The Signbox team have learned a lot about Channel Partners in the last number of years whilst moving from a direct sales channel to an indirect one, and it brings us great happiness to tell you that we have not completed a project in the past 18 months without the involvement of a Signbox Channel Partner to some capacity. Here are a few steps which we have found to be crucial for getting a Channel Partner up and running.
Define Expectations:
From the very first meeting/phone call, Signbox will explain in full what our new Channel Partner can expect by getting involved in the program which never changes; a high quality, proven and flexible solution at a reasonable RRP, substantial Channel Partner margins and unrivalled support. We have found that you should never leave the first meeting without at least three follow up steps for progressing the partnership.
Have a Concrete Training Schedule
The Signbox team understand that every Channel Partner is different, but every Channel Partner will need to understand the product – if they don’t, then how can they possibly sell it! What the Signbox team have learned from years of experience is that Channel Partners differ most in levels of experience with with Digital Signage hardware and software – some are very familiar and others are entirely new to it. In order to respond to this challenge, Signbox provide training webinars as well as face to face training on demand – for more information contact Me.
Get Involved Early
As always, we maintain that closing an opportunity together is the best starting point for any partnership. For this reason, we provide as much support as possible to our Channel Partners as they strive to make their first sale. The better prepared the Channel Partner is, the greater the likelihood of a sale. Sometimes this just means a call before a sales pitch to let the Channel Partner know you are there to assist.
Provide Incentives
Signbox is a Digital Signage software company, therefore we specialise in developing, maintaining and deploying Digital Signage software. Signbox are quite willing to provide end-to-end solutions for our Channel Partners to sell to their customers, similarly we are happy to be your software partner – this flexibility is rare in the Digital Signage business and we see that it simply works for many of our Channel Partners. As well as this flexibility, we allow a substantial margin for our Channel Partners on our products.
Follow Up
Once the Channel Partner fully understand the products and Channel Partner processes, the most important thing is to keep in constant communication. At Signbox, we love to get feedback from our Channel Partners! This helps us get to know you, create greater understanding of each others businesses, but most of all it helps us identify roadblocks to success, once they have been identified we can help work them out!
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