Selling through a channel partner program and keeping your partners motivated can be complex and time-intensive to manage. Partner programs consume various resources in planning, implementing, and maintaining your strategy. Just when you think you have your program on track, it derails with only some partners selling successfully and others not so much, or even at all. 

Whether you’re starting out or have been managing channel sales for a while, the steadfast goal remains to encourage partners to sell your products effectively. 

So how can you empower your partners to add greater value for clients and keep revenue on track? Read on to learn the four ways you can enable your partners’ success. And find out how to make the most of your partner ecosystem and maximize revenue from channel sales.

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Grow Revenue with Channel Partner Management Strategies

Effective channel partner management techniques help you collaborate with your partners and generate predictable revenue. See how you can boost channel sales and augment forecast accuracy. 

1. Streamline opportunity management

Track and nurture your pipeline with a partner management solution. Register deals to view every stage of the lead or opportunity and facilitate efficient sales operations. Ensure that each lead has only one active sales process to avoid channel conflicts. 

Partner management software makes it easier to notify your partners about client requirements. It also shows close/win dependencies and special pricing offers when you share sales leads with your channel. To gain control of your pipeline, you can:

• Track the progress of opportunities.
• Share resources with partners to seal a deal.
• Assist with sales activities so your partners don’t get stuck. 

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2. Analyze data to improve your decision-making

Making judgments based on assumptions can lead to mistakes in product development, strategic investment, and resource management. With a partner management solution, you can access the data you need to make informed decisions: 

• Forecast sales precisely by monitoring partner prospects.
• Make timely resolutions by finding sales challenges and problem patterns in partner conversations.
• Identify resources that partners use the most during their sales pitches through real-time reporting.
• Know how partners are performing by viewing key performance indicators (KPIs) in configurable dashboards.
• Conduct an in-depth analysis of sales processes by establishing a collaboration newsfeed.
• Shape marketing initiatives by informing channel marketing managers about feedback, ideas, and inspiration.

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3. Onboard and train partners for success

Successful onboarding of new channel partners requires learning resources like product handbooks, solution sheets, videos, product demos, and integration documentation. Make these resources accessible in your partner management portal and train partners to make better product pitches.

Use the following materials to promote well-versed channel partners:

• Partner agreements and engagement guidelines.
• Organizational development.
• Training and product certification courses.
• New product sales development skills.
• Presales instructions.
• Integration and implementation collateral.
• Partner support documents.
• Pricing strategies.
• Opportunity management training.
• Co-marketing initiatives.

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Augment the learning experience for partners by providing certifications and rewards for successful completion of courses. It also allows them to pursue education according to their interests and competence areas.

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4. Measure your channel sales program 

Decide and agree upon the measures of channel success. Work with your partners to ensure that you both understand what success means. 

Have your program managers pay attention to the following KPIs, for example:

‍Pipeline metrics

• Lead count of each channel partner.
• Quality and value of leads.
• Total numbers of leads generated versus the number of converted leads.
• The time it takes for a partner to act on leads and close them.

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Profitability and sales metrics

• Partners’ combined channel program income.
• Channel program cost-to-revenue ratio.
• Revenue segmented by geography, product, channel partner, reporting period, and campaign.
• Profitability of each channel partner.

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Increase Partner Cooperation

Improve your partner programs and position your business for revenue growth by increasing partner cooperation through: 

• Customized channel partner experiences. 
• Conflict-free opportunity management.
• Transparent partner-vendor objectives. 
• Incentive-based training initiatives. 

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Investing in a partner revenue management solution supports healthier partner cooperation with less churn and more predictable revenue.

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Boost Channel Revenue with PartnerAlign

A cloud-based solution like Zomentum PartnerAlign delivers optimal results and scales your channel operations. This one-stop solution enables you to: 

• Establish partnership objectives and set up channel success metrics.
• Onboard, train, and provide sales resources.
• Manage and control partner sales processes.
• Visualize pipelines and opportunity stages to predict revenue.
• Offer proactive support to partners, so they convert more end clients.

Get your partner revenue on track and scale your business faster with PartnerAlign. Apply to Join.