Maximising my sales resource.

Developing your sales department can easily be one of your biggest expenses when starting or developing a business. It is possible to tie some of the cost of hiring individuals to their performance – in the form of commission – but you still need to pay them, even if they’re not selling anything.

You may just think that this is a necessary expense, after all, how can you make any money without a sales team? Well, there is an alternative: channel partners.

There’s a huge amount of types of channel partner, including: resellers, wholesalers, distributers, dealers and manufacturers. Each type brings its own specific benefits and it’s up to you to research and work out which is best for your company. Most will be able to provide you with the following benefits:

• Marketing knowledge to help you break into new markets
• Established relationships with target customers
• Fast and effective routes to new business.

Once you’ve done your homework and found the partner that you believe can bring the most to your business, there’s still no time to relax. There’s a lot more you need to do before you can sit back and watch the sales come rolling in.

You’ll need to invest a serious amount of time and money into the relationship. Think of your partner as an external sales team. You’re going to need to give them all of the tools and support they need to successfully sell your product or service.

This support may take the form of:

• Sales presentations
• Clear propositions and case study data
• Information on your competitors
• Market research
• Pre and post-sales support.

Developing sales teams is rewarding but challenging, not to mention expensive. Finding the right channel partner is the best way to offset some of that cost and streamline the whole procedure. To learn more about working with channel partners, click here.