ChannelVision Sept-Oct 2017

channel management Remember that the brand ambassa- dor has to sell the brand too. For that to happen, they have to know what the brand is, what the value proposition is and how the provider is different than company X and Y. (This – branding and positioning – is the biggest hole in telecom.) It relies upon carefully craft- ed words, being able to paint a visual picture with as few words as possible. This is a challenge for certain. To the partner, the company is the channel manager. People do business with people that they like and trust. Without a relationship with a channel manager, partners are not likely to sell the provider’s services. The easiest way to help out part- ners is to tell them the provider’s story. As an example, on a quote request for a bank, let the partner know that the provider has worked with banks before. Let them know what services banks have purchased. Help them understand why those services were purchased from the provider. It is the channel manager’s respon- sibility to educate partners by explain- ing the value, the sweet spot – where the service has the best fit. It is the channel manager who usually intro- duces new products to partners. There is a lot resting on the shoul- ders of a channel manager. The re- sponsibilities and expectations are only exceeded by the quota. A common belief of channel ex- ecutives is that partners just care about commissions. However, part- ners care about factors other than commissions. Utmost it is about the channel employees – from channel manager to channel head. There has to be trust. Trust that the provider will do right by both the customer and the partner. Trust that the provider will deliver the service as described in a suitable interval, billed correctly and the partner gets paid. Other factors include ease of doing business, deployment/implementation, and what the customer wants. Cer- tainly spiffs and bigger commissions help, but no partner is going to risk a customer over a one-time payoff. Ease of doing business involves such ingredients as responsiveness, communications (from the provider to the partner and customer) and clarity. Partners (and customers) like fast re- sponses to questions, paperwork and quoting, especially in this internet age. As an agent, I prefer communi- cations throughout the provisioning process with updates on where the order is; FOC date; CFA/LOA; and construction status. By clarity, if the customer asks for TDM, for example, be clear the PRI is TDM, not PRI signaling. Explanations on service delivery may include on-net, fiber, estimated interval, softphone down- loads or what-have-you. These items can end up being the differentiator that closes the sale. One reminder: If a partner doesn’t close a sale, he doesn’t eat. The pro- vider doesn’t get the sale, but most likely the channel manager still col- lects a paycheck. The partner sale is their livelihood. Partners need champions who will help them win business with informa- tion, responsiveness, sales acumen and understanding. Channel managers have a sales management role and so much more including educator, brand ambassador and switchboard operator. o Peter Radizeski, president of RAD-INFO INC, started as a VAR, then became an Agent. Now he writes about the channel and the telecom space while consulting to service providers and occasionally still selling some circuits. LANtelligence gives you what no master agent can: deployment of complete, custom engineered solutions and support for your customers. Stop babysitting UCaaS & CCaaS projects. Focus on making sales instead! Learn about LANtelligence’s Partner Program a t agents.lantelligence.com LANtelligence Inc., The Master Solution Provider September - October, 2017 | Channel Vision 65