New Salesforce State of Sales Report Explains Why Co-Selling Is So Important

TL/DR

Findings in the latest State of Sales Report from Salesforce Research explain why the co-selling movement took off in 2024. This article breaks down the latest findings along with the direct implications for co-selling transformation initiatives.??

The latest State of Sales Report from Salesforce Research captured the numbers behind the co-selling transformation movement and explains why it has accelerated so much over the past two years. The report also highlights sales enablement as a top strategy for growth – but fails to mention how to enable sales teams to sell more with partners. Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered on that last point.? Read on for our analysis.?

Partner selling is widespread, contributing to growth*

A few key findings from the Salesforce research survey of sales professional:

• 84% say partner selling has a bigger impact on revenue than a year ago.
• Within 12 months nearly every company plans to work with partners to grow faster

* source: page 9, Salesforce State of Sales Report, July 2024.

We agree. Selling with partners is a growth accelerator.

PartnerTap’s mission is to help customers drive more revenue with and through partners. Driving more revenue with partners spans and encompasses the full range of co-GTM motions from co-build and co-marketing, through co-selling, co-servicing, co-success longevity, and co-renewing.

But co-selling is where the rubber meets the road. Companies can co-build and co-market all day long. But if their sales teams can’t align, collaborate, and work together to win the business it’s all for naught. Only sales reps close deals. So empowering your direct sales teams, and indirect selling partners, to co-sell is the key to unlocking faster growth. That’s why we built PartnerTap’s ecosystem platform and co-selling products for partner, channel and sales teams.?

Sellers face changing customer needs and expectations**

“Changing customer needs and expectations” is the #1 challenge facing sales professionals this year.? Specifically:

• Changing customer needs and expectations are making sales more difficult.?
• This was the #1 challenge identified by sales professionals across all industries.?
• 57% say competitive dynamics in their markets have gotten trickier since last year.
• 67% of sales reps don’t expect to hit their quota this year

** source: page 11, Salesforce State of Sales Report, July 2024.

We agree with this too, and detailed many of these changes and pressures in these articles earlier this year. Without embracing a new partner-first sales playbooks reps will continue to struggle to hit their quota.?

• Sales is Broken Part 1: Deals Are More Complex
• Sales is Broken Part 2: Buyers Don’t Want to Talk with Sales Reps
• The Modern B2B Customer Buyer Journey

These changes are exactly what’s driving the Co-Selling Transformation Movement.?

Enablement emerges as the top tactic for growth***

We love enablement, and agree it’s a top priority for growth. But the list of top enablement tactics fails to address and enable the #1 lever for growth: selling with partners.

• Enablement helps reps meet quota, but isn’t perfect.
• Enablement tactics planned focus on helping reps speak the language of the customer and communicating value more clearly.?

*** source: page 21, Salesforce State of Sales Report, July 2024.

This is where the research misses a critical enablement tactic….. But only the because sales professionals who participated don’t know it’s possible to enable selling with partners in a better way.?

Sales reps are so used to the time consuming, tedious, and manual steps required to sell with partners that most professionals don’t even think to raise it as something that CAN be enabled. Today reps email around Excel files with their lists of customers and target accounts. They scan through partner lists trying to see where they can work together. They waste time going to partner events and talking with people – – who end up having completely different sales territories. We call this approach “Random Acts of Co-Selling” and it just can’t scale.

Enable sales teams with co-selling data, tools, and best practices

You want to enable your sellers to sell more with partners? Bring in PartnerTap. It’s pointless to beat around the bush. PartnerTap is the leading partner ecosystem and co-selling solution for enterprise partner, channel, and sales teams. Enabling sales teams to co-sell is why PartnerTap exists.?

The best sales enablement programs will include co-selling enablement:

New co-selling program training

New co-selling solutions training?

Training on how to talk and co-sell with partners.

Training on how to use a give-first-to-get-later style when building relationships with partner sales reps.?

Ongoing change management to support and coach sales pros on co-selling best practices

Sales reps need the right data, automation, and tools to sell more with partners.?

PartnerTap’s platform:

• Gives companies digital clean rooms where they can securely share sensitive data with partners
• Automates account mapping and open opportunity mapping
• Identifies net new expansion and new logo opportunities with each partner
• Orchestrate co-sell plays on the highest-propensity-to-buy accounts with data-driven workflows
• Enables real-time co-selling between sales and partner sales reps on their mutual accounts
• Includes full attribution so you can track the net new pipeline generated by every sales play, with every partner
• Pushes mapped partner data back into your CRM so sales reps can have this information at their fingertips
• Helps direct sales teams sell more by co-selling with their top technology partners, consulting partners, ISVs and SIs.
• Helps channel sales teams drive more indirect sales by co-selling with their top resellers, distributors and agents.

When you’re ready to turn partner sales goals into reality just reach out to our team of partner ecosystem orchestration and co-selling experts. We’re here to help.