It doesn’t matter how big or small your channel is:  chances are that once in a while you need to run partner recruitment campaigns – especially when you launch a new product or acquire a new company that your current channel is not equipped to sell. However, partner recruitment is not an easy task. We at ZINFI can help you with this or do it on your behalf either on a national level or globally by using our Channel Marketing Automation and concierge services.

Most vendors want to recruit channel partners who have marketing, sales and product capabilities in place to sell the vendors’ specific set of products. Research statistics show that channel partners bringing in average revenues of between $2-10 million carry products from anywhere between six and 40 vendors. So, for a partner to add another product to his portfolio, it is a major strategic decision that is never taken lightly. Vendors therefore need to be highly selective about the partners they select and what to do to make the engagement meaningful.

There are seven success parameters that we know to be critical to create a meaningful engagement with a prospective partner that leads to successful recruitment.

* Know your partners – Channel marketing is about building repeatable motion, so if you already have a set of partners that are selling your product, the best thing to do is to understand what makes your best partners successful before embarking on partner recruitment. How?  Well, you can do a simple survey using a Channel Marketing Automation platform, asking them what other products they sell, who their premier vendors are and what distinguishes them from the rest, and how much and what type of service they provide. Since the survey tool is part of your Channel Marketing Automation platform, the data collected remains yours, and you can use it over and over again as a basis for reaching out to the right targets.

* Build your target list – Once you know your target partner profile, it is easy to build a list of companies to begin your partner recruitment. You can use LinkedIn, data.com and other data sources to find this information. We at ZINFI can also help you to build customized partner lists by using our Channel Marketing Automation platform, which connects – among other sources - to multiple social and database sites.

* Create your message – Partner recruitment must engage your potential prospects. It requires a very specific business proposition that must answer three fundamental questions if a new partner is to engage:  i) how would this solution help me differentiate my company in my market place, ii) how much investment would I have to make to sell this product and iii) how much revenue and profit would I make from an average transaction. If these three items are not answered clearly, then the rest of the channel program from rewards and rebates to MDF and more will not be enough to engage a prospective partner.

* Make it a yearly goal – Most often vendors run partner recruitment campaign for three to six months and then stop. A short-term campaign is rarely effective. But if you take a long-term approach, and continue to reach out over 12 months to a targeted set of partners with specific messages, engage them into multiple conversation and help them understand how they can differentiate and make money, you will start seeing returns from the campaign.  This may occur anywhere from three to six months down the road,