they’ll come to your circus year after year. That’s the sort of loyalty and repeat visit you want for your channel engagement program, so fire up the chainsaws!

Want to learn more about how to shine the spotlight into your circus ring, engage more channel sales reps and drive higher revenue?  Check out our epic infographic, Channel Sales Are Like a 3-Ring Circus!

Sources:

1. SMA, Research Brief: Enabling Indirect Sales Channels, 2017. https://salesmanagement.org/resource/research-brief-enabling-indirect-sales-channels/