Put the Shoe on the Other Foot
One of the greatest values we, as a channel marketing agency, bring to our customers and prospects is the ability to see things from an outsider’s perspective. We can become so immersed in our own world we forget that our partners or customers might not share our level of understanding or enthusiasm. We assume they grasp our acronyms and care about our new product releases as much as we do. But, do they really?
The Power of Relevance
We’ve all experienced those “ah-ha” moments when we realise that our message needs to be tailored to our target audience. I don’t want to teach you all to suck eggs, but it’s all about highlighting how your message makes them feel. Crafting a message that’s relevant, human and addresses their pain points or challenges will likely get them to sit up and listen far more. For instance, “attract new customers, win more business, and increase deal sizes.” is likely to make your audience sit up and listen far more than if we said “here’s our new laptop, you must buy it!,” We live in an attention economy world, and you need to grab it.
But getting the attention of your target audience is a challenge in itself. Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. Let’s take a partner seller, for instance:
8:00 AM – Start the Day
Wake up, grab a Starbucks, and head to the office. Greet your colleagues, open up your laptop, and get comfortable. Settle in and start your day by checking your pipeline. Review the deals you have in progress and identify what needs follow-up. Take a look at your calendar to see what meetings are scheduled and prepare for them.
9:00 AM – Meeting 1: New Customer
Your first meeting of the day is the third discussion with a new customer. They’ve changed their requirements, so you need to contact your distributor to get the quote updated. Chase down the new pricing, update the quote, and send it back to the customer in an effort to push the deal forward.
10:30 AM – Meeting 2: Vendor and Customer
Next, you have a meeting with a major vendor and a customer regarding a significant opportunity. You allow the vendor to lead the sales pitch, but you add your own value proposition at the beginning and end. After the meeting, you chase the vendor for their proposal and pricing. You then add any additional services and support from your end, tidy up the quote, and send it to the customer.
12:00 PM – Meeting 3: Internal Sales Meeting
Your third meeting is an internal one with your sales manager. You update them on your pipeline and discuss current opportunities. You also learn about key pushes for the quarter and other deals you might be able to present to customers. Post-meeting, you take note of any action items and plan your follow-ups.
1:00 PM – Lunch Break
By now, your morning has been filled with meetings. You take a break to grab some lunch and go for a brief walk before the afternoon rush.
2:00 PM – A Flurry of Emails
Back at your desk, you face an inbox full of emails: hundreds from customers, automated messages from sales systems, and numerous “sell this” emails from vendors. You decide to handle these later and focus on immediate priorities.
2:30 PM – LinkedIn and Social Selling
You spend some time on LinkedIn, looking for new opportunities and engaging in social selling. This is a crucial part of your strategy to maintain and build your network.
3:00 PM – Meeting 4: Vendor Training Session
You attend a training session with a vendor about their latest product. You listen attentively, take notes, and review the follow-up material. Intrigued by the product, you spend 20 minutes researching on the vendor’s website to identify potential opportunities where you could introduce this new solution.
4:00 PM – Business Development
The last couple of hours of your day are dedicated to business development. You follow up on conversations from recent events, do a bit of cold calling, and prospecting. You also update your CRM system and handle general administrative tasks.
5:30 PM – A Positive End
Just before logging off, you receive a purchase order (PO) from a customer. You celebrate this win, log it in your CRM, and ensure it’s sent to delivery. Satisfied with the day’s accomplishments, you head home, ready to unwind with family or dive into personal activities. Rinse and repeat for the next day.
The Challenge for Vendors
A busy day, right? And where does the vendor’s latest product offering fit into this busy schedule? When is there time for proactive learning? Also, the flurry of emails were never attended to. As a vendor or distributor, it’s crucial to understand this reality and find ways to cut through the noise.
Making Your Message Stand Out
To truly engage your audience, you need to translate your product or solution into something valuable and relevant to them. They’re not waiting to hear from you; they’re bombarded by messages from countless other vendors. To stand out, your communication must be quick, clever, fun, and engaging. The key is to look beyond your own perspective and step into theirs. You need to connect with them on a personal level, to make them think, “I didn’t know they knew I felt this way.”
The Role of an Outsider
Sometimes, it’s challenging to see beyond your own world when you’re deeply involved in your job. You live and breathe your vendor or distributor’s brand, relying on internal knowledge about your target audience. In such cases, an outside perspective can be invaluable.
We’re here to help. Tell us what you want to achieve, and we’ll craft a message that resonates with your audience, gets heard, and drives the results you need.
