July 25, 2024
Research Fellow:
- Julie Bloecher
Title: Routes to Market: Building your Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy with Partners
Selling through indirect sales channels
Whether your company is just getting started or well established, your go-to-market plan will need to have a strategy around sales channels. Many companies start by building internal sales teams, but direct sellers are not the only option for growth. Indirect sales channels can include resellers, Value Added Resellers (VARs), distributors, MSPs, MSSPs, Hyperscalers, and System Integrators. These sales channels can help you reach a greater number of customers, additional regions/geographies, and vertical markets through a developed customer base and strong brand recognition. They also bring company resources and expertise that will allow you to grow at speed and scale. Those resources may include sales teams, pre-sales engineers and other technical roles, post-sales support personnel, marketing, operations and administrative support.
Moving from indirect sales channel to partner: A two-way value proposition
The opportunity to leverage a third-party company’s resources and customer base to grow your business sounds like an easy decision—some might call it a “no brainer.” But is it really that easy?
It’s important to understand where your goals and those of your partners align and diverge. Partners may not be as committed to sell your products and services as your internal teams or may represent competitive products. What can you do to turn a sales channel into a committed partner?
- Understand what drives your partner and support it. For example, if your product is complementary to a solution they sell and your product helps them sell it, develop messaging and collateral that clearly positions the two together.
- Help your partner earn revenue. Discounts need to provide sufficient margin that enables them to cover their cost of business. If services revenue can grow their business, provide materials and support to help them develop services.
- Assign corresponding resources within your company to support the partner’s sales and formalize the engagement process. Partners need to have people to support them through the sales process or they will move onto other vendors and solutions.
- Provide ongoing training opportunities for your partners, either internally or via third-party companies. Helping your partners’ employees get industry-recognized certifications, such as CISSP, can engender loyalty.
- Build strong relationships and communicate regularly. Remember that it’s people who make business happen.
- Methodically plan, review, and adjust to keep the partnership relevant and growing. See our Partner Relationship Management Model and Partner Relationship Checklist for more details.