How software distributors can differentiate their channel offering to drive more sales

Any marketer worth their salt knows all about value propositions: those things that make your organization better than all of its competitors.

No surprise then that a differentiated value proposition is one of the five things that top Microsoft partners have in common and, as David Totten, CTO of US One Commercial Partner at Microsoft explains, there are three core elements of a differentiated value proposition:

Source: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/us-partner-blog/2019/09/26/us-partner-success-attribute-2-having-a-differentiated-value-proposition/

With 17 million technology partners to compete against, it’s easy to see why those who excel at very specific (differentiated) things, do well in comparison to those that try to master everything.

What does this mean for Indirect Software Providers?

Now let’s zoom into Indirect Software Providers. The ones who sell through partners and resellers. These organizations face just as much competition as everyone else, which means that they need a differentiated value proposition too. Theirs is just a little more complex.

The difference is that they need to differentiate their channel offering, as well as the end product or service. They need to appeal to channel partners AND help those partners sell to the end customer. 

Differentiate your channel offering by digitizing and streamlining the process

So, how do you attract and empower resellers in a world of complicated technology, overburdened sales teams, and increasing competition?

You start by revamping your channel sales and marketing processes. Ask any sales team how they feel about sales and marketing content, and you’ll probably receive a laundry list of issues, including how difficult it is to find customized, updated and approved sales content. 

You can differentiate your channel offering and attract more partners by showing them how you can help them close more deals by:

• Digitizing and streamlining the way you manage and share sales content like pitches, proposals, datasheets and more.
• Bringing your partners into your community and equipping them with the best content to close deals.
• Learning how partner sales teams use your content so that you can give them more of what works. 

Help your partners to differentiate themselves using your solutions - by giving them the best content for every sales situation

Showcase your deep expertise

Ensure that your partners understand the value your solutions offer to the verticals you serve. For example, if your solutions are particularly suited to Financial Services, ensure that partner sales teams have access to all the sales enablement they need to be able to confidently sell your solutions in this market.

Deeply understand your shared customer

Ensure that your content speaks the right language for vaious industries and challenges. For example, a sales pitch to a law firm should be different from the same pitch to a technology company.

Giving partner sales teams access to customized content is key to helping them build credibility in a variety of markets.

Equip them to explain your shared value proposition

Ensure that your collateral can be tailored by each partner, so that the benefit of working with you both is instantly clear to end customers. For example, you may share industry expertise, or their years of experience working with a particular suite of technology may be what makes your shared value proposition unique - and unbeatable.

Learn more about how to differentiate your channel offering with Qorus

Qorus brings your partners into your community so that they can close more deals, more easily.

Use Qorus to connect partner teams to your best sales and marketing content, along with powerful Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) content – all in the familiar world of Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, and your favorite content management systems.

Visit https://www.qorusdocs.com/channel-enablement-software