How Well Do You Know Your Sales Channel?

One thing most companies agree on is that selling through channel partners like
distributors, dealers and retailers gets more complex every day. New technologies,
global markets and elusive customers make communicating, training and rewarding
sales reps and managers tougher than ever.

When is the last time you took a good look at your sales channel? Not just your
salespeople or your customers – but the touch points along the way? The critical
transactions where your brand combines with the customer experience to create
impressions that are hopefully positive – but potentially negative.

As you develop your strategic channel sales plan, you are probably already including
key stakeholders such as:

• Your national and regional sales teams
• Distributors, dealers and retail sales management and reps
• End users of your products, including businesses and individual consumers

But do you know how each of these interacts with each other? Where are the
overlaps and gaps? What vital data are you gathering? What critical information
are you missing?