Channel Partner Incentives Drive Business
Collaborating with channel partners helps you rise above your competitors. This is more critical for companies today than ever before since the market is saturated with a plethora of businesses in nearly every industry. Channel partnerships make you stand out because they give you a means of selling products and services faster than it would take to develop these offerings yourself. That said, you want a mutually beneficial partnership. Therefore, it’s best to work with partners that encourage and reward you for making more sales. Below are a few things you should look for in a channel incentive program.
Good Partners Identify the Actions/Activities They Will Reward
Knowing what you will be rewarded for will motivate you to achieve it. For example, they will offer bonuses for things like:
- Attaining monthly goals
- Increasing the number of leads acquired
- Hitting annual growth targets
- Maintaining or surpassing a customer loyalty rating
The Partner Helps You Understand the Incentive Program
Working in a channel incentive program doesn’t do much good if you don’t understand it, right? Your partner should break down everything you need to know about the program including the exact numbers they are seeking from you, and their advice for helping you achieve them. After all, odds are you’re not their first partner. They have likely been doing this a while and know what works, and what doesn’t. Therefore, they can counsel you on things like where to find the best leads, what messaging is getting the highest conversions, and even what platform to advertise on (i.e. Google or Facebook).
Channel incentive programs should not be complicated. They just create hurdles for the parties involved. Instead, everything should be easy to comprehend, and actions should be easy to carry out.
The Partner Should Track Everything Accurately
What’s the point in working hard if no one is tracking your efforts? There must be a system in place that efficiently tracks how close you or your company is to achieving the next reward of the channel incentive program. Not only will this let you know how you’re doing in terms of progress, it may motivate you to sell more because you can see how much further you have to go to achieve your goals.
Your Rewards Should Be Attainable
There’s nothing more deflating than being a salesperson or a sales team than seeing a list of requirements for a reward that feels impossible to achieve. That’s why your channel partner must create a channel incentive program that you and your sales team can reasonably attain. This way, everyone wins!
Get the Incentives in Writing
Cash rewards vary widely based on the company you are working with, and the industry you are working in. Sometimes these rewards are cash incentives, and other times your company will just receive higher commissions once certain milestones are achieved.
Whatever type of rewards are available through the channel incentive program of the company you partner with, make sure you get everything in writing. This will protect both you and the partner and hold both parties accountable regarding expectations and deliverables.
Remember, when you work with a partner that genuinely cares about your success, you will not only help your own business earn more money, you’ll help them sell more of their products too. That is why cohesive partnerships are so important.
SiteLock’s channel partner program can help you take your business’s revenue to the next level. Get in touch to see how SiteLock’s program helps drive business.