Co-selling is the new name of the game. This means you need to support and orchestrate two or more sales teams -- one from your company, the other from each of the partners you’re working with to close a co-sell deal. That’s no small task!
Today we’re sharing some best practices for you to successfully enable and build trust with your partner’s sales teams. Here are our tips:
- Create a Joint Sales Plan with shared goals and pipeline.
Having shared goals allows both sales teams to have accountability and feel that their contribution is being monitored. Your responsibility is to diligently track activity logs so you can accurately report on sourced & influenced revenue.
- Ask your partner to identify accounts for early wins in new solutions.
You don’t need to hit the home run with your partner right away. Especially in a new partnership, get small wins that create a sense of trust and teamwork on both sides.
- Solicit opportunity ideas from the field
Every day the field is living and breathing their solutions: strengths and shortcomings. Enable ideas to come from participants and don’t rely too heavily on a top down process.
Account Execs in the field are usually the first to see a new type of opportunity. Bring them into the fold—allow all levels to participate.
- Convert recent wins into joint case studies and use them as assets.
Snowball your wins by working with partners to study closed joint opportunities. Learn how you can replicate your success and create processes to help easily scale your co-sell.
- Lean-in and assist in sales opportunities on the pipeline
Don’t sit back and assume that once an opportunity is created, your partner will close it. Stay engaged and actively support your ecosystem.
- Give field teams access to the latest and greatest content and sales enablement materials
Nothing is worse than outdated copy being used in the field. It’s off message and usually not technically accurate.
- Inspect pipeline then build assets that are relevant as opposed to the other way around
The goal of any asset is not to overwhelm nor bore the prospect but to educate them and quicken the sales cycle. Sales should understand what prospects need to know to take them to the next stage. Sharing these content insights is essential.
