The Inevitable Shift to Co-Selling
Over the past 24 months we’ve seen a shift in the way companies go to market with their partners. The new go to market strategy is moving from a traditional partner resell model to a co-sell model.
The Challenges of Reselling
With reselling, the VAR recognizes the customer problem and sells a partner (often off-the shelf) solution. The partner’s role might be in implementation or support, but that’s it. There are many challenges with this model. The main one is there can be a disconnect between what the sales rep is selling versus what the partner solution does. This leads to an onslaught of meetings to reset expectations. This model also makes the VAR the go-between—which impedes and complicates the sales process.
Let’s face it—in today’s subscription economy and app marketplace, the reselling model has become outdated.
The New and Improved Way
No one company can service all their customers needs and expect to be a one stop shop. That’s why companies are shifting to co-selling. True to its name, co-selling is bringing in partners to sell solutions together.
The core of co-selling is connecting sales professionals in the field to allow them to collaborate freely with each other. Sales is personal. Successful partnerships require an investment—learning each other’s sales style, accounts, solutions. So it’s critical to build strong relationships—with regular touchpoints, F2F meetings, etc.
When you’re in sync, you’ll be even more compelling to the customer. You’ll be able to co-lead the conversation and demonstrate the value of multiple solutions. And the proof is in the pudding. Partnering boosts pipeline, closes deals faster with higher deal sizes and adds greater value to the customer.