Relationship, Relationship, & Relationship – It’s all in the “Channel”

Channel sales is an interesting topic.  Having been in “The Channel” in various sales & senior management roles for more than 23 years, I’ve seen a lot. 

The same trade shows years after year, some changing names, several times.  Same cities, same hotels.  How many times have you been to Caesar’s in Vegas?  Or the Venetian?  Remember Jay Leno performing at Comptel?  Magic Johnson speaking at Embarq?  (one of my favorites) How about all the logo changes you see on the polo shirts of our Channel peers?  

Seems like every year we’re saying:

 “Hey John, I didn’t know you left Company xxx?”.

   

“Dave, I’ve been with Company yyy now for 6 months.  Greatest place I’ve ever worked!  Here’s my new card”

All too familiar, right?

But one thing never changes in the “Channel”.  The simple fact that agent partners buy on relationships - not product, price, commission, or bonus.  (OK, maybe a few buy on commission & bonus).  That’s the main reason we work in the “Channel” vs working in “Direct Sales”.  Relationship is what wins business in the Channel.

My partners have customers they’ve worked with for more than 20 years.  A direct sales rep stands no chance of penetrating that customer because the partner has the relationship.  It’s just another example of people buying from people.  It takes a different kind of sales professional to understand how Channel sales works and then thrive at it. 

The days of convincing a partner to use your product simply because it’s a great product are mostly gone.  Too many companies these days have the same products.  Now if the partner (or often times, a friend or master agent of that partner) has known the Channel Manager for years, the odds of the partner listening to the new product pitch are greatly enhanced.  One thing I’ve learned over my 2+ decades working in the “Channel” is that I’ve made a lot of good friends all over the country at a lot of companies.  I do most of my business with the people I’ve had the longest relationships with.  I learned a long time ago from a gentleman I owe most of my success to, that the only way to be successful in the “Channel” and last your entire career, is to build a solid reputation as an honest & responsive sales resource for your partner.  I’ve done my best to follow that advice.

If someone calls, answer the phone.  If you miss their call, call them back.  Not “within 24 hours because that’s your company rule” but rather call them as soon as you’re free.  Maybe it’s on your commute home or before you run out to dinner.  If you see their email on Sunday, return it.  Trust me, it goes a long way in building the relationship.  Channel sales is 24 x 7 x 365.  Or as close to that as you can come.

I recently sat through a seminar with one of the nation’s largest Masters, reviewing some Q&A they had done with their partners.  You know what their #1 issue is in a Channel Manager?

             #1.       RESPONSIVENESS

Not price, not commission, not SPIFF but Responsiveness.  That says a lot about what a partner thinks is important and I agree.

And remember, you may not always have the ideal product for a customer, so if your product doesn’t fit and you know it, tell your partner.  If you’re my partner and you know my product isn’t the best fit, tell me.  I’d rather hear “No, doesn’t work on this one Dave.  We’ll try again on the next one” than spend cycles on something I’ll never sign

It’s all relationship in the Channel.  The more we all work on it and understand it, the more money we’ll all make.  And along with all the friends and the Vegas trips, money plays a little role in it too!

Happy Selling…

Sales exclusivity – Does it limit potential or add value?

Having been in a variety of senior sales and sales management positions over the past 25 years, I’ve worked in and managed both direct and channel sales groups.   In both cases, one major decision always seems to pop up……this issue of “exclusivity”

What exactly does the term “Exclusivity” refer to in sales?  The term really can have a double meaning in sales agreements.  

In one case “exclusivity” can be granted to a sales person or company to be the only person authorized to sell a certain set of products, or be the only authorized sales agency in a specific geographical region.  This could be a state, county, country etc.

The second definition can be written where a sales person or company can only sell one manufacturer’s product line, thus becoming an “exclusive” agent for a particular vendor.  In return for accepting this type of arrangement, the sales agent can typically negotiate favorable terms and pricing for the product.

But is “Exclusivity” hindering the sales organization’s success?  That is a debate that has been going on for years and will continue for the foreseeable future.  I have witnessed organizations who sell only one product or brand become highly successful and profitable.  Unfortunately, I have also often seen these relationships sour as technology passes by the product, or competition developing a better, more price competitive product.  

Just recently, the drug manufacturing company Merck lost it’s “exclusivity” to sell the drug Singulair when it’s patent expired.  According to NASDAQ.com, Merck & Co. “reported a 49% decline in second-quarter profit, as the drug maker continues to feel sales pressure from patent expirations”.  This is a big impact from the addition of sales competition to the playing field.  Obviously a positive In making the case that “exclusivity” helps drive increased profits.

On the other side of the fence, being an “exclusive” agent limits your options to a present to a potential customer.  While price limitations is an obvious result of this situation, consider other issues:  your prospect may have had a bad previous experience with your manufacturer, your product may not have the right features, your install or delivery requirements may not fit, or the prospect may just like to make a choice rather than be “sold” on a solution.  In any of these situations, “exclusivity” can hurt your sales efforts and can often lead to a lost sale.  If “exclusivity was good for business, Walmart would carry one type of vacuum, one brand of potato chips, one brand of laundry detergent, and so forth.  We all know they don’t, and they are America’s largest retailer.

So at the end of the day, is “exclusivity” worth it?  Still up in the air but it’s fun to discuss.  Personally, I think limiting yourself to one type of anything is a bad idea.  After all, how many of us  own more than one car and have all of the same type of vehicles in our garages and driveways?   There are 4 cars in my family, a Cadillac, a Toyota, and 2 Chevy’s.  And yes, I have 3 different brands of HDTV’s too!

So much for “Exclusivity” in my family!

How about you?

What is Sales? The Truth Behind Cold Calls

Cold calls, prospecting, leads, qualified, close ratio, average value of sale....... these are all buzz words used in sales and sales management. But what do they really mean and how do they relate to sales success. Is the successful sales person the one who struggles each month to make “quota”, making hundreds of cold calls, only to be rejected hundreds of times? Can’t be much fun dealing with all that rejection….think of this, if you ran into a stone wall trying to knock it down, but failed, would you continue to do it hundreds of more times throughout the month? Probably not, as it would only beat your body up. Ultimately, doing hundreds of cold calls with no results does the same thing. Maybe not physically, but it sure does mentally! So, if cold calling doesn’t work, what makes the successful salesperson successful? Working smart, not working hard. (I’m by no means advocating sitting in front of the television all day or spending every afternoon on the golf course, but there is certainly a better way to spend your time than cold calling). The old adage is if you are a sales person not making your numbers, simply work harder and you’ll attain your goals. Not true. Working harder with methods that don’t work only leads to more poor results. In today’s digital age, the successful sales person must build his/her image to the point that the consumer reaches out to you, not the other way around. You must be perceived as an expert in your field, a person who the consumer WANTS to buy from. It’s been proven over time that 80% of sales take place on the first or second appointment. What does this mean? It means stop wasting time on old leads in your “Funnel” and focus your time on new, high potential clients. If you don’t close the sale by the 3rd contact at the very latest, move on to the next opportunity. Remember, regardless of what your sales manger may tell you, no one closes every deal! If you do nothing but follow that one simple piece of advice, your results will improve almost immediately. A sales person must develop a highly professional image, through the use of the tools available to them today. And there are lots of them available for free. Linkedin, Jigsaw, Zoom, are all great networking sites to name just a few. Take the time to develop your professional profiles on these sites and you’ll soon see the search engines picking up your name higher on the results pages. Be sure to include your industry’s “buzz” words to enhance the likelihood of your name being found by a potential client. If you stick with this plan, even work on developing your own professional blog (like this one) and try and create a following. Try spending a couple hours each weekend on the laptop, tweaking your profiles, updating your blog, and adding to your professional network. Trust me, it doesn’t take too long to get results. Soon you’ll be having potential buyers contacting YOU to buy, not the other way around. Today’s digital age is yesterday’s referrals on steroids. Try it out and then sit back and watch the sales results roll in.