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customers. (And there is likely a product manager who will
help you.) At the time of this writing (2015), a hot com-
modity is cable; yet mobile device management packages
(MDM) are making strides. It allows partners new ways to
start a conversation with customers and prospects.
Keep in mind, however, that none of this will hap-
pen overnight. It is incremental change, slow like a
glacier melting.
Getting Leverage
It’s also important to leverage the orders you see and
the other partners you work with. If you see a pattern or
a trend, pass it on. For example, if you start seeing quote
requests for backup or DDOS mitigation, let your other
partners know.
If the quote is for a bank or retail or healthcare, let-
ting the partner know about specific offerings for that
vertical would not be out of line. Or let the partner
know that the service provider has X number of clients
in that space and those types of companies typically
buy “this and that.”
EarthLink has made a big push into the retail verti-
cal with two packages that are uniquely attractive to
that vertical. The first one is a PCI Compliance bundle,
which is crucial for credit card processing. The second
bundle is for in-store customer Wi-Fi with analytics.
The EarthLink CMO is able to clearly define where the
sweet spot is for these services and how many logos
have signed up for the service. This is exactly the kind
of thing a partner can remember.
Another suggestion that might be controversial: if you
have an agent who is successful knocking out network
and voice sales and you have a VAR partner in the same
area who is quoting but not closing, invite them both for
coffee or introduce the two to each other.
Also don’t forget to leverage your relationship with
the partner. Most often that is why people do business
with people – they know them and like them.
Getting Attention
A big question I often get is: How do I get po-
tential partners to listen to my pitch? Well, let’s not
forget that they have a lot of noise to filter through,
and their attention (time) is a valuable commodity.
Even in a time of little industry turmoil or change,
attention will be at a premium because the potential
prospect will be busy running his business – head
down crushing it.
Attention is a privilege. Seth Godin wrote a great
book called “Permission Marketing” that defines the val-
ue of garnering attention. Most people and companies
squander away that asset.
You have to treat this like a marketing campaign –
and it is marketing.
In a marketing campaign, messaging is designed to
catch the prospects. The components of email marketing
are as follows: the sender’s name, the headline of the
email, the message copy and the call to action. It’s also
about demonstrating relevance and the proper language
(choosing words carefully).
We live in a world capable of marketing one-to-one. It
doesn’t have to be a mass blast today.
Enthusem.comallows you to upload an image, add a
message and a personal URL to track activity. The ser-
vice will mail the card in a translucent envelope for you.
Each card can be different. It is matter of being creative.
(The card is less than $3 each.)
The message must be valuable to the prospect. It has
to be about them, not you or your company. The mes-
sage should be about how your company can help them.
Other ways to get attention: Stalk them online.
LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs, Instagram and whatever the
new shiny app is are all places to learn about and engage
your prospects. Start a blog or Tumblr or Twitter account
that is all about your partners and what they are doing.
This is a long-term strategy, but it will have a number of
payouts, including personal branding.
The best sales professionals bring creativity to bear
to design solutions as well as get the meeting. In the
end, sales is about being helpful, said Zig Ziglar. Your
relationship with partners is going to be due to a combi-
nation of your personality and your actions. Trust is built
on actions more than words.
Upon re-reading Jeffrey Gitomer’s points about “Con-
sultative Selling,” I could see a correlation between the
two. “Consultative sales is about style + strategy +
knowledge,” writes Gitomer. “Consultative selling combines
your personality, sales skills and inter–personal skills into
a style that makes prospects most likely to buy.”
As a CM, your prospect is a potential partner. You
have to sell yourself, your company and your product
portfolio to that prospect. That’s sales. The marketing is
the message of how your company and its products can
provide a positive outcome to the partner’s customers.
Trade shows are becoming like ESPN; everything is
sponsored. The AT&T coffee break goes right along with
the tw telecom fiber rich breakfast bar. These sponsor-
ships are for branding – get the name in front of the
market of prospects. Truly, it’s all about giving value first.
(Not that I’m equating coffee or a granola bar with value
– or even a beer.) The value is in how you can help the
partner’s business grow.
This is a long term plan, too. I know everyone wants
a shortcut. Video testimonial from a partner endorsing
your company would be one shortcut. Another would be
a luncheon where partners talk about their successes. Or
go back to the smile and dial.
But in the end, and the long term, Recruitment, Align-
ment, Adjacency and On-Boarding are
the secrets to channel manager suc-
cess. Good luck out there!.
Peter Radizeski is president of
RAD-INFO INC., a telecom strategy
and marketing consulting agency.
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