Wednesday, August 29, 2007

<![CDATA[Channel Sales Teams Driving Sales with Different Sales Strategy]]>



In order to grow market share, Brand Owners must understand the market in which they compete, and design features in their product that will be accepted by the market. We all know that sales and production, to say nothing of sales and design, seldom find themselves on the same page. This is even more difficult when the sales channel includes Value Added Resellers, or VARs. Brand Owners rely on these sales channels to drive revenue, but often times they provide limited support to their channel partners sales teams. This is particularly true when Brand Owner has both direct sales and channel sales. One VAR sales manager summed it up to me when he described the type of support that his Brand Owner provided his sales team. “Some brochures, a map with colored states on it, and a quota.” If Brand Owners could provide some tools to their sales channel they would drive value for the end customer, market share for themselves and a richer sales environment for the channel partner. One way Brand Owners can accomplish this is to train their channel sales organizations to be more effective. The Wall Street Selling Methodology™ will help their channel partners to follow a proven process that will give them the best chance to win deals. This methodology focuses on driving sales to the C-Level, or the highest levels of the prospects organization. The only way to do this is to think like the CEO’s that the sales teams are calling on. This unique sales process is best outlined in the book, Think Like a CEO. According to the author, Mark Kuta, this methodology allows the VAR sales teams to position their solution in a more strategic way, while increasing both average selling prices (ASP’s) and margins. The thing that makes this methodology different is that rather than re hash longs standing sales techniques that may have changed names over the years, it is based on financial measures that the sales team uses to identify their prospects Profit Strategies. Honing in on these strategies and tying their solutions value proposition to these will get the project moving not just from the senior level executives, but throughout the organization. As Tom Clevinger, General Manager, PACCAR Parts Europe states, “If you are looking for a selling advantage over your competition, you’ve just found it. Read this book, follow Mark’s advice, and you’ll have the edge in closing any deal.” The Wall Street Selling Methodology™ has been proven in many different industries. As the author states, “While your customer might not be a Boeing, you can bet they are focused on the same results as Boeing’s CEO.” The tools outlined in this book should allow channel partners to drive significant revenue. Brand Owners, from their end, should be focused on providing their VAR’s with real value. Sending each of their channel sales teams a copy of Think Like a CEO is an excellent way to begin increasing profitability for the entire supply chain.

Robert Baer works for Belvedere Press

Source: http://www.articlepros.com

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