Selling through Channel Partners , Distributors etc

I was working with some super Grads from Renold  last week in Hannover.  We were studying the challenges of selling to  ( En d Users and OEMs) and selling through distributors.

They ispired me to write a short post on Delegated Selling: 


Motivating your Channel Partners and their Staff. Here are some thoughts-

At the Mercure Hannover City Centre.
we took advantage of their pin board system
for a 'brainstorm' on the differences of selling to and selling through

You do not have any direct authority over your channel partners and their staff, unlike selling direct through your own sales force.  

The only way you can get them to sell more of your product is by motivating them.  This is one of the main differences between direct and channel partner sales, and one of the most challenging aspects of the job. 

You are, in effect, a 'sales manager without portfolio.'

 You are asked to manage a group of people (Channel Partner Principals) who by their very nature have decided that they do not want to work for anyone else.  In addition you have to influence their sales force and support staff, who do not report direct to you, and who may even resent your presence in their customers.

Remember that your end user is also your channel partner’s end user. 

Maslow described a Hierarchy of Needs which helps us to analyse people’s motivators. 

What are our most basic needs?  Food, drink, warmth, clothing:  These are all PHYSICAL/Physiological  needs, the most basic of all motivators, which, if you do not have them assume the greatest priority. 

 It is important to stress that as conditions change so do our priorities and consequently our prime motivators.
 

Your role as a a Channel Partner manager
is in the shadows not in direct control

What is our next priority need once we have satisfied our basic physical needs?  It is to find SAFETY AND SECURITY for ourselves and our families. 

 After we have done this our next priority need is likely to be part of the community, i.e. SOCIAL AND BELONGING (Companionship) 

Humans are not solitary animals, and they need others of the same species to relate to.  However, we do not treat everyone as an equal because we are looking for RECOGNITION and STATUS as a leader.  So this is the next step on our ladder of priority needs. 

The ultimate motivator on our ladder is the feeling we achieve to satisfy an inner demand in ourselves - a feeling of ACHIEVEMENT AND FULFILMENT.  This is the highest level of motivation in the human species.  This is the motivator which drives people to sail single-handed around the world or to climb the highest mountains.  

The difference between RECOGNITION/STATUS and ACHIEVEMENT/FULFILMENT is that the former is what we look for from other people, while the latter we feel within ourselves. 

Of course we can satisfy these needs in a variety of different ways, not necessarily through business.  In fact they can be satisfied through our DOMESTIC LIFE, SOCIAL LIFE, and BUSINESS LIFE, and sometimes these can be in conflict. 

 We know that we are looking at motivating our Channel Partners in the business scenario but need to remember that within their social and domestic lives they may have different priorities.