CV_Fall_21

does not interact with the customer, no special pricing will be provided. The provider surmises that the best interest of the customer and the vendor is served well by the sales rep. The thinking is that the sales rep should have sufficient product knowl- edge to explain the value proposition clearly to the customer. The sales engineer is usually brought in to explain the competitive advantage of the software. This is why co-selling in cloud communications is common. When there is a nuanced service offering like any cloud communications – UCaaS, CPaaS or cloud contact center – the likelihood of a partner explaining the nuance, the value proposition or the competitive advan- tage of the service is small (for most partners). Therefore, providers like to have their (trained) sales reps assist the partner in selling their service. Co-selling in cloud communica- tions is common. Co-selling for other emerging technology is likely. Cyber-security and Internet of Things are just two other technologies that would benefit from co-selling. Technical offerings can leverage the vendor ’s training and knowledge to assist in sales. Even SD-WAN would benefit from some co-selling, since many providers offer more than one type. For example, Verizon offers Cisco, Silver Peak and Versa. Hard to know the differences and best use cases for each – and for how Verizon deploys them – as opposed to how another carrier deploys them. A trained carrier sales rep should be able to help the customer find the best solution. The partner ’s first job is to find the need and locate the Valuable Facets of Joint Selling/Marketing with Vendors, According to Channel Professionals Overall Canada United Kingdom United States Easier/better access to customers leads 46% 37% 41% 52% Better negotiating leverage with customers 44% 49% 46% 41% Expanded reach/geographic footprint 42% 40% 42% 41% Shard accountability with the customer 43% 41% 34% 31% Allowing smaller firms to appear bigger and more sophisticated to the customer 32% 31% 31% 29% Opportunity to tap into marketing expertise, social media expertise, etc. 23% 20% 33% 20% Source: CompTIA, 2021 International State of the Channel CHANNEL MANAGEMENT 66 CHANNEL V ISION | Fall 2021