How to Focus Partners on Your Key Solutions

Partner focus is key to your success and the success of your partners. It seems pretty straight forward, doesn’t it? Then why is it so easy for partners to flounder, lose traction and eventually become disengaged in the process?

There are two primary components to focus partners on your key solutions – planning and communication.

Planning

In Map Your Way to Sales Success – How to Develop a Sales Process Map we looked at how important it is for effective sales teams to have a sales process map. Process maps provide a playbook for your team and your partners so everyone knows who does what and when. They improve efficiencies and overall sales performance.

A well-defined sales process map helps focus partners to identify your sales processes and includes details on previous, successful sales while documenting the steps all involved must follow.

When your partners are engaged in the process, they understand the requirements and logistics involved in your sales cycle. And it makes it easier for them to keep their focus on your key solutions.

It’s important to revisit your map with your partners periodically as part of your sales enablement process to help keep your partners on track. This is especially important in highly volatile channels where change is frequent.

Communication

At its core, communication is about ensuring all partners have a clear understanding of goals and targets. So when you focus partners on your key solutions, it makes sense that clear communication is a critical component. Events, be they face-to-face, virtual or some combination of each, not only effectively leverage the strengths of all participants involved, they also open the lines of communication between all parties.

A cross-functional event ensures sales partners truly understand the functionality and even the limitations of the product they’re selling. These types of events allow partners to play an active role in developing account strategies and participating in presenting solutions. When teams are actively involved, they can’t help but focus on the same goals as you.

Communication can take many forms including but not limited to weekly progress updates, salesperson recognition, newsletters and daily productivity tips targeted on your sales strategy.

It is important to treat your channel partners with the same level of care and commitment and with the same energy you’d expend on a valued customer. On-target communication strategies ensure you provide your partners with timely, relevant information that keeps them focused and on track. In other words, your partners maintain focus and are motivated to drive revenue and meet sales expectations.

Learn More

Keeping your partners focused takes time and energy, but at the end of the day, it can mean significant financial rewards for you and your partners.

Be sure to check out our other blogs on Partner Enablement to learn more about how Sales Beacon can facilitate partner enablement for your company.