A joint effort

Strategic channel partnerships are a great way to lift revenue and growth potential, Brett Rowe says

An ancient Chinese proverb that says the enemy of my enemy is my friend can be applied to the channel. While we should certainly keep a wary eye out, not all fellow VARs need be viewed with suspicion.

Channel players who are going to succeed today will need to look at long-term growth and the business opportunities that enable them to grow and take market share.

Making those all-important first steps can be difficult and even prove the major hurdle when entering new markets.

However, joint ventures with non-competing channel partners give you the potential to break into new markets, realise new sales opportunities and generate extra margin and ongoing management revenues with existing customers.

So exactly what opportunities for growth does a channel partnership present, and how should you go about it?

Reciprocal cross-selling is one of the most exciting opportunities in any channel partnership, and should open up a number of immediate “warm” and pre-qualified leads to help you grow your business and secure valuable incremental revenue.

Building on an existing business relationship between channel partner and customer can help you identify the need for your technology or service. Effective introductions can position you strongly for any deal.

Both partners need to benefit. Just as you hope to get introductions and business opportunities from your partner’s network of customers, so too must you be willing to identify opportunities for your partner with your own clients, helping them in turn to grow their businesses.

Effective channel partnerships also help you break into new markets. Securing your first customer in a new sector is always the hardest step. After all, you have no direct market credentials to back up your claims on technical expertise, demonstrable success, service excellence, and no all-important customer references.

Your network service or software application may suit the retail sector, for instance, but with no proven experience in the field it can be hard to get the attention of the decision-maker.

A channel partner can help, using the business relationship and trust that they have built up with their customers to put forward the business case for your offering. This can help you get your foot in the door establishing yourself in a new market sector.

Joint ventures mean you can offer customers a more rounded and powerful business proposition in new and existing markets.

By working with the right partners, you will be able to look at bigger opportunities. Getting the attention of a big company may be difficult, but an end-to-end solution which combines the technical expertise of multiple specialists can prove more appealing.

Bigger projects not only mean bigger revenues but position you as a leading player in your field, providing a springboard for further large-scale projects and continued growth.

By delivering a solution capable of meeting current and future business requirements, you may make life easier for your customer, putting you in their good books and removing the need for them to look elsewhere for additional software or services.

Being different and better is key to reducing the threat from your competitors and defending your market share as well as taking business from your rivals and growing faster than the rest of the market.

Being able to deliver the whole package, from wholesale line rental to software and business applications makes life easier for the customer too.

Customers also get the additional benefit of having a single point of contact, rather than multiple contacts, contracts and service level agreements from separate vendors.

Brett Rowe is sales and marketing director at TFM Networks