Keeping Partners Engaged Starts with Onboarding

One of the most common issues suppliers have with their distributors and other indirect sales channel partners is maintaining their level of engagement and interest. Getting the attention -- at least initially -- seems easier. Yet as time goes along, interest seems to wander. We’ve all seen it… from missed product launch dates to missed sales targets, interest has a tendency to fall by the wayside.

So where do you go from there? Well, a key part of the solution is a carefully-constructed onboarding process. Onboarding is the structured process of engaging your distributors, establishing expectations, and providing them with a carefully scripted blueprint for sustained success. Good onboarding is far more than product training and a “meet and greet” after all.

Effective onboarding requires time and resources to create and implement. But the benefits are enormous – so large that your organization cannot afford NOT to make the investment if you’re serious about getting great channel sales results.

Here are our Top 6 Reasons why you should create and deploy a good partner onboarding program:

• Decreases your distributors’ need for ad hoc support, freeing up your time and resources throughout the relationship
• Enables your partners to sell your products/services better and faster, armed with all the tools and information they need
• Establishes a cadence of expectations, communication, and accountability, which in turn creates a high level of community and trust
• Maximizes engagement from the outset; once lost, partner focus takes a lot of work to get back
• Increases the likelihood of a longer and more successful relationship, minimizing the need to invest in partner termination and finding new partners
• Provides consistent, timely, and shareable training, getting new hires and all key team members efficiently up to speed

Join our free upcoming webinar “Onboarding: Keeping Your Distributors/Channel Partners Focused on Your Offerings” to learn more about why good onboarding is so important, and learn tips on how to structure your program.