Are there other services, providers, practices or products you can recommend to your Channel Partners?
John Fox is blogging through each question in his book: 99 Questions to Jump Start Your Partner Channel Brain.
Are you a “new thing” miser? When you discover a new way to solve a nagging problem or a cool, new vendor, is your first reaction to share it with your Channel Partners, or do you hoard it?
Today’s question is actually not about the existence of services and products you could share with your Channel Partners. Rather, it’s really about what you share. And of course, by your answer you’ve just told me everything I need to know about the value you place on your Channel Partner relationships.
Myopic thinking
Have you ever dated someone who exists to talk only about themselves. The kind of person who sincerely hums the words to the parody song, It’s all about Me, Jesus?
“It’s all about Me! …Jesus
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about Me!
It’s all about Me! …Jesus”
The actual song is: The Heart of Worship
by Michael W. Smith
At what point do you share ideas, services, practices with your Channel Partners that aren’t related to your business or getting the next order?
For instance, what would happen if your Channel support team created a list of 12 things you could share with your Channel Partners that would help them accomplish more in their day, be a more effective PowerPoint presenter or improve their email subject-lines?
Then you could turn these into monthly brown bag lunch/lunch ‘n’ learn webinar topics where you could invite all your Channel Partners to attend.
My list would include topics like:
- How to recognize a co-worker with an atta boy and avoid looking like you’re sucking up.
- 10 ways to get people to open your emails with more effective subject lines.
- Guy Kawasaki’s proven formula for instantly improving your PowerPoints.
- Simplifying life at work and life at home.
- 4 proven techniques we follow to stay healthy.
- Avoiding voicemail jail.
- How to write proposals in 3 easier steps.
- Sales contests where everyone can win—and—how to run a contest on a beer budget and still get results.
I’m sure you can come up with a ton more—and yours will be even more appropriate for your Partners. The important thing is to shift the conversation from it being about you and your product line to them.
John Fox
@b2bmarketing
Latest posts by John Fox (see all)
- (mp3, pdf) Adele Revella – Buyer Personas book interview - 8 March 2015
- Email deliverability key to the inbox - 26 January 2014
- Perry Marshall 80/20: Sell More by achieving ‘Good Enough’ - 11 August 2013
