The channel sales model is a great way to scale up your business. But, that doesn't mean channel sales is easy. It comes with its own set of challenges. Download this whitepaper to learn more about the 7 steps to smoother channel management.

1. 7 STEPS TO SMOOTHER
CHANNEL MANAGEMENT
www.mindmatrix.net

2. 7 STEPS TO SMOOTHER
CHANNEL MANAGEMENT
1. Channel partner visibility
2. Guided sales process
3. Improved partner training & onboarding
4. Channel conflict management
5. Alignment of corporate marketing function with partner sales
6. Partner portal
7. MDF Fund management
7 Steps to smoother channel management 02

3. The channel sales model is
a great way to scale up your
business.
It is like having a widespread
salesforce without worrying about
the huge load of responsibilities
and cost that come along with
having an in-house sales team
that big.
The channel sales model comes with its own set of challenges.
Each channel partner is unique and so are their requirements, style of
working, strengths, and weaknesses.
For the relationship to work, it is essential that the vendor recognizes
the unique characteristics of each channel partner and works with them
to align their goals, priorities, processes, strengths and weaknesses
with that of the company.
03
The channel sales model
This whitepaper talks about the key elements that must
be in place for any channel sales model to operate
successfully
But, that doesn’t mean channel sales is easy
Channel
Partner
Visibility
Channel
conflicts
management
Guided
sales
process
MDF
fund
management
Improved partner
training &
onboarding
Partner
portal
Alignment of corporate
marketing function
with partner sales
7 Steps to smoother channel management

4. 04
1.
CHANNEL PARTNER VISIBILITY
One of the key challenges vendors
face with the channel sales model
is lack of channel partner visibility.
It is comparatively easy to keep
tabs on the in-house sales team
and their interactions with their
leads. However, most vendors
find that they have no clue what
they channel partners are up to.
Investing in a channel
management platform that offers
360-degree view of channel
partner activities can help resolve
visibility challenges by offering
vendors full visibility of channel
partner activities. Such tools
let vendors gauge how channel
partners interact with their
business and leads and offer
vendors a deeper realization
of their channel partner’s
commitment to their business.
 Knowing what sales/
marketing campaigns your
channel partners engaged in
and their results
 Being able to guage the
engagement level of your
channel partners based on
their interaction with your
brand
 Being able to monitor every
interaction your channel
partner has with their leads
Are the channel partners
targeting the right kind of
leads?
How are your channel
partners following up with
their leads?
Are you being fair to your
channel partners?
Resolving visibility
challenges
Having 100% channel
partner visibility means...
Salesperson Channel Partner
7 Steps to smoother channel management

5. 05
The sales teams haveall
they need to survive in the
jungle
However, for channel partners
it is all about survival of the fittest
When companies hire salespeople
a lot of thought and effort
goes into their training and the
onboarding process. They are told
exactly what is expected of them
and given the support and tools
to achieve those goals. Examples
include having a marketing team
to support their collateral needs,
being provided with refresher
training, and market trend
updates.
Channel partners, on the other hand, are often left to fend for
themselves. At the time of recruitment they are provided with a short
induction session and are then saddled with a bunch of sales and
marketing materials, process documents and expected to become
revenue drivers for the company within a few weeks or months. End
result: Another failed channel relationship.
2.
GIVE YOUR CHANNEL PARTNERS
WHAT THEY REALLY NEED:
A GUIDED SALES PROCESS
Giving your channel partners
a guided sales process helps
them sell more effectively. A
channel sales playbook is the
foundation of the guided sales
process. Sales playbooks are a
systematic organization of all
marketing and sales assets and
data that your channel partners
will need to push your product/
service. Playbooks help your
channel partners wrestle the 3 big
gorillas of the sales jungle--the
what, when and how of prospect
communication.
 What to say to a
prospect?
 When to say it?
 How to say it?
7 Steps to smoother channel management

6. 06
Companies today know that
recruiting the right partner is not
enough. In fact, most vendors
agree that this is just the first
step. What’s next? Equipping
channel partners with the training
they need to sell vendor products/
service successfully. However,
most onboarding programs fall
short of what’s expected and the
result is a fairly clueless channel
partner who is just going with the
flow, hoping they are doing it right
and the vendor hoping they get
the desired results.
For their partner training and onboarding program to be truly
successful, vendors need to:
 Make sure your training and partner onboarding program spells out
the sales process clearly
 Define the process flow for all types of leads and all steps in your
sales cycle
 Make sure all the sales best practices are documented and made
available to your new channel partners during the onboarding
process and later on, for any refresher training.
 Ensure your channel partners are not only given access to the
sales and marketing materials they need, but are also briefed on
how and when they are to be used
This is why most partner
onboarding programs fail
Designing a foolproof partner training &
onboarding program
3.
HERE’S A LITTLE BIT MORE ON
HOW YOU CAN ROCK YOUR PARTNER
ONBOARDING & TRAINING PROCESS
Automate partner certification
programs
Monitor partner engagement
and performance to identify and
coach channel partners who are
not meeting expectations
Set up a system that can send
reminders & updates to channel
partners about upcoming
training sessions or certification
requirements
All this can get a little
overwhelming and it
makes sense to invest in a
system that can help you
document and organize
your sales processes and
workflows
7 Steps to smoother channel management

7. 07
4.
ALIGNMENT OF CORPORATE MARKETING
FUNCTION WITH PARTNER SALES
Another challenge that the
channel sales model brings is a
lack of local marketing and sales
communication. For your sales
to truly take off at local levels,
you need great marketing and
sales campaigns, designed for
the local audience. You may be a
brand, but for the end consumer,
it is all about who they are buying
from. If you want your partners
to be able to sell your products/
services effectively, you need to
make them a part of your brand.
One of the reasons why channel
partners aren’t able to push
vendor products as effectively as
they’d like to is lack of support
from the corporate marketing
team. The vendor’s corporate
marketing team is too busy
 Enabling channel partners
to create their own collateral
without damaging the
branding standards
 Providing channel partners
mobile access to the latest
and most accurate versions
of sales and marketing
assets
Lower your channel partner’s dependence
on corporate marketing
Here’s a little bit on how you can lower your channel
partner’s dependence on corporate marketing
to offer individualized support
to each channel partner. As a
result, channel partners are not
in a position to sell the vendor’s
products/services as aggresively
as they’d like to.
 Having a robust content
syndication system that
helps you leverage the
capabilities of your internal
marketing team while driving
leads for your channel
partners
 Making it easy for them to
search and find the right
asset for use at the right time
7 Steps to smoother channel management

8. 08
5.
AVOIDING CHANNEL CONFLICTS
6.
MDF TRACKING
Channel partners look up to their
vendors to protect their interests.
Channel conflicts can strain your
channel relationships and cost
you valued channel partners. One
way to avoid channel conflicts is
by putting a solid deal registration
mechanism in place. This allows
vendors to control the flow of
leads to their channel partners
and with every lead needing the
Most vendors find it challenging
to keep track of MDF distributed
to multiple channel partners, for
multiple marketing needs. Sure,
you allocated the funds and even
gave them guidelines on how
they need to be used. But are your
You know you are not the only
vendor for your channel partners,
but you want to be their favorite.
If you want them to push
your products ahead of your
Hint:
Having a solid deal
registration mechanism
helps judge partner
performance objectively
because lead registration
numbers are key
indicators of channel
partner success.
Earning more brownie points with your channel partners
vendor’s approval, the chances
of two channel partners pursuing
the same lead drops to zero.
funds being utilized effectively?
Every vendor needs to know
which channels are spending
MDF and what they are spending
it on. Tracking the MDF usage
effectively ensures that you make
the most of your marketing funds.
competitor’s, then you need to
make it easy for them to sell your
products. Here are a few tips to
help you achieve that goal.
7 Steps to smoother channel management

9. 09
Give them full view of their
leads and lead activities
Help them explore and
take advantage of newer
marketing and sales
avenues like social media
Make it easier for them to
close by helping them stay
in touch with their leads
throughout the sales cycle
Provide access to tools and
mechanisms that help them
manage their leads better
Help them engage in
high-impact one-to-one
conversations with their
leads
Provide access to powerful
lead generation tools
7.
PARTNER PORTALS
As a vendor, you know the
importance of having channel
partners who share your
marketing and sales vision. But,
more often than not, you find it
challenging to pull them onto
the same page. Channel partner
portals are a great way to resolve
this challenge. Partner portals
make communication easy and
consistent.
To learn more about
partner portals, how they
can help strengthen your
channel relationships
by helping your channel
partners sell more, and to
understand the must-have
elements of an effective
partner portal, download
our whitepaper,
9 Must-Haves for an
Excellent Partner Portal
7 Steps to smoother channel management

10. Mindmatrix offers Channel & Sales Enablement software for direct and indirect sales
channels. Mindmatrix is the only provider of a Single Unified Platform that combines
PRM software, Direct Sales and Channel Enablement, Channel Marketing Software,
Marketing Automation software and Marketing Asset Management. Mindmatrix takes you
through every step in the sales process from lead to revenue, enabling your salespeople
and channel partners to sell more, faster.
2403 Sidney Street, Suite 150, Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Phone: 412-381-0230, Fax: 412-774-1992
www.mindmatirx.net