On the surface, many of us sound similar by offering the same features and benefits. But how many times have you heard “you can do more with less”?
While you evaluate your current offerings and what you would like to deploy for future growth, you may also be searching for your next new technology partner. If this is true, you should ask yourself a few questions first:
- Does the technology cover the requirements for all my clients? In other words, does the offering scale up for the large enterprise, as well as, down for the SMB market?
- Does the prospective “partner” compete against me? Several software manufacturers have a Direct sales team along with a Channel sales team. So, are they for you, or against you?
- Is the software over distributed? You don’t need to have a “me too” offering, you need something to differentiate yourself from the other guy. You need something special, and rare.
- Does the software partner create their own product, or do they resale another company’s technology? The owner of the intellectual property (IP) is essential. This will impact how fast a company can resolve an issue (squash that bug).
- Does the potential partner offer you a comprehensive reseller program? You’ll want to ensure it has several key components, such as:
- Sales & Technical Training that sets your staff up for success.
- “Internal Use” copies of the software, so you become your best success story (plus, you don’t want to be the “shoemakers’ children”).
- Demonstration software and configurations.
- Professional Services available to ensure the projects are successful.
- Opportunity Registration for competitive situations.
- Marketing Development funds.
- Leads for your Sales team.
- Assistance with customer-facing events (webinars, seminars, open houses).
- Dedicated Sales Staff and Pre-sales Technical Resources – Compete with and better help with knowledgeable and experienced team members.
Please, use these questions to figure out if a potential partner would be great for you and your plans to grow, or if they would be a hinderance to you and stunt future plans because of an inferior partnership.
The type of program described above would definitely help you exceed your solution revenue goals by enabling your staff, differentiating your organization from the competition and empowering you with the resources needed to be truly successful.
I have had some fun sharing these thoughts and ideas with you. If you have any more questions as to how we can help or want to add some good ideas to our list, please contact us at sales@psigen.com.
