How can Business Partners / Channel Partners start prospecting? [Part 1 of 3]

Introduction

The unfortunate thing about being a Business Partner (BP) or the Channel Partner is that you often get overlooked by the manufacturer and the customer and end up being the 'middle man (or woman)' often trying to balance the two situations.  At the end - most of the time you know you have a better service by virtue of personalization and caring more for the customer as opposed to them being a 'number' treated by the larger companies.  Let me share some of my experiences while working at two BPs / Channel companies (one being The Herjavec Group).

So, when I began my career at these companies, here were some of my questions when I joined them:

• How can you create pipeline from scratch? Who and which company should I call?
• How do I introduce myself?   Where do I begin?
• I’m alone - where do I get the technical help and assistance from if the customer is interested?

I'll try to cover the first point for this posting --->>>

How can create pipeline from scratch?  Who and which company should I call?

When starting out - regardless of what the BPs / Channel Partnerssays - you really want to go after accounts you know you have a shot in.  Many BPs / Channel Partners decide that we are going to go after a certain industry / segment of accounts, etc.  That might be a great method from a strategy perspective, but ultimately - as a prospector that might not fit in with the prospect.  After all - the customers are not concerned with your credentials - they're more concerned on how they can achieve their objectives.  What you really want to do is go after the low hanging fruit first.

At the Herjavec Group - that was me going after accounts in Canada with over 1000 employees as the technology we had could only be afforded by companies of those sizes (so it was approx. 1000 employees equating to $300 Million of annual revenue in 2006-2008).  Try to identify your accounts first - there are many choices in the way you can do it: revenue size, employee count, industry specific, location specific, etc.

If your list has:

Many accounts… (>10+)	Few accounts (<10)
Try to select a handful of accounts, I generally start with 5 accounts and pick the accounts that interest you more over the others - as when it comes time to study them - you are ready.	No need to worry - having a few has it’s advantages over having too many, which is that you can now focus on these accounts rather than being at too many places - and spreading yourself too thin.

How do I introduce myself?  Where do I begin?

So the biggest question I had many years ago was that - do I introduce myself as the manufacturer or the business partner?  Please be careful here and check with the manufacturer if you can introuduce yourself as an extension of their team or not.  I know for a fact that IBM business partners are not allowed to introduce themselves as IBM as it falls outside IBM's jurisdictions.  However, there are some small niche manufacturers that don't have the length, breadth, and presence as IBM - so they maybe comfortable in you introducing yourself as an extension of their company.

If you find out that, the manufacturer doesn't allow you to use their name - don't worry.  Keep your introduction statement very short, try not to say, "Hello, this is  _(name)____ from _(business partner name)___ a premier business partner of _(manufacturer)____ and I wanted to get in touch with you regarding _(product name)_____, etc."  That's too wordy, keep it short and simple by saying, "Hello, this is _(name)____ calling to discuss __(and go straight into the solution)_. 

If the manufacturers allows you to introduce yourself as a manufacturer - then go ahead and begin your intro!  There are times it does help - as the corporate name of a larger company / manufacturer gives you some clout, but most of the time the customer really has no concern on who you are - but go ahead and experiment for yourself.  A word of caution: When you do introduce yourself as the manufacturer - it might get you in a little bit of trouble as if they were to check on you and don’t find you - they might not trust you enough to go ahead and do business with you.  And they can easily find you given the digital age we are in - and if they can’t find you - they might assume you’re not real!

The other thing I tend to do is be very upfront with them - if you found them on Linkedin - try and reference something about them from their profile and weave it in the conversation.  Once, I was researching an account and found a person that I really thought was the right fit - and I called him up with the following starter, “Hi _____, I came across your profile and it got me really intrigued to thinking that since you are involved with ______ and thought that you might be considering _____ as a future step towards your company’s overall growth”.  

When you start a conversation like that from a genuine standpoint, you start a meaningful relationship.  This is the relationship you take with you as you start to nurture the customer.  Also, while doing this they’ll notice that you are being genuine and will continue to talk with you.  Plus your approach - while not taken by many - will keep them more interested in the conversation.

Always make sure that you trust your gut instincts.  If you feel you are connecting to the person - you probably are, if you are not - call it out and make mention of it.  Feel free to say “I apologize, I may not be communicating the information properly on my end - I meant to say ____” - and finish the sentence in the most simplified terms.  Being genuine is what they’ll enjoy and appreciate you for - even if they have no way of taking your call forward - you never know they might not of a way to connect you to the right person / department.  

Good luck and always remember to try and keep the end goal in mind - which is to develop a connection with the customer!