Channel surfing: 6 inside sales tips to working better with VARs
Posted by Geoff Alexander on Mon, Oct 24, 2011 @ 10:02 AM
Do you sell through the channel, using Value-Added Resellers (VARs), acting as a revenue-generating or business development rep? Do you manage a team that does this? Are you a VAR, looking for ways to maximize profits and work better with your principal(s). Today’s post is for all of you. First, a little explanation...
Many of the companies whose reps have taken my inside sales courses sell wholly or partly through channel sales, and value-added resellers are a big part of the picture. But things don’t always go so well when lines of communication aren’t what they should be. And when that happens, a lot of needless blame is tossed around. While this post is primarily for inside reps working with the channel, it’s also a great one if you’re a VAR. If it resonates with you, forward it to your principal.
My first high tech job was that of an inside sales rep working for an IBM VAR. In my second high tech job, I set up an international VAR channel. I’ve worked both sides of the fence, and the problems involved in the VAR-principal dynamic are both ancient and avoidable. Alll ittakes is a bit of team communication.
Value-Added Resellers are more than just order-takers. They’re your eyes, ears, and feet on the street. They can help you to exponentially write more business, or ignore you unless you’re calling to assist them with an order.
So here are 6 Tips and “to-dos” that will help you and your resellers to become more profitable.
1) It’s all about Mindshare. VARs have everything from a handful to dozens of principals with whom to work. They’re human, and choose to work with the principals that treat them best, listen to them, and are proactive in making them money. Everything on this page is about giving you maximum mindshare with your VARS…
2) Engage your VARS earlier in the sales process. They might have additional solutions to sell (including Maintenance, services, software, hardware) that will better satisfy the prospect. So call your VAR right away, right after the opportunity goes into your pipeline, and get your VAR engaged early.
3) Don’t give away your VAR’s profit. If ultimate pricing comes from the VAR, tell the prospect that the VAR will provide pricing info.
4) Poll your VAR rep colleague once a month: ask how you could provide more value to him or her, and for ways to enhance the relationship.
5) Poll your VAR CEO once a quarter. As a principal rep, you do really want to establish a relationship with the VAR CEO, in addition to your VAR rep. The CEO will often give you insight that a VAR rep can’t, or won’t. A good way to start the conversation is “It’s my job to help you make more money by working with us. Tell me how we can do a better job for you.”
6) Make your VAR money, even when you don’t make money. This is perhaps the most important rule of all. As an inside rep, you’re making scores of calls each week, and sometimes prospects won’t need your solution. But they could very well need a solution your VAR offers (e.g. IT consulting services), but you don’t. This is your opportunity to gain significant mindshare with your VAR by passing on a lead that makes you no money, but helps your VAR to make money. It turns you into a consultant, rather than a salesperson. It shows you understand your VAR’s business. And when you do this, you’ll find that your VAR will reciprocate, and get you into places you might not have gotten into yourself. So when your prospecting call results in a non-opportunity for you, always ask a final question on behalf of your VAR. Here’s an IT example: “Even though you don’t need our solution right now, what are the 2 or 3 most pressing initiatives you have on the plate right now?” And if the answer comes up with a lead for your VAR, you’ve built great mindshare, and enhanced the relationship.
As a rep, I loved being a VAR, and loved working with VARs. Treat them right, and they’ll make you a lot of money. Ignore them or treat them badly, and you’ll lose a valuable asset that could be very important in finding new opportunities as well as enhancing the ones you’re already working on. So add these 6 VAR Tips to your Best Practices Playbook.