There are many reasons why developing a sales channel makes sense.   As the name implies, “channels” offer you many paths to market.

Benefits of Channel Sales:

• Often less expensive that a direct sales force
• Very small upfront investment, lower ongoing costs
• Market specific expertise
• Solutions bundles and value-added capabilities
• International market coverage and expertise

Note, although channel development can be done at a much lower cost than building a direct sales force, it is not without costs.

Channel Overhead:

• Recruitment – Recruiting a channel partner is a sales process much like making a sale to an end customer
• Enablement- Partner enablement involves the following:
  • Training- Product, sales and support training courseware
  • Collateral – Brochures, pricing schedules, scripted demos and presentations
  • Documentation – support documentation, etc, needs to be brought to external publishing standards
  • Leads – great for building relationships and success
  • Partner Portal- All of the above belongs on an extranet
• Co-selling – often it is important to co-sell the first few accounts until the partner is familiar with the pitch and the process
• Co-marketing – website promotion, joint trade show participation,  coop advertising.