PARTNER MANAGEMENT

You must be a strategic product.

A “strategic” product is one that justifies a reseller allocating at least one full-time salesperson to take responsibility for the product. In order to cover the fully-loaded cost of one salesperson, the reseller will need to generate at least $200,000 in gross margin just to break even, or sales of roughly $400-500,000 at list price. For most products this means selling a number of licenses, which in turn means that the salesperson gains a deeper knowledge of the product, he becomes more confident, and ultimately more effective. It is human nature for people to sell what they know, and avoid presenting something that is unfamiliar.

What The York Group can do.

If you are not a strategic product for a reseller – you are most likely already disappointed by the lack of sales. However, your technology can be elevated to a strategic level within a reseller organization resulting in orders of magnitude revenue improvement.

The York has three programs for this purpose:

1. Channel program audit. In many cases resellers don’t sell because the vendor does not have a good channel program to support the channel. If the resellers feel orphaned, or if they question whether the vendor is really willing to be a good partner, they won’t invest in the product. The York Group can review a vendor’s current program, and make recommendations for improvements that will produce a greater commitment from the partners.

2. Channel partner audit. The York Group has a comprehensive partner audit and management program that is designed to analyze the performance of existing partners, and to evaluate whether an under-performing partner is willing to make the commitment necessary to drive revenues in their market. With The York Group’s in-country presence it can conduct the evaluation in the local language, and provide you with specific recommendations on how to improve the relationship. This will include steps you might need to take in order to become a better partner, and action items that the reseller will commit to implementing.

3. Local partner management support. With The York Group’s international presence it can be your “feet on the street”, working with your local partners to make sure that marketing programs are being implemented; improve the communications process; and help clear up problems that can be a barrier to successful selling.