Enabling Channel Partners to Effectively Sell to Small Business

On Wednesday the 17th I attended the Corporate Executive Board's Enterprise Council on Small Business member meeting in Philadelphia.  The meeting entitled Selecting and Building Channel Partnerships included attendees from about 10 member companies such as; Xerox, Symantec, Experian, Erie Insurance and Comcast, who hosted the event. 

ECSB practice leaders opened the meeting reviewing recent research on enabling channel partners to effectively sell to small business (title of the post).  The research compared the performance of high and low performing partner programs.  The meeting also included a review of best practice case studies.   Highlights from the research include:

• How small business owners want to buy - business owners stated that the type of supplier most preferred was a local supplier (34%), followed by a sales rep selling multiple lines (26%).   Top 3 reasons they buy from a local supplier; 1) location, 2) know them personally, and 3) responsiveness (immediate answers to questions). 
• What high performing partners want from companies - 1) Training (all types), 2) Evaluation (compensation related), and 3) Resources (access to information, additional infrastructure, etc.)   This was interesting because low performing partners ranked Leads as #1.  
• High Performing vs Low Performing Partners - the size or maturity of the partner's business did not impact the findings, however the age of the ownership team did; younger partners performed better than their older peers.  
• Partner Compensation - the preferred plan was overwhelmingly  "percentage of sales" 38%; flat $ per unit commission 17%, and discount (either dollar or percentage) was 13%.  

Highlights from the case studies and discussion:

• Measuring Partner Performance - 61% of partners said that they are evaluated on a single metric. Number one metric "Volume of Sales".  Most of the attendees also agreed, only one had used an additional measurement for performance. 
• Net Promoter - the additional metric used was a net promoter score to measure the performance of partners...really interestiing application of this tool
• Using a Third Party Facilitator -  the use of a third party mediator was highlighted in one of the best practice case studies.  The company used an outside facilitator to help the two companies negogiate a partner agreement.   The goal of the mediator was to encourage honesty, and bring about an accurate appraisal of the relationship potential.  Really interesting process to get at what's in it for both parties, and for getting everyone aligned on expectations. 

My key takeaway was that there is a significant opportunity to improve partner performance that is being missed. The opportunity is directing partners to desired customers and/or market segments.   Granted some partners are selected just for that reason, but in general, companies do not typically articulate what customers they want or who are best for their products.  A couple of members mentioned that they organize products against customer segments and assume that points partners in the direction of those customers.  

I don't think that is enough.  At the end of the day, manufacturers know how to sell products better then partners.   As a result, they should know which customers/type of customer will most value their product or service, and those customers that will be most profitable and loyal.  Use this information to help partners understand, and identify what a good customer looks like, and why.  Give clear direction on what you want.  If there is one thing we've learned from previous research, it is clear communications with partners is highly valued, that in itself might be a win.

A Great Marketing Tool Built with Your Tax Dollars

There has been no shortage of criticism of how the federal government spends our tax dollars, in particular over the past two years.  But I found something recently that is worth every dollar, especially if you’re a marketer.  

The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) has a fantastic website that includes excellent economic and employment reports, as well as, an incredibly robust and user-friendly database.  The BLS produces some very well known economic reports including the Consumer Price Index and the National Employment/Unemployment Rate. 

 

But it also contains a wealth of information for marketers.   Some of my favorite B2B BLS reports include:

• Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Industry at a Glance
• Product Price Index

My absolute favorite section is the Database, Tables and Calculators.  You could literally spend weeks in this section running reports.  Many vendors resell this information but given how tight budgets are nowadays, do it yourself.  The BLS can help you answer a wide variety of marketing related questions such as:

• Want to understand how consumer spending varies by income?  Got it, Consumer Expenditure Survey.
• Need to know how to modify pricing to adjust for inflation?  Check out the PPI. 
• Want to evaluate which industry to target for a new product?  Go hunting in the Industries at a Glance section. 

The BLS website is a great tool for conducting research on market segments, demographic trends, and consumer habits and spending.  It also an invaluable tool for understanding the health of the economy, price forecasting, etc.

You’re paying for it so help yourself, and for once, feel good about your tax dollars at work.  

Social Media as a Sale Tool - Section 5

The following post is taken from the soon to be released white paper entitled: The Effect of the Great Recession and the Rise of Social Media on Sales & Marketing Integration 
SOCIAL MEDIA AS A SALES TOOL //
Although the use of social media is now becoming widely considered and adopted by marketing organizations, it has yet to be accepted by many salespeople. As part of Channel Marketing’s research effort, the team explored areas where social media tools could provide value in the sales process.  As featured in Figure 5, a simple two by two approach is mapped out along a common six-step sales process on one axis and the “BANT”(Budget, Authority, Need and Timeline) lead qualification process is aligned to the other axis.

Figure 5 shows opportunities in the sales process to apply social media tools to accelerate the lead management process and improve account management and support (the bottom of the funnel activities) based on what sales people and customers are trying to accomplish during those steps.

Utilizing social media at the beginning of the sales process, many B2B firms are increasingly using those tools as prospecting devices.  Studies such as David Gode’s publication in the Harvard Business Review on Better Sales Networks, suggest that to be successful at sourcing prospects, a salesperson’s network should be made up of contacts that are diverse in functional role and industry.

As a result, LinkedIn and similar platforms are helping salespeople create a more efficient marketplace network where each contact knows a more diverse array of people, creating a wider web of prospects. Identified prospects can also be used to help grow opportunities for buy-in and up-sell by allowing a salesperson to build relationships with individuals at a company beyond his or her immediate network.

Beyond opportunity identification, social media can address the problem of stalled opportunities. According to the Sales, Marketing and Communication Leadership Council, the most important front-line manager activity to drive growth is sales innovation, namely collaborating with reps to ‘unstick’ deals.  Often times, the culprit for a “stuck” or delayed deal is merely the fact that one or more identifiable ‘BANT’ lead qualification elements have not been met. 

While in many cases B2B sales and marketing teams have ready access to the necessary information regarding budget, authority and timing, Figure 5 highlights social media’s coverage and the specific tools that address customer’s “Need” applied to the sales setting.

As mapped out in Figure 5, it is clear that organizations are using social media to help better understand, anticipate and address customer and prospect needs. Allstate agents, for example, created a community portal on a Ning platform that provides agents with an online discussion area to post and answer questions, send out bulletins, blog about events, and share useful knowledge. Allstate news headlines on the site keep agents up to date and the network provides agents the chance to connect with each other and share insight with only a few keystrokes.
To read more continue to the post.