Peer-to-Peer Blog: Make The Most Of Your Supplier Relationships Part 2
By Mike Jerich, Vice President, Indirect Channels, Global Crossing Ltd.
Are you getting everything you can from your account team? In my last blog, I asked that question and suggested you take the time to evaluate whether or not you are getting the most out of your supplier relationship. Today, lets look at how you can further maximize your relationships with your account team, your account manager, and sales engineer to be sure youre receiving the best support possible.
Once you have the right partner structure and support in place, its time to focus on marketing your company and services to your existing customers and prospects. Effective marketing is integral to helping partners win business, but all too often, many partners will have limited budgets and resources.
Most suppliers have a partner portal that contains an extensive library of campaign templates and assets. This could include service data sheets, network maps and customer presentations that can be customized for your company and used to win and retain new business. Other assets, including white papers and technical briefs, can provide the customer with information on next-generation technologies and strategies to improve efficiencies and productivity.
In addition, suppliers may provide Market Development Funds (MDF) for demand-generation activities with partners. Ask your supplier what funds are available to you and what joint activities are approved to help drive new business with customers and prospects. Many suppliers will help fund customer events, such as seminars and conferences, which may provide a valuable opportunity for face time with end-users and for enhancing your companys branding.
Lastly, its important to educate yourself and evaluate the service portfolio to determine which services will deliver the greatest opportunity for success and which best highlight the strengths of your supplier. Most suppliers have a robust portfolio of services. You may be unaware that they have, for instance, voice services or a bundled product that may be more competitive or broader in reach than the services you sell today. Contact your account manager or sales engineer to receive a thorough overview of all the services available to you through your supplier contract.
If you can lock in all the key areas a strong partner support team, a strategic marketing plan, tactical marketing activities and a product-selling list carefully targeted to your market youll have a valuable supplier relationship that will result in mutual success.
Mike Jerich, vice president of indirect channels at Global Crossing Ltd., has more than 12 years of indirect sales experience and strives to provide partners with tools and resources to help them extend their business reach and build a profitable solutions-based business. Jerich manages the indirect sales team consisting of general managers, partner support managers, marketing and sales engineers, all dedicated resources for the partner channel. The team focuses on enabling their partners businesses through development of growth opportunities such as promotions, SPIFs, joint sales calls, MDF and training. He also is a member of the 2010-11 PHONE+ /Channel Partners Conference & Expo Advisory Board.
