How to Create Targeted Resources for Channel Sales

In order to make a strong impression on prospects, channel sales reps need the right resources

The truly unique and interesting thing about channel sales is that no two channels are exactly alike. Unlike B2C marketing, your channel sales leads each have their own production and supply process that you are looking to disrupt and, ideally, innovate. Each will have their own motivations and their own ideas about where your products and services fit into their production stack. 

Every Channel Sale is Unique

At any given moment, you may be pitching your product as a component to manufacturers, as a consumer-ready item to retailers, or as employee equipment to large corporations. Even when two channel leads are in the same industry, they may have different motivations and plans for partnering with you. Which means that you need a much more diverse and versatile toolkit of sales assets to properly equip your channel sales team with the resources they need to make a persuasive sale.

Today, we're here to offer a few expert pointers on building that versatile toolkit of assets that can be used in a wide variety of targeted channel sales campaigns.

Micro-Modularize a Content Toolkit

The first and best tip we can give you is to micro-modularize. Rather than trying to create a comprehensive whitepaper that will apply to every lead, break it down. Create micro-whitepapers and detailed infographics on each individual aspect of how your product could positively influence a channel lead. Create one on how you can streamline logistics, another on how employees might benefit from being supplied with your product, and another on how your product is a conveniently complete part of a manufacturing chain. If you have a large or detailed persuasive asset, keep it but also break down those factors into even smaller bite-sized chunks.

This can allow your team to pick and choose the sales assets that will be most persuasive to their individual leads without ever showing a lead content that doesn't directly apply to them.

Create Channel-Specific Asset Packs

Next, put your micro-modularized sales assets into channel-specific packets. Don't leave it to your sales reps to sort through a mountain of micro-content. For each channel type that you pursue, create a sorted stack of assets that are most likely to be helpful and relevant to the leads targeted in this category. Naturally, some of your universal content will fall into all or several packets, but it's a practical choice to quickly sort your manufacturing channel assets from your retail channel assets, as a quick example.

Gather Multi-Channel Resources

Multi-channel marketing involves connecting with your leads through multiple channels of communication like live chat, SMS text messaging, video conferences, email, and phone calls. Each lead you pursue and sometimes each individual point of contact will have their own preferred channels of communication. So it's best to equip your sales team with assets that flow well in every single potential communication style. Have promotional, persuasive, and informative emails ready to go. Have a library of useful answers that can be copied or paraphrased for live-chat conversions, a reserve of SMS messages, and a script guidebook for clients who still want to be persuaded over the phone. 

What Makes Your Brand Special

Finally, remember to focus not just on how channel leads can benefit from incorporating your product, but also what makes your brand and supply chain opportunities special. These assets are more likely to be universal because they focus on how awesome your brand, team, and processes are compared to contemporaries who might be competing with you for channel clients. If you are particularly eco-friendly, offer your own logistics and transport services, or only use USA parts and labor, be sure to put these assets front-and-center. Company values matter a lot to many of your channel sales leads and building a network that jives with their values is a powerful reason to make business partnership decisions.