To handle a distribution channel network properly, it is important to track the activities of various business partners. With the help of the latest business or marketing strategies, vendors can increase their sales and profits. One of these strategies is deal registration which can help by reducing conflicts.
Deal registration is a program which allows channel partners to send a message to the vendor or business owner about the new lead.
The significance of deal registration for your business
The main aim of the deal registration program is to reduce conflicts between channel partners and the vendor’s sales team. This program helps partners to develop new programs and increase their profitability. In most cases, business owners also offer channel incentives to partners for their pre-sale investments. These incentives are only for the partner who registers first for the lead.
There are many companies who have opted for deal registration to protect their partners’ profit margin. The latest deal registration program also uses online software. By using this feature, the business owners can increase their indirect sales to some extent.
Once you have decided to opt for a deal registration program it is important to educate your partners regarding the new program. Proper training will help them to understand all the facilities of the program. Even briefing your partners about your business objectives is important.
Improve your business productivity and efficiency using a deal registration program.
In today’s tough business world, different channel management strategies have been introduced to improve partner satisfaction. Successful execution of these strategies can help business owners to earn more profit and gain more sales. One of the most popular business strategies is using a partner portal which can allow business owners to communicate with their channel partners.
Partner portals are web based applications which are designed in such a way that the parent companies and partners can easily share information and views. If you own a business and are finding it difficult to manage business relationships then you should opt for a partner portal.
Before partner portals, business owners used to share information via emails, fax and phone calls. Although these are useful, these methods do not offer quick results. With the help of partner portals, the parent company can easily connect and interact with all their partners whenever they want.
Partner portals offer real time information to partners
To access partner portals, your channel partners have to provide authorised credentials. This feature of partner portals allows you to protect your business-related information from strangers. Information such as leads, contacts, reseller programs, deal registration and spreadsheets can be shared via partner portals. Due to latest advances in technology, business partners can get real time information easily.
Partner portals also have a feedback section which allows business owners to modify the website when required. The latest partner portals are designed to integrate a deal registration program onto the portal to reduce the chances of channel conflicts. This will eventually increase sales volume and hence profits.
From the point of view of a manufacturer, a channel partner will introduce a new product into the market and promote the brand which will in turn encourage sales. This enhances the scope for new businesses with lower risk for the partner. This will prove to be better than creating technology or unifying or acquiring the technology for that particular service.
One of the challenges is to discover what happened to leads sent to the channel. You may face some questions like:
• The leads that your partner followed up
• The amount of leads that turned into sales
• The total return on investment for each program that created the leads
A channel sales representative can help your partners follow up the leads and close them. This will be an indication that you are on the right track and are doing a good job. There is a chance that many leads still do not close. In such a situation, these leads are of no use. Each partner representative may work with many partners in the channel and each of the partners may have as many leads as possible. A single representative works on one lead at a time so the rest are kept on hold.
This scenario calls for good lead management.
Partnership strategies are currently one of the biggest trends in world of business. Many organisations praise their accomplishments because they can benefit companies in various areas such as productivity and revenue generation.
Partner portal strategies are very effective as they serve as a focal point in joint business ventures, business convergences, communication and collaborations.
A partner portal system can be defined as an internet based application that allows a manufacturer’s pipeline or partners to gain access to valuable information such as marketing strategies, pricing, support and overall sales. It can be accessed from the manufacturer’s main website and you will require logon credentials to log into it. You can thus assign logon credentials to important partners and they can access the necessary information at any give time. Partner portals can be a critical component of a successful strategy that will be useful for a small business.
Given below are the various features of partner portals:
Capture leads - Partner portals will assist leads and will also decrease the number of quarrels over a lead. Partner portals can be accessed anywhere and you can access it from any computer 24/7.
Content management system – A portal manager will allow you to instantly upload content on your portal via a dashboard. You do not need any prior training for this and you can upload your content without affecting the current layout of your site.
Password protection - By using a password protected log in, your associates can instantly access company related content.
Use partner portals systems to make you business more efficient.
A quality lead management system increases the number of leads passed to channel sales representatives and thus helps to increase the number of deals concluded.
Role of lead management
The lead management system follows the lead and manages it. Lead management can either be filled internally or can be outsourced. Once the role is assigned it is the responsibility of the manager to follow and manage the leads via the channel. This provides them time to track and control the leads that are being circulated in the channel.
Lead management ensures the work is done
The person who manages the lead takes whole responsibility of the work and ensures that the deal has been managed properly. If a partner has not acted on a particular lead inside a definite period, it will be reassigned to another partner. Thus, the lead management follows the lead until it is closed or has been lost to the competitors. This can help with lead scoring methods. Furthermore, the sales representatives concentrate only on ready sales leads while the rest of the leads are sent for nurturing. Lead management not only helps to increase revenue and sales ratio but also increases the quality of the lead.
Single lead management system
It is important that there should be only one lead management system that records all sales leads to allow the smooth flow of the work. This renders real-time updates of any leads to an authorised person. It also helps to let the marketing team know the ROI of the lead generated and keeps the database updated.
Partner portals are web-based applications that can help to increase the operational efficiency of a company. A partner portal will allow a manufacturer to establish steady relationships with their partners.
Types of partners – Partners will usually consist of resellers, distributors, service providers, installers and other strategic partners. This will help them obtain information that pertains to your company’s marketing resources, pricing and sales data and technical details. This is classified information and is available to selected users only.
How will it help your partners – You can use a partner portal to update your partners on new promotional discounts and your partner can also examine your service memoranda. A partner portal will help you integrate your business by providing your partners with an assigned sales support representative. This will be beneficial for both parties as the representative can provide configuration assistance to your partners.
How to access a partner portal – Your partners can access the partner portal through the manufacturer’s website. For this, you will have to provide your partners with secure logon credentials.
How will this help your company – This will greatly help your company to avoid channel related conflicts and will help you protect your partners from marginal erosion. A partner portal system will give you valuable information about your sales pipeline and this will assist your partners in times of need.
Use a partner portal to make your business more efficient and maintain steady relationships with your partners.
