Drive Your Channel Productivity Globally

Partner relationship management (PRM) is an important tool. The key question, however, is which application within the PRM tool is the most important. Before we delve into details, it may be helpful to step back for a moment and consider a broader question: “What is the purpose of a channel?” You may be thinking the answer is quite obvious—to sell more of our products and services. Yes, you are absolutely right! The primary purpose of a channel is to extend your reach above and beyond what you can sell directly to an end buyer. In fact, the reason companies build a channel network is to expand their global reach and lower their sales costs. While a channel can also provide additional services, such as planning, installation and maintenance support, the ultimate purpose is to sell more. If selling more is the primary purpose of a channel, then it follows that the most important application in your PRM tool should be about sales management—right? There are several essential components of sales management. It s