Successful channel partners today invest heavily in developing expertise in their technical teams because that is what their customers are paying for.
Successful channel partners today invest heavily in developing expertise in their technical teams because that is what their customers are paying for. Extensive knowledge within the consulting teams about their target customers and related industries is a key factor in their excellence.
Far too often, the sales and technical training that a vendor provides to channel partners is incomplete and not as rich or rigorous as what is made available internally.
However, limiting the amount and quality of the training materials sets the stage for creating a scenario where the partner needs to fall back on the expertise of the vendor. And all that in front of their customer.
Before we get started, it is important to remember that channel partners sell to end customers. To gain the interest of any prospects during a sales cycle, and to influence their buying decision, Forrester Research did a survey among customers and came up with these very interesting findings:
However, most of the time those customers are facing a completely different reality than what they actually want:
What this chart really tells us is that, while Sales Reps or even consultants can well explain the functionality of a product, they lack the understanding of the real challenges of the customer. That either means that the partner is not taking the time to understand deeply what will make this customer happy, or – and that this happens most of the time – the partner lacks extensive industry knowledge.
We have had many discussions with partners over the years, and we came to realize that our partners are finding different challenges in selling and implementing products that are very much aligned with the findings from Forrester’s research.
The challenges channel partners have in successfully swelling and implementing a vertical product are:
We are aware that many channel partners are working with more than one vendor. That means being able to gain expertise in different products in a fast pace industry. This resents a challenge even for the most successful partners. Time is becoming a very precious resource.
Therefore, for a deal to be successfully closed and then implemented, it is important to understand the specific requirements and pain points of each customer. Most importantly, acquiring up-to-date industry knowledge requires training, and again, it boils down to time.
Crafting the right materials, presentations and templates takes time and effort, which we know you do not have.
We have thought long and hard about what will help our partners become more successful in overcoming these challenges. As we see it, if we oversimplify it, there are 3 phases in selling Beas Manufacturing (or any other product for that matter) that a typical customer goes through:
1. Sales phase – plain and simple, this stage includes introducing Beas Manufacturing to a new prospect until they sign the deal
2. Implementation phase – this is where Beas Manufacturing is implemented and the users are receiving the training to use the program until the go-live is successful.
3. Support phase – the product is implemented. From this moment on, we provide ongoing services for the customer and handle support cases.
All of those phases require that your sales, pre-sales and implementation consultant gain some industry knowledge and understand how Beas Manufacturing fits into the current and future challenges of that particular industry.
Therefore, the obvious step for us was to create specific Industry Package for Beas Manufacturing. These packages are aimed to close the industry knowledge gaps and reduce the time it takes you, the partner, become successful in a specific industry.
Currently, you can find industry packages for the following manufacturing industries:
How did we come up with those packages?
We simply keep asking our customers, partners and experienced consultants what they consider as the challenges of specific industries, and what makes Beas Manufacturing the perfect solution for them? We analyzed their answers and have embedded our results in the package.
So, the next time you get a lead from a specific industry, you will be able to gain further expertise by reviewing the material.
This will help your sales efforts tremendously, and simplify the sales cycle.
In each package, you will find pieces of information separated into different folders:
The discovery meeting is an important phase of almost every sales cycle. After all, you do not want to present a canned demo of Beas Manufacturing software. Every prospect is unique and, therefore, every excellent presentation must be adapted to their needs.
We have created a:
We understand that to successfully win a deal, consultants need to thoroughly present how Beas Manufacturing can actually help them grow their business. This requires consultants to understand the ins and outs of their industry and related business processes.
We have prepared a material to assist with your implementation discussion, specifically during a sales cycle.
We have created a requirement survey document which is a key implementation tool for Beas Manufacturing.
The Requirements Survey Document will guide you through the questions you need to ask the prospect in the different business areas. Then, with a single click, it generates a file that you can import into and automatically configure Beas Manufacturing.
This document can be used in multiple ways:
During the Blueprint phase business requirements workshops, to capture the required setup and configuration changes needed to implement the business process.
During the Realization phase, as a checklist when making the setup and configuration changes.
As a checklist during the project implementation phase.
Provide a copy of the completed document to your support organization to better serve the customer.
Another document you can find in the Beas Manufacturing Industry Packages is a best practice document.
It provides an overview about the relevant functions and processes that are typically used in that specific industry. It is not a fixed, standard process, but a means of support in the pre-sales phase and a guide for the blueprint phase.
The focus of this document is on production processes and Beas Manufacturing functions.
Here you can find resources to help you market Beas Manufacturing. That means, material on success stories and a marketing brochure.
Before we leave, we wanted to let you know that we, in Boyum IT, really care about your success. We want to help you grow with Beas Manufacturing.
Partners that started using the Beas Manufacturing Industry Packages have already expressed their great satisfaction over the material. Have you downloaded it already? Make sure to share it with your colleagues.
Do you need additional tools? Have an idea on how we can better serve you? Just email us.
