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Published October 29, 2010 by Andy Grant
I
have heard so much talk and read comments in the channel press from a variety
of business leaders in our industry, IT & Telecommunications, about vendors, whom they represent, being and
wanting to become more channel centric and focussing more on the needs of their
most valued and trusted partners. So why are so many of the big name vendors
undertaking partner recruitment programs in the vain attempt to maintain and
even increase revenues developed via their channel partners.
Surely
we have all heard of ‘Paretos Law’ whereby 20% of customer brings in 80% of the
revenues. We can easily adapt this statement to be relevant for vendors and
partners i.e. 20% of partners will bring in 80% of the revenues. So why is
there a need to look beyond the contents of the company Partner Relationship
Management (PRM) system or partner database or excel list in the partner
response teams. Vendors have the information at their fingertips, or more than
likely, within a finance database system that will help any business to identify
their top 20% who contribute to most of their business.
Armed
with this information I would be willing to predict that some vendor sales
leaders will be surprised partner names that is produced by finance, on the
actual list of commonly referred to as a point of sale report. I will go a step
further too again predict that within this list would be a good number of loyal
partners. So what do I mean by a loyal partner.
A
loyal partner is a channel partner that only sells one vendor solutions, with a
given market such as ‘voice’. They are a company that is actively promoting the
brand of one supplier in order to make the sales cycle quicker and create a
more streamlined experience for the customer. They should also see benefit from
the accrued marketing funds, increased in points towards certification and in
theory a better all level relationship with the vendor.
So
why do truly loyal partner usually get so badly treated by their chosen vendor?
Why is there this inevitable roundabout of the search for channel nirvana for
the $10 million partner within 12 months? What is a loyal partner worth to a
vendor and can that worth be truly identified within a global channel partner
program? Imagine if this loyal partner only contributes $1m year on year, will
they receive all the vendors’ attention that they deserve? I would back 5 to 6
loyal partners to deliver the $10 - $12 million required rather than back a
newcomer to deliver $10 million from a standing start, but vendors still choose
to chase the big money partner.
I don’t understand why some vendors are looking outside
their own channel to solve the problem of …how can we get more revenue? I will give you the answer go and work with
your loyal partners, that will immediately give you increased revenues and the
only cost is time and energy…oh and maybe a few drinks once you get the P/O
from the customer to celebrate the deal. Reward loyalty!
Published October 28, 2010 by Andy Grant
The
lines between marketing and public relations (PR) can often be blurred, but do
business leaders actually know what PR is as a function and how it can help a
business to keep current and win new customers?
According
to Wikipedia PR is a field concerned with maintaining public image for
high-profile people, commercial businesses and organizations, non-profit
associations or programs. Furthermore PR can
be used to build a rapport with employees, customers, investors, voters, or the general public.Almost any organization that has a stake in
how it is portrayed in the public arena employs some level of public relations.
There are a number of PR disciplines falling under the banner of Corporate Communications, such as Analyst Relations, Media Relations, Investor Relations, Internal
Communications
and Labor Relations.
This
definition sounds appropriate only for large multinationals with thousands of
employees.So what about the smaller
companies how can they benefit from using PR and what can they do to get
started? I would recommend that business leaders look at all the relevant
industry awards that are generally available to enter free of charge, for
example the Comms National Awards taking place in October. They have missed
their opportunity this year but there is always next year.
It
is best to take the time to read the criteria for entry and then ensure that
the submission answers all the minimum requirements to at least have the
opportunity to become a finalist. This is where business could employ an
external resource that specialises in creating award winning entries but this
will cost. If the entry is then shortlisted as a finalist in one or a couple of
criteria the business will receive the relevant notification plus earn the
ability to use a finalist’s logo as awareness of the achievement so far. At
this stage the business has still not incurred any costs (if they have written
the entry in house) plus they have the ability to create a press release or
customer newsletter story featuring the finalist nomination and presenting the
finalists logo. This is all very simple PR.
Now
just imagine the business chooses to enter say six award events over the course
of 12 months and is lucky enough to be named finalists at each event.They now have the basis of six press release
ready to send out to their customer and prospects both celebrating the fact
they are finalists but also showing both audiences that they can sell and
deploy award winning solutions plus that they should be shortlisted for the
next available technology solution project.
As
a real life case study I was recently commissioned by Steve Rasmussen at siptel to
create, write and present at the finals at the National Sales Awards in London,
in the Technology Implementation Project of the Year
category. Siptel are already winners of six industry awards not bad for
a company only in their 6th year of operation. As part of the follow
up plan, when siptel win on November 2nd we will work with Avaya’s
PR team to write a vendor endorsed press release that will be published via
Avaya’s worldwide network, and there you have the no cost PR model.
So
remember PR does not have to cost anything, just your time, dedication and
discipline to complete the simple tasks but reap the big benefits of increased
awareness for potential customers. All the very best to this year’s finalists
of the Comms National Awards, please ensure you tell the world about your
achievements.
Published August 4, 2010 by Andy Grant
The more I talk to partners in the IT and telecommunications industry the more I feel their collective frustration at the vendor community. Vendors in this sector are fairly similar they mostly have a US HQ and they more or less divide into 4 regions which are roughly North America, EMEA, CALA and Asia Pacific. These structures and coverage models look fine as part of the corporate overview but does it really work at ground level. And do global processes such as Self Service really work for their loyal partners?
I am not going to single out one vendor for good or bad examples as most of the channel partners deal with several vendors although there are still some that remain exclusive. As an aside I support that fact that vendors should create as part of their partner program a special award for partners that have remained exclusive for an extended period of time like 5 or 10 years, this is highly commendable given the turbulence in this industry over the past 10 years.
I am still a firm believer in the fact that people do business with people and any vendor that can push back on the global pressure of centralisation and say we really honestly have to make it easier for our partners to do business with us, otherwise they will go and buy some other vendors products. New vendors are entering markets where the traditional vendors are either static or being acquired and we all know what happens to external facing staff during a merger, they all face internally looking for a role and security.
Partners are then left to fend for themselves, the all too familiar corporate message, it’s all on the website and in the email that was sent from the US, oh and in the webcast where you had to dial a US number to access, wow that is just such a global approach, as a partner I can’t quite believe how accommodating you are being of me the small loyal partner based in Bristol.
Partners are then also left to find out essential business transformation information by going to the Partner Portal and logging on using their PRM ID to the secure area. I still can’t quite understand why vendors are forcing their partners to use only one method of communication i.e. the partner portal when they are marketing and actively trying to sell solutions that allow customers to interact with businesses on any number of levels.
At the end of the day this is supposed to be a partnership and both parties rely on each other to exist and grow. Partners want fast and easy access to an account manager and to information that will help them sell, preferably quickly and effectively. In my opinion major vendor channel management and channel marketing still has a long way to go to hit the mark, but those vendors that understand and listen to their partners will receive the greatest rewards in the quickest time. Face to face communication is key as you can’t have a partnership without first having a relationship.
Published July 17, 2010 by Andy Grant
When I decided to set up Bowan Arrow in February this year I had a number of objectives that I listed in my business plan as I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve within my business I had a clear goal. But my first objective was how best to tell people in one easy to remember sentence what is was I actually offered. I needed to decide immediately as I couldn’t just rely on my catchy business name and hope they would all just ‘get it’. Successful brands like Nike tell us to ‘Just do it’ while McDonalds suggest that ‘I’m lovin it’. It was quite easily in the end as I decided upon Bowan Arrow – On Target Marketing which I then extend into… ‘if you can’t measure it don’t do it’…and you will be surprised even in the six months that I have been in business how many people quote this back to me, “…oh I really like the name and I love that strap line…it is so true…”
If what I say is true then why do so many marketers in large or small, global or local businesses not create a plan with a clear set of objectives or metrics before they agree to commence a marketing project or even before they start working on a given project? The excuse I hear most often is that …”I don’t have time to plan and I just need to get it out the door and the plan is all in my head”. This may be all and well if no-one asks about the reason you choose this campaign over using your time and resources on other activities. In this day and age I am sure those that hold the purse strings in your business will want to see a business case for investment and a prediction of the results that you would hope to achieve, commonly referred to as ROMI. I know vendors will certainly want to see a return on investment business case before they will approve a request for BDF or MDF.
Every marketing department should have a set of objectives to help them to grow and also to develop their products or services. By creating a plan and actually writing everything that relates to the product or service down you can quickly understand where best to utilise your time, energy and resources. Setting objectives will help focus the department on a specific aim in a given period of time to achieve a certain and goal and to increase motivation to reach that goal that has been set.
There are many acronyms that you can use within marketing but a simple one that can be used to help set objectives is SMART. And smart objectives are:
- Specific – What is the aim or actual target of the project? 15 leads a week?
- Measurable – You should measure everything that relates to this project to see whether you are meeting the objectives or not, e.g. Inbound Calls or Web Hits or Appointments
- Achievable – Can you actually reach the target given what you have available? I.e. Budget
- Realistic – Do you think realistically you can achieve the objectives that you have set?
- Time – What is the timeline to achieve the set objectives? One week or Six months?
There are many helpful websites you might like to research on this subject like Business Link
This process is not exclusive to marketing it is used for all types of project management and other business disciplines. I just wanted to ensure that people were aware of the term and could start to implement it into their business processes to make their marketing more planned, targeted, objective led and ultimately more successful.
Published July 7, 2010 by Andy Grant
I have a monthly column in Comms Dealer, in the June issue I discuss Demand Generation, with a focus upon following a simple process to help increase potential business. Read the article on Page 14…
http://content.yudu.com/A1ny5u/CommsDjun10/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.comms-dealer.com%2F1stview_0610_s87k6
Published July 6, 2010 by Andy Grant
In the world of integrated marketing plans and performance driven marketing is the practise of telemarketing making a comeback, but more importantly is it making a greater contribution than eMarketing or direct marketing. Telemarketing is a method of response to a marketing activity that involves a telephone call to try and solicit a request for a meeting or further information. In a Business to Consumer (B2C) environment the use of predictive dialling devices and recorded messages have given call centres and telemarketing companies a bad reputation, this has helped the growth of the telephone preference service which is a free service and the official central opt out register on which individuals can record their preference not to receive unsolicited sales or marketing calls.
While in the Business to Business (B2B) world telemarketing is making a resurgence as an essential tool in the modern marketers marketing mix. Telemarketing as one essential element in planning an integrated marketing campaign can really help drive up the return on investment (ROI)for selected activities. Targeted messaging, lead generation, appointment setting and even event registrations are all tasks that can be accomplished via a well planned and executed telemarketing campaign.
So my ‘Top 8 Tips’ for planning and running a successful telemarketing campaign are…
- Database – Ensure your data is accurate, the licence is up to date the target market is a match for the message
- Data Protection – Be sure you know that you actually own the data or where the data was originally sourced, check local data laws to ensure you comply, or pay the price
- Briefing – Every marketing campaign should start with a brief that then creates the overall plan. As the agents are conveying your message, make sure they are fully briefed on every aspect of the campaign and the history of the business
- Training – The more information the agent has the better they will perform especially if the program relates to a product promotion or offer
- References – Provide Cheat Sheets, Emails, Case Studies or even real life examples to help the agent deal with any situation that may arise during a conversation
- Conversation – This leads nicely on to, don’t use a script, encourage your agents to have a conversation, they will be more successful and receive less resistance if it does not feel like a sales call
- Closed Loop Reporting – Success can only be judged if the leads go through this sales led process, this is where most campaigns fall over and the reputation for telemarketing not delivering is created and communicated by a weak link in the overall company chain
- Testing – Before launching the campaign, test every back-end processes and response mechanism, because once the campaign is live there is no going back and you may lose all your responses and dent your company’s reputation
Companies such as Astute or Tangible Results can help advise businesses of any size how telemarketing can help increase responses for their marketing campaigns. Remember, a successful telemarketing campaign is dependent on the quality of the target data.
Published July 5, 2010 by Andy Grant
It has often been a question I have asked when many people in an organisation contribute to the sale of a product or solution why is it that the sales person is the only employee who seems to receive all the accolades and the monetary rewards. Sales people go to achievers club receive the plaque, certificate and the congratulations from the CEO and generally get treated and compensated as if they were the only people involved in the deal.
In this day and age of many sales led businesses vying for the best talent available in their market the compensation model for non quota bearing people needs to change. If a business wants to grow revenues while developing their employees which is what I have heard from all the Human Resources departments in business where I have worked. If they want to promote a positive environment where individuals are working together as a team rather than against each other then more attention needs to be given to performance based pay arrangements.
Over my years of working in multinational vendors I always found it frustrating to know that my dedicated and professional team of marketers who had help contribute to many sales, as we track ROI and CRM systems are only eligible for the worldwide group nominal bonus scheme. Where are the 3x kickers for getting a 200% attendance at a customer event from the database the team nurtured over the past 12 months? Where is the achievers club for getting 20x net new CEO’s of target accounts to a breakfast seminar where the sales leaders just need to turn up or spending 100% of partners JMF funding in a given period. Business is not just about sales it is about relationships and performance.
HR leaders need to stand up and make a case to balance the business. Reward loyalty, hard work, professional and passion or risk losing your highest performers to companies that embrace a new method of compensation for a non sales person.
In an article by Michael Alter he outlines seven incentive pay best practices:
- No. 1: Reward Individual Achievements: A companywide program with a shared goal
- No. 2: Find Relevant Goals for Every Employee: Motivate staff that are not in the sales department
- No. 3: Create Rewards for Teams of Workers: Team motivation can add to increased productivity
- No. 4: Communicate, Communicate, Communicate: Keep the staff informed about the levels of performance and the interest will remain in the program
- No. 5: Measure Results Mindfully: Flexibility in measurement is another key to the success of the program
- No. 6: Empower Your Workers to Be Successful: Give your employees empowerment to succeed in the program
- No. 7: Cash Isn’t Always King: Ask those involved what would be the most appropriate rewards to offer
Published July 4, 2010 by Andy Grant
In the May issue of Comms Dealer you can find my latest Channel Marketing feature on page 47. Designed like a maintenance agreement, Marketing as a Managed Service can consolidate agency management, the marketing mix and deliver results within an agreed SLA. Please let me know what you think of this concept and the article? If you would like to discuss further contact me.
http://content.yudu.com/A1noe1/CommsDealerMay10/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.comms-dealer.com%2F1stview_0510_AK3J4
Published July 2, 2010 by Andy Grant
How many sales and marketing directors within the ICT industry do you think understand the importance of an awards event like the Comms National Awards…to my disappointment not that many. Now in its 9th year these awards truly reflect the current state of our industry so I would encourage all those sales and marketing directors that stretch the width and breadth of this country to get their marketing or PR departments to take the time to submit an entry to these awards.
Just step back and think for a moment, if your company takes the time to submit a decent entry that highlights the value of the solution to the customer or the way your company has deployed technology to break new ground then your entry should be on the shortlist. If your entry then goes on to win the category you receive great PR and then your business can use that win in all your company PR and the new business approach for the next 12 months until you win another category the next year.
If we look back on the names of the businesses that have won at least 1x CNA for the past 8 years Central Telecom comes to mind and as we all know they are now part of Vodafone. Winning awards can only help your business to succeed it is simple people like doing business with winners. So now is the time to take action and get your entry in on time. Check out the website: www.cnawards.com. Any questions about how to go about your entry please get in touch.
Published July 1, 2010 by Andy Grant
In the April edition of Comms Dealer I published my first column on the broad subject of marketing. I chose to focus on target marketing and you can read the whole article here if you go to Page 20:
http://content.yudu.com/A1nd1z/CD0410/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.comms-dealer.com%2F1stview_0410_zjk58d
In my column for May I explore the concept of marketing as a managed service specifically for smaller resellers. Please add your comments and thoughts once you have read the articles. I have many more marketing based subjects to explore and observe.
