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5 Ways Channel Partners Can Stay Ahead in Sales

Tech marketers and sales professionals do not have it easy these days. Enterprises are spoilt for choice with technology providers and multiple channels. In order to sound loud and clear in the technology market amidst the crowded marketplace is challenging.

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Tech marketers and sales professionals do not have it easy these days. Enterprises are spoilt for choice with technology providers and multiple channels. In order to sound loud and clear in the technology market amidst the crowded marketplace is challenging. Technology moreover has become a critical piece for organizations in order to ensure greater business benefits. As a result of this technology decisions are taken with much more seriousness in the enterprise than before. Hence success in technology sales is becoming increasingly difficult and can be built through strong relationships, relentless girt and rational consultation.

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As a result of my experience in channel sales for one of the largest end-to-end technology companies, I frequently am posed with the question of how channel partners can stand apart and succeed with customers in the best way possible, in this existing scenario. In channel sales, it is important to have a good understanding of the market and focus verticals that you operate in. It is important to stay on your feet with the news and developments in your industry. Staying apart and ahead is a challenge in itself but achievable with meticulousness and perseverance. Below are the top 5 ways in which you can better your sales prospects:

Build long lasting relationships

No matter which sphere you work in, you should never underestimate the importance of relationship building – not just within your immediate target audience, but beyond. Relationships are often more than just striking a business deal. Developing relationships teach us how to empathize with and help us understand other lines of business more closely. In our capacity as consultants to our customers rather than sales executives, these learnings will help improve the overall experience of customer engagement.

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Track your progress

Routine self-assessment of yourself and your organisation will help create transparency and a clarity of where your stand with respect to your goals. This period of reflection also helps institute a discipline of constant improvement and motivation to find the most effective practices for success.

Track the industry

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Being a knowledge-driven industry, investments in training and certification programs will go a long way in helping you serve as consultant to your customers. These will help you gain credibility with customers who will see value in you as a trained expert and trusted advised across a breadth of product and solutions. In addition to this, keeping up-to-speed with the industry and “mega-trends” such as the cloud, mobility, and big data and how they are changing both technology decisions and business decisions will help you sell better with clients.

Connect In-Person

While communications the world over has improved via email or phone, meeting someone face to face can go a long way in creating greater recall of customers. Though email and phone communications are necessary, efforts should be made to meet colleagues and customers face-to-face. Face-to-face conversation are useful especially in cases where there are tough questions to be answered, people’s thinking needs to be changed or if you simply want to improve your relationship with them.

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Take Risks

In sales it is paramount to take risks. Growth and successes can happen only if you move out of your comfort zone and allow yourself to experience new things. Do something once a day that scares you and don’t be afraid to fail. Mistakes present the biggest learning opportunities in your career. So don’t be afraid to do something new out of the fear that it will be a mistake.

Most importantly as sales executives do not undermine the importance of listening over hearing. Ensure your conversations with customers are fruitful and lead you to act on their painpoints and that of the industry. This will help create a long-lasting relationship with your customers and they will not hesitate to reach out to you for correspondences in the future.

The article is authored by Anil Sethi, Dell India

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