ZINFI Technologies, Inc.

The purpose of a channel is to drive sales, and this is where multi-partner prospecting programs can enable an organization selling through the channel globally to scale quickly. Your partner relationship management (PRM) tool can play a very important role in this effort. In this article, we will explore briefly how a PRM tool can help you recruit partners into a prospecting program, train them with the right tools and approaches, enable them with demand generation kits and then reward them for building your sales pipeline.

Your PRM tool should have distinct process automation capabilities that allow you to recruit and onboard partners, and then train them on various aspects of your channel programs, particularly prospecting programs. Once you have recruited and trained them, the next focus needs to be on making sure they are capable of driving leads and closing sales. This is another area where your PRM tool needs to be very robust.

Most PRM tools in the marketplace tend to focus only one or two aspects of partner management. However, there are providers like ZINFI who provide end-to-end management. When you are looking at a prospecting program, be certain your PRM tool can go above and beyond in partner recruitment, onboarding and training.

Once you have recruited and onboarded your partners, it is important that you load up your PRM tool with a comprehensive set of marketing campaigns that the partners can use for prospecting. In other articles, we have discussed how to drive partner adoption with horizontal campaigns. This is the right starting point. You should load up as many horizontal campaigns into your PRM tool as you think your partners will use.

However, once you have built up some marketing “muscle” by running prospecting programs quarter after quarter, you can also begin to provide niche campaigns. These campaigns can be tailored to smaller segments of the channel for alignment with current business objectives.

Once the partners are recruited, trained, and enabled with marketing campaigns, the next most important step is to run the prospecting program over a period. Use your PRM tool to communicate to partners when the prospecting day or period begins or ends.

Companies that run prospecting initiatives successfully tend to run them over a couple of months every quarter, and then they celebrate success on a specific day of each quarter. On this day of celebration, you will want to hand out awards. Your PRM tool should be configured for these activities, and it should be able to track them in a very dynamic way. You can use your PRM tool to promote activities to partners participating in the program. More importantly, you can also use it to engage partners outside the program to bring them into the fold over multiple quarters.

The purpose of a prospecting program is to scale multi-partner demand generation. We have repeatedly seen from our client base that the organizations that take a multi-quarter approach—and leverage their PRM tool to drive partner recruitment, onboarding, training, demand generation and rewards—can quickly build a formidable demand generation and sales initiative by using PRM tools and prospecting programs. In fact, this is probably the most effective way to engage partners, drive results, celebrate success and, of course, scale globally.

Most companies selling through the channel want their partners to generate demand for them. However, now that the world of marketing has gone digital and marketing has evolved into a science, it is quite difficult for most partners to drive marketing activities and generate demand in a consistent fashion. This is where through-partner marketing software (TPM) becomes essential.

Through-partner marketing software can significantly streamline demand generation activities by allowing a vendor to load a set of campaigns into a portal where partners can log in and easily carry out demand generation activities. Typically, most through-partner marketing software comes with a basic set of tools for specific activities like search marketing, social marketing, email marketing, event marketing and content syndication.

The key for a vendor is to make sure that campaigns loaded into a through-partner marketing software platform are complete and effective. Partners generally do not like experimenting with new campaigns, because they lack resources and time. Therefore, when a vendor loads up a set of campaigns into a through-partner marketing software platform, the campaigns must work. Otherwise, partners lose interest and program adoption drops very quickly.

In addition to loading up the right campaigns in the TPM software, another key requirement for vendors is to offer localized content. If a vendor is selling globally, it is very important to provide content not only in English, but also in other languages. And localization should not be limited to content alone. The entire user interface of the through-partner marketing software should be fully localized. Today, very few vendors can provide that, so when you are evaluating through-partner marketing software, you should make sure the user interface is fully localized and not just using Google Translation, which tends to introduce a lot of mistakes and errors.

Here’s another capability to look for when considering through-partner marketing software: Can it integrated with other channel marketing automation applications like CRM, ERP, incentives management systems and the like? Most organizations today have a number of such systems. If you plan to implement through-partner marketing software, be certain that the platform you choose fits smoothly into your existing infrastructure, and that you can track program performance end to end.

Finally, one of the most important aspects of TPM software is to provide real-time analytics. Using this capability, a vendor can quickly learn what is working and what is not, and replace or refine programs and campaigns to drive better results. When a campaign works, state-of-the-art through-partner marketing software also allows efficient scaling of that campaign, not just to multiple local markets but globally.

Most companies selling through the channel want their partners to generate demand for them. However, now that the world of marketing has gone digital and marketing has evolved into a science, it is quite difficult for most partners to drive marketing activities and generate demand in a consistent fashion. This is where through-partner marketing software (TPM) becomes essential.Through-partner marketing software can significantly streamline demand generation activities by allowing a vendor to load a set of campaigns into a portal where partners can log in and easily carry out demand generation activities. Typically, most through-partner marketing software comes with a basic set of tools for specific activities like search marketing, social marketing, email marketing, event marketing and content syndication.The key for a vendor is to make sure that campaigns loaded into a through-partner marketing software platform are complete and effective. Partners generally do not like experimenting with new campaigns, because they lack resources and time. Therefore, when a vendor loads up a set of campaigns into a through-partner marketing software platform, the campaigns must work. Otherwise, partners lose interest and program adoption drops very quickly.In addition to loading up the right campaigns in the TPM software, another key requirement for vendors is to offer localized content. If a vendor is selling globally, it is very important to provide content not only in English, but also in other languages. And localization should not be limited to content alone. The entire user interface of the through-partner marketing software should be fully localized. Today, very few vendors can provide that, so when you are evaluating through-partner marketing software, you should make sure the user interface is fully localized and not just using Google Translation, which tends to introduce a lot of mistakes and errors.Here’s another capability to look for when considering through-partner marketing software: Can it integrated with other channel marketing automation applications like CRM, ERP, incentives management systems and the like? Most organizations today have a number of such systems. If you plan to implement through-partner marketing software, be certain that the platform you choose fits smoothly into your existing infrastructure, and that you can track program performance end to end.Finally, one of the most important aspects of TPM software is to provide real-time analytics. Using this capability, a vendor can quickly learn what is working and what is not, and replace or refine programs and campaigns to drive better results. When a campaign works, state-of-the-art through-partner marketing software also allows efficient scaling of that campaign, not just to multiple local markets but globally.

Most companies selling through the channel want their partners to generate demand for them. However, now that the world of marketing has gone digital and marketing has evolved into a science, it is quite difficult for most partners to drive marketing activities and generate demand in a consistent fashion. This is where through-partner marketing software (TPM) becomes essential.

Through-partner marketing software can significantly streamline demand generation activities by allowing a vendor to load a set of campaigns into a portal where partners can log in and easily carry out demand generation activities. Typically, most through-partner marketing software comes with a basic set of tools for specific activities like search marketing, social marketing, email marketing, event marketing and content syndication.

The key for a vendor is to make sure that campaigns loaded into a through-partner marketing software platform are complete and effective. Partners generally do not like experimenting with new campaigns, because they lack resources and time. Therefore, when a vendor loads up a set of campaigns into a through-partner marketing software platform, the campaigns must work. Otherwise, partners lose interest and program adoption drops very quickly.

In addition to loading up the right campaigns in the TPM software, another key requirement for vendors is to offer localized content. If a vendor is selling globally, it is very important to provide content not only in English, but also in other languages. And localization should not be limited to content alone. The entire user interface of the through-partner marketing software should be fully localized. Today, very few vendors can provide that, so when you are evaluating through-partner marketing software, you should make sure the user interface is fully localized and not just using Google Translation, which tends to introduce a lot of mistakes and errors.

Here’s another capability to look for when considering through-partner marketing software: Can it integrated with other channel marketing automation applications like CRM, ERP, incentives management systems and the like? Most organizations today have a number of such systems. If you plan to implement through-partner marketing software, be certain that the platform you choose fits smoothly into your existing infrastructure, and that you can track program performance end to end.

Finally, one of the most important aspects of TPM software is to provide real-time analytics. Using this capability, a vendor can quickly learn what is working and what is not, and replace or refine programs and campaigns to drive better results. When a campaign works, state-of-the-art through-partner marketing software also allows efficient scaling of that campaign,

B2B marketing is fundamentally reshaping how companies engage buyers throughout the entire selling process. Digital transformation has shifted power from sales teams to marketing organizations driving buyer education. Sales should report to marketing because digital engagement now controls the buying journey completely.

Key Takeaways

B2B marketing now drives the entire buying process through digital engagement and content strategies.

Buyers prefer independent online research before engaging with any sales representative directly today.

Digital content answers every buyer question without requiring traditional salesperson interaction or involvement.

Marketing investments should exceed sales investments as digital engagement dominates buying processes.

Trust-building through educational content outperforms high-pressure sales tactics in conversion effectiveness.

Analytics from digital engagement provide deeper buyer insights than traditional sales conversations reveal.

Sales roles are evolving from closing transactions toward consulting and guiding educated buyers.

Digital Transformation Shifts Power from Sales to Marketing

Research from major analyst firms confirms that buyers rely on digital engagement throughout purchasing. Forrester, Gartner, and SiriusDecisions show buyers proceeding without ever contacting sales representatives. B2B marketing now controls the channels where buyers discover and evaluate solutions.

Consumer purchasing behavior has already shifted entirely to online platforms and digital experiences. Houses, cars, and everyday purchases happen through digital channels without salesperson involvement. The same transformation is accelerating rapidly across business-to-business environments today.

Historically, B2B marketing operated on annual cycles while sales focused on quarterly targets. Passing qualified leads between departments created persistent friction and inefficiency. Digital engagement eliminates these handoff challenges by unifying the buyer journey seamlessly.

Consumer marketing already runs the entire customer experience from awareness through purchase. Sales departments in consumer businesses focus on fulfillment and customer support exclusively. B2B marketing is following this same trajectory as digital capabilities expand continuously.

Organizations investing in digital engagement outperform those relying on traditional sales-driven approaches. Marketing-led strategies create consistent buyer experiences across every touchpoint and interaction. This shift demands fundamental restructuring of how companies allocate resources between departments.

Digital Content Replaces Traditional Sales Conversations Effectively

Competent B2B marketing answers every buyer question through digital assets and online resources. Product datasheets, customer success stories, and recorded demonstrations address buyer needs comprehensively. Every traditional buying step can be digitized without requiring direct salesperson involvement.

Awareness, interest, trial, purchase, and repurchase stages all function through digital channels. Traditional assumptions that marketing stops at awareness generation no longer reflect reality. Modern buyers complete entire evaluation processes using online content and self-service tools.

Companies investing in digital B2B marketing build trust while educating buyers simultaneously and effectively. Content-driven engagement respects buyer preferences for independent research and self-directed learning. This approach creates stronger relationships than traditional sales outreach methods.

Digital content provides multiple chances to address buyer concerns and answer questions. Traditional sales pitches consume airtime explaining capabilities rather than understanding buyer needs. B2B marketing content allows buyers to explore solutions at their own pace.

Recorded demonstrations and interactive product tours replace scheduled sales presentations increasingly today. Buyers access information whenever convenient rather than coordinating with salesperson availability. This flexibility improves buyer satisfaction while reducing friction throughout evaluation processes.

Educating Buyers Creates Stronger Engagement Than Selling

The digital world empowers customers to control their own buying research journeys. What matters is what buyers seek rather than what sellers want to communicate. B2B marketing excellence means showing prospects truly relevant content and solutions consistently.

Intelligent B2B marketing engagement processes increase relevance by learning from buyer behavior patterns. Recommendation engines similar to consumer platforms personalize content delivery for business buyers. Showing assets within the buyer's interest zone accelerates learning and builds trust.

Buyers narrowing their vendor shortlist ask three fundamental questions about potential solutions. They evaluate whether solutions work for their situation and make financial sense. Most importantly, they assess whether they can trust the vendor organization completely.

Respecting buyer preferences for independent research demonstrates organizational maturity and professionalism. Reducing pressure during evaluation processes builds confidence in vendor relationships significantly. B2B marketing that prioritizes education over persuasion generates higher conversion rates.

Sales representatives transition from pitching products toward serving as solution consultants. Their role involves pointing buyers toward appropriate marketing assets and answering questions. This consultative approach reduces stress while improving the overall buying experience.

Analytics Provide Deeper Buyer Insights Than Sales Conversations

Digital engagement creates unprecedented visibility into what truly matters to prospective buyers. Traditional sales conversations cannot be recorded and analyzed at scale for patterns. B2B marketing analytics track which assets resonate and which approaches need improvement.

Experimentation with digital content reveals buyer preferences through measurable engagement data consistently. Companies identify which resources drive shortlist inclusion and which create disengagement. This intelligence enables continuous optimization of B2B marketing messaging and positioning strategies.

Understanding buyer behavior through analytics improves relevance across all marketing touchpoints. Sales conversations typically consume most airtime with seller explanations rather than buyer discovery. Digital channels reverse this dynamic by letting buyers direct their own exploration.

Approximately five thousand marketing and sales automation companies pursue buying process digitization. A significant portion focuses specifically on the B2B marketing environment and ecosystem. This investment trend confirms that digital engagement will dominate future selling processes.

Forensic analysis of lost opportunities provides actionable intelligence for improving competitive positioning. Digital tracking reveals exactly where buyers disengaged and which competitors won their attention. B2B marketing teams leverage these insights to refine strategies systematically.

Restructuring Investment Between Sales and Marketing Organizations

Traditional organizations invested heavily in sales with only incremental marketing budgets allocated. Today this balance is reversing as digital engagement proves more effective and measurable. B2B marketing organizations are growing while traditional sales teams are restructuring.

Companies that previously employed ten salespeople and two marketers now consider reversing ratios. Marketing headcount increases while sales roles evolve toward consulting and customer care. This transformation reflects the fundamental shift in how buyers prefer to engage.

Forrester forecasted significant sales job reductions as digital engagement replaces traditional selling. However, new positions in B2B marketing create opportunities for content development and analytics. Retraining sales professionals as solution consultants preserves talent while adapting to change.

Marketing tactics without measurable digital tracking will lose investment funding within years. The old assumption that half of marketing works without knowing which half is obsolete. Modern analytics provide precise measurement that justifies every marketing expenditure clearly.

Organizations leading this transformation report improved buyer satisfaction and stronger customer relationships. Marketing-driven engagement creates better experiences for marketers, sellers, and customers simultaneously. B2B marketing leadership produces environments where all stakeholders benefit from digital transformation.

Losing Gracefully Provides Strategic Intelligence for Growth

Successful B2B marketing recognizes that losing deals gracefully matters as much as winning. Respecting buyer decisions when competitors win builds long-term reputation and credibility. Not every opportunity deserves pursuit when the competitive fit is wrong.

Digital analytics enable forensic examination of why specific opportunities were lost to competitors. Pricing, positioning, and presentation effectiveness can all be diagnosed through engagement data. This intelligence surpasses anecdotal feedback from sales personnel about competitive losses.

Some losses reveal that pursuing certain opportunities would have distracted from core strengths. Understanding which deals align with organizational capabilities improves resource allocation decisions significantly. B2B marketing analytics transform loss analysis into strategic planning intelligence effectively.

Selling Dimension

Traditional Sales-Led Approach

Modern Marketing-Led Approach

Buyer Engagement

Salesperson-controlled meetings and presentations

...

You must be saying, “What?” This article title makes no sense, right? Well, let me assure you: you’ve read it right. I firmly believe B2B marketing is taking over B2B selling, and I’ll explain why this makes sense.The primary research of all the major analyst firms (including Forrester, SiriusDecisions and Gartner) definitively shows (doesn’t just assert) that more and more buyers are relying almost exclusively on online, digital engagement as they go through the buying process. In many cases, buyers proceed through the entire process without ever talking to a seller.As consumers, all of us can relate to this phenomenon. For the vast majority of buyers, long gone are the days of getting a Sears or Land’s End catalog in the mail and then calling up an 800 number to place an order. In the consumer world, we go through the buying process online nearly 100% of the time. You can actually buy and sell a house that way, not to mention more routine purchases like cars and boats. The entire consumer experience is now online, and marketing runs that world. Sales departments take orders and provide support. So why should it be any different in the B2B space?In recent history, the B2B marketing and selling environment has been quite divided functionally. The marketing world operated on a half-yearly and annual cycle, while sales operated on a quarterly cycle. Figuring out how to pass qualified leads generated by marketing to sales has always been a challenge. This is no longer the case in the B2C world, however. Why not? Because marketing runs pretty much everything, and B2C sales is all about fulfillment and customer support and care. Sales support and customer care include growing the relationship and educating the customer about potential recommendations and add-ons, but they are no longer primarily about closing the sale.“But what about B2B sales?” you ask. “The B2B sales process is highly complex. How can you not have sales people interact with the customer?” Well, actually, when you ask B2B buyers this question, most will now say that they prefer doing research on their own until they reach the point where they are absolutely sure who they want to engage with. Larger business organizations sometimes go through a more complicated request for information (RFI) or request for proposal (RFP) process, and in that case the buying process looks quite different, but organizations that are directly evaluating what to buy and do not need an RFI/RFP process can get the information and support they need through marketing alone.Yes, only marketing – because when B2B marketing is done competently, all of the questions a buyer has can be answered digitally via online assets. These assets might be of an overview of the product via data sheets, reference validation via customer success stories or actual product demos in the form of recorded videos. The irony is that when we think about the traditional buying process steps (awareness, interest, trial, purchase, repurchase), we still tend to believe that marketing generally stops at awareness generation and perhaps some level of interest creation, but in truth every one of these prospect/customer engagement steps can be digitized without the involvement of salespeople.So, to be successful in today’s fully digitized B2B selling environment, you invest in digital B2B marketing to build trust and educate the buyer. This is where most of your investment will go, and because of that it makes sense that marketing runs the show. Whereas in the past,

You must be saying, “What?” This article title makes no sense, right? Well, let me assure you: you’ve read it right. I firmly believe B2B marketing is taking over B2B selling, and I’ll explain why this makes sense.

The primary research of all the major analyst firms (including Forrester, SiriusDecisions and Gartner) definitively shows (doesn’t just assert) that more and more buyers are relying almost exclusively on online, digital engagement as they go through the buying process. In many cases, buyers proceed through the entire process without ever talking to a seller.

As consumers, all of us can relate to this phenomenon. For the vast majority of buyers, long gone are the days of getting a Sears or Land’s End catalog in the mail and then calling up an 800 number to place an order. In the consumer world, we go through the buying process online nearly 100% of the time. You can actually buy and sell a house that way, not to mention more routine purchases like cars and boats. The entire consumer experience is now online, and marketing runs that world. Sales departments take orders and provide support. So why should it be any different in the B2B space?

In recent history, the B2B marketing and selling environment has been quite divided functionally. The marketing world operated on a half-yearly and annual cycle, while sales operated on a quarterly cycle. Figuring out how to pass qualified leads generated by marketing to sales has always been a challenge. This is no longer the case in the B2C world, however. Why not? Because marketing runs pretty much everything, and B2C sales is all about fulfillment and customer support and care. Sales support and customer care include growing the relationship and educating the customer about potential recommendations and add-ons, but they are no longer primarily about closing the sale.

“But what about B2B sales?” you ask. “The B2B sales process is highly complex. How can you not have sales people interact with the customer?” Well, actually, when you ask B2B buyers this question, most will now say that they prefer doing research on their own until they reach the point where they are absolutely sure who they want to engage with. Larger business organizations sometimes go through a more complicated request for information (RFI) or request for proposal (RFP) process, and in that case the buying process looks quite different, but organizations that are directly evaluating what to buy and do not need an RFI/RFP process can get the information and support they need through marketing alone.

Yes, only marketing – because when B2B marketing is done competently, all of the questions a buyer has can be answered digitally via online assets. These assets might be of an overview of the product via data sheets, reference validation via customer success stories or actual product demos in the form of recorded videos. The irony is that when we think about the traditional buying process steps (awareness, interest, trial, purchase, repurchase), we still tend to believe that marketing generally stops at awareness generation and perhaps some level of interest creation, but in truth every one of these prospect/customer engagement steps can be digitized without the involvement of salespeople.

So, to be successful in today’s fully digitized B2B selling environment, you invest in digital B2B marke...

You must be saying, “What?” This article title makes no sense, right? Well, let me assure you: you’ve read it right. I firmly believe B2B marketing is taking over B2B selling, and I’ll explain why this makes sense.The primary research of all the major analyst firms (including Forrester, SiriusDecisions and Gartner) definitively shows (doesn’t just assert) that more and more buyers are relying almost exclusively on online, digital engagement as they go through the buying process. In many cases, buyers proceed through the entire process without ever talking to a seller.As consumers, all of us can relate to this phenomenon. For the vast majority of buyers, long gone are the days of getting a Sears or Land’s End catalog in the mail and then calling up an 800 number to place an order. In the consumer world, we go through the buying process online nearly 100% of the time. You can actually buy and sell a house that way, not to mention more routine purchases like cars and boats. The entire consumer experience is now online, and marketing runs that world. Sales departments take orders and provide support. So why should it be any different in the B2B space?In recent history, the B2B marketing and selling environment has been quite divided functionally. The marketing world operated on a half-yearly and annual cycle, while sales operated on a quarterly cycle. Figuring out how to pass qualified leads generated by marketing to sales has always been a challenge. This is no longer the case in the B2C world, however. Why not? Because marketing runs pretty much everything, and B2C sales is all about fulfillment and customer support and care. Sales support and customer care include growing the relationship and educating the customer about potential recommendations and add-ons, but they are no longer primarily about closing the sale.“But what about B2B sales?” you ask. “The B2B sales process is highly complex. How can you not have sales people interact with the customer?” Well, actually, when you ask B2B buyers this question, most will now say that they prefer doing research on their own until they reach the point where they are absolutely sure who they want to engage with. Larger business organizations sometimes go through a more complicated request for information (RFI) or request for proposal (RFP) process, and in that case the buying process looks quite different, but organizations that are directly evaluating what to buy and do not need an RFI/RFP process can get the information and support they need through marketing alone.Yes, only marketing – because when B2B marketing is done competently, all of the questions a buyer has can be answered digitally via online assets. These assets might be of an overview of the product via data sheets, reference validation via customer success stories or actual product demos in the form of recorded videos. The irony is that when we think about the traditional buying process steps (awareness, interest, trial, purchase, repurchase), we still tend to believe that marketing generally stops at awareness generation and perhaps some level of interest creation, but in truth every one of these prospect/customer engagement steps can be digitized without the involvement of salespeople.So, to be successful in today’s fully digitized B2B selling environment, you invest in digital B2B marketing to build trust and educate the buyer. This is where most of your investment will go, and because of that it makes sense that marketing runs the show. Whereas in the past,

The entire world is getting digitized—from supply chain to manufacturing to service delivery to customer acquisition—but when it comes to the last mile of product and service delivery via a channel partner network, it is amazing to see that most companies haven’t deployed partner relationship management (PRM) automation to any significant degree. This leaves a lot of low-hanging fruit related to growth and productivity, but also neglects a crucial part of the vendor-partner relationship: partner satisfaction levels. That’s what we will explore in detail in this article.

Before providing specific recommendations, let’s briefly look at the lifecycle of partner relationship management (PRM). This relationship starts with an organization signing up to resell products and services from another. Just like any new relationship, in the case of PRM there it’s important to recognize there are certain expectations that partner organizations have with respect to a vendor’s program. Over time, as the partner organization learns how to sell, market and serve, it’s not uncommon for a number of issues or conflicts to arise, accompanied by a drop in partner satisfaction. As satisfaction drops, partner engagement drops, and eventually the partner organization stops selling the vendor’s products and services or reduces the transaction level substantially.

So what can a vendor organization do to sustain and increase partner satisfaction over time, and how can

PRM automation help?

Make it easy to find. Business relationships are complex, and vendors tend to rely on the partner organization to search through their partner portal to find various documents, programs, plans and other assets and features. Most partner portals are difficult to navigate, primarily because content is poorly categorized and laid out. A state-of-the-art PRM software platform should allow a vendor organization not only to provide various categories of content, but most importantly to deliver them on a mobile-friendly platform using partner-specific profile information. This way, the only content that a partner sees is relevant to that partner, and the partner is not overwhelmed with a plethora of content that it may or may not need.

Make it easy to learn. Learning applies to all aspects of a new relationship between a vendor and a channel partner. The first thing a partner organization needs to learn is how to apply to specific programs, get trained on new products and services, how to sell them and how to market and serve the end-customers. Partner relationship management (PRM) software can automate all of these processes end to end and make it very easy for a partner to learn about all aspects of the vendor’s products and services. Most PRM software today comes with an built-in learning management system (LMS), as well as additional tools related to partner sales management (PSM) that emphasize gamification, leader boards, rewards alignment and other features that enable and incentivize sales.

Enable customer acquisition. The commitment to resell a vendor’s products and services requires significant investment from a partner organization. Therefore, the more the vendor can help a partner to get in front of new customers,—and not just settle for providing additional solutions to their existing line of products and services—the better the chance that the early relationship between the vendor and the partner will be mutually beneficial. We often hear channel partners praise vendors who make it easy to attract new customers by providing effective marketing and sales automation capabilities via PRM automation platforms.

Grow existing accounts. Getting new customers is hard, but getting existing customers interested in new products and services is even tougher, and it can also pose risks. A partner may instantly lose credibility with an established account if they push new products and services that don’t work very well. This is where appropriate PRM automation capabilities can significantly help in growing existing accounts by providing only the most appropriate and relevant content, tools, training and programs sorted by partner location, type, and other profile parameters. Without a proper PRM system it is almost impossible to provide assets that are customized to individual partners’ requirements, and you will run the risk that partners may be alienating customers by pushing inappropriate products and services.

Make money with ease. Finally, every channel relationship is based on establishing core economic gain and benefits for each involved party. Without a state-of-the-art PRM platform, it is almost impossible for the vendor to provide a partner with the right financial incentives and track performance dynamically to optimize partner margins and profits. Most organizations today run broad financial numbers and allocate only generic levels of margin. This “peanut butter” approach towards performance management can cause a lot of tension in the channel. The right PRM automation platform can not only ease these conflicts, but also increase partner satisfaction substantially by establishing a fair but highly visible performance management system.

As you can see there are a lot of potential points of friction between a vendor and a partner when they engage to distribute products or services through the channel. It is certainly difficult to guide a direct employee in the art of marketing and selling, but it is even harder to build a highly effective channel when the business interests between the vendor and the partner organization are not carefully aligned. There is plenty of data out there, however, to substantiate the idea that vendors who make it easy for partners to do business with them can drive higher profitability for the partner and thereby give partners a compelling incentive to realign their own interests with the vendors’ interests. Yes, it is absolutely vital to have the right people and programs on the vendor side, but a PRM automation platform can make a huge difference in accelerating productive growth when the vendor organization knows what it needs to get things done and its leadership team gets behind the programs.

ol {margin-bottom:10px;}

The entire world is getting digitized—from supply chain to manufacturing to service delivery to customer acquisition—but when it comes to the last mile of product and service delivery via a channel partner network, it is amazing to see that most companies haven’t deployed partner relationship management (PRM) automation to any significant degree. This leaves a lot of low-hanging fruit related to growth and productivity, but also neglects a crucial part of the vendor-partner relationship: partner satisfaction levels. That’s what we will explore in detail in this article.

Before providing specific recommendations, let’s briefly look at the lifecycle of partner relationship management (PRM). This relationship starts with an organization signing up to resell products and services from another. Just like any new relationship, in the case of PRM there it’s important to recognize there are certain expectations that partner organizations have with respect to a vendor’s program. Over time, as the partner organization learns how to sell, market and serve, it’s not uncommon for a number of issues or conflicts to arise, accompanied by a drop in partner satisfaction. As satisfaction drops, partner engagement drops, and eventually the partner organization stops selling the vendor’s products and services or reduces the transaction level substantially.

So what can a vendor organization do to sustain and increase partner satisfaction over time, and how can PRM automation help?

* Make it easy to find. Business relationships are complex, and vendors tend to rely on the partner organization to search through their partner portal to find various documents, programs, plans and other assets and features. Most partner portals are difficult to navigate, primarily because content is poorly categorized and laid out. A state-of-the-art PRM software platform should allow a vendor organization not only to provide various categories of content, but most importantly to deliver them on a mobile-friendly platform using partner-specific profile information. This way, the only content that a partner sees is relevant to that partner, and the partner is not overwhelmed with a plethora of content that it may or may not need.

* Make it easy to learn. Learning applies to all aspects of a new relationship between a vendor and a channel partner. The first thing a partner organization needs to learn is how to apply to specific programs, get trained on new products and services, how to sell them and how to market and serve the end-customers. Partner relationship management (PRM) software can automate all of these processes end to end and make it very easy for a partner to learn about all aspects of the vendor’s products and services. Most PRM software today comes with an built-in learning management system (LMS), as well as additional tools related to partner sales management (PSM) that emphasize gamification, leader boards, rewards alignment and other features that enable and incentivize sales.

* Enable customer acquisition. The commitment to resell a vendor’s products and services requires significant investment from a partner organization. Therefore, the more the vendor can help a partner to get in front of new customers,—and not just settle for providing additional solutions to their existing line of products and services—the better the chance that the early relationship between the vendor and th...