I had the most bizarre day in early February of this year. I was meeting with a client of mine at their facility – a manufacturer in the video surveillance space. When talking with one of their Regional Sales Managers, he made this comment: “I need my integrators to get more creative. I feel like a glorified milk man as I’m covering my region”.
Later that day, I was conducting a call with another client from my hotel room – a security integrator who, by coincidence, is a channel partner for the manufacturer mentioned above. Their owner made this comment: “Most of our manufacturer reps are useless – they’re on autopilot doing their milk runs”.
No kidding – same day, same term, but two opposite perspectives.
When a manufacturer engages Vector Firm’s Channel Optimization program, they receive a whole lot more than their expectations. WE go above and beyond the initial thought of increasing their efficiencies, building the right sales tools, and calculating the best pricing strategies. We help our manufacturer clients help their channel partners grow. How?
The first thing we do is identify the problems their channel partners are having in growing their business. After identifying the top two or three problems, we build a plan for our manufacturers to solve those problems. We then lay out the implementation strategy and hold the team accountable.
You’d be amazed how open a channel partner becomes when a manufacturer approaches them and says, (as an example): “We’ve found that most of our channel partners are having challenges winning new customers. We’ve developed a 12-month plan to help our partners overcome this challenge.” You’d be even more amazed at how committed they become to you after you follow through with the plan!
Yes, our Channel Optimization program delivers all the basics, but it also goes above and beyond to help you deliver a unique service to your channel partners – a service that grows their business, and ultimately your business. If you’re interested in how we might be able to help your team, please click here.
