Cyber Threats
Channelling our inner reseller for better outcomes all round
Whether a distributor, a reseller or a vendor, every channel stakeholder has commercially driven motives for working together. But vendors motivated by sales alone may actually struggle to build and retain successful channel relationships. What is needed more than anything is collaboration, market insight and mutual understanding.
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Whether a distributor, a reseller or a vendor, every channel stakeholder has commercially driven motives for working together. But vendors motivated by sales alone may actually struggle to build and retain successful channel relationships. What is needed more than anything is collaboration, market insight and mutual understanding.
That’s why at Trend Micro we try to channel our inner reseller to build true partnerships across our channel ecosystem.
Searching for relevance
Too many vendors approach their channel partnerships in a rather short-sighted manner. They’ll brief prospective resellers on what they do, and expect the latter to take it all in and either sell the full portfolio or feedback as to why it doesn’t resonate with end customers. It’s tedious work for the partner and does nothing to suggest the vendor has their mutual interests at heart.
In my experience working for both distributors and vendors, it’s vital that the latter work harder to earn the trust and respect of the partner community. That means:
- Understanding the partner’s business goals and objectives
- Noting which point products they currently sell
- Considering which vendor technologies align best with these products
- Deciding which vendor solutions might help to spark new conversations between partners and end customers/prospects, to both open new doors and widen existing engagements by staying relevant
- Understanding which market/verticals the partner sells into and their value proposition
- Speaking the “language” of the partner
- Taking time to research what the key customer pain points and challenges are in each market/vertical the partner plays in
Better together
Ultimately, it’s about working with partner organisations as equals, to address customer pain points and drive sales that benefit all parties. That means acting as a trusted advisor rather than a purely financially motivated sales machine.
Trend Micro has been a committed partner to the reseller community for over three decades. It’s a commitment which has helped to transform thousands of organisations as they journey to the cloud.
Get in touch with us to find out more!