In complex sale organizations, the indirect sales team is often an afterthought. The Direct Sales organization is typically the focus of enablement dollars and training. However, the power of the channel comes from your ability to get the mindshare of the partners. They need to have the same understanding of your value and differentiation as your direct team. In addition, they need to be able to articulate those points in a way that's relevant to the buyer.
There are three critical sales skills that every salesperson needs to be effective. Think about these skills as they relate to your channel salespeople. Do they have them?1. Uncover Needs
The foundation to selling on value is the ability to discern what the customer really needs. This is crucial in the beginning of the sales cycle. It helps you:
- Build a relationship with your potential buyer
- Quantify the customer’s pain points and business objectives.
You can’t uncover customer needs without listening. People want to be heard, and they want to be understood. The only way to show that you understand your potential buyer’s business problems is to ask great discovery questions and listen to the answers.
2. Articulate Value and Differentiation
Successful sellers can articulate what they’re selling in a way that's relevant to the customer's problems and demonstrates the differentiation of their solution not only from competitors, but also from "do nothing" and "do it internally". In a channel organization, your partners need to understand how to articulate the value and differentiation you provide in a way that has meaning to the customer. If you send them some product brochures, ramp them up on features and functions, you aren't truly enabling them to sell the value of your solution. Take the time to equip them with the skills that align with high-value sales execution.
3. Negotiate and Position Value
If you want to negotiate on value, you need to have a compelling business case that weighs the cost of the solution against the cost of the problem. It’s much easier to preserve the margin when you’ve quantified the cost of the customer’s pain and business objectives early in the sales cycle. If you can’t articulate that cost of the customer's pain, your solution will be viewed as a commodity. When sellers uncover needs, articulate value and highlight their differentiators in relation to the customer's needs, the negotiation process becomes far less difficult. It's also much easier to preserve margin in deals.
Remember, your partners won’t be successful, if they can’t execute in front of the customer. Do the work to make sure they have these critical skills.
