Your Partners Want to Work With You… Not For You

Channel partners do not want to work for you… They want to work with you. They are no longer content with being the lackeys that sell vendor's products or services. They seek partnerships where their voices are heard, their insights valued, and their goals aligned with the vendor. Rather than working for vendors, they aim to work with them as equals, contributing to sales and product development, marketing strategies, and overall business growth.

In today’s world, channel partners are empowered to bring their expertise to the table, leveraging their understanding of local markets, customer needs, and industry trends. They want to engage in meaningful dialogues with vendors, co-creating solutions that resonate with end-users and drive mutual success. By working with vendors and genuinely feeling like a valued teammate, channel partners can offer differentiated value propositions, enhance customer experiences, and ultimately increase their competitiveness in the marketplace.

This is why channel partners seek vendors who view them as extensions of their own teams rather than just sales channels. They crave transparency, open communication, and collaboration opportunities beyond transactional relationships. Vendors that foster trust, provide comprehensive support, and recognize the unique strengths of their partners are more likely to cultivate long-lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships. As channel partners transition from working for vendors to working with them, they pave the way for innovation, agility, and shared prosperity in the ever-evolving channel landscape.

Channel Partners: From Workers to Collaborators

• Strategic Collaboration: Channel partners are shifting towards collaborative relationships with vendors, aiming to contribute strategically rather than serve as mere sales conduits.
• Equal Partnership: They aspire to be recognized as valued partners, leveraging their market insights and expertise to co-create solutions and drive mutual success with vendors.
• Working Together: Channel partners prioritize transparency, open communication, and a sense of partnership from vendors, fostering trust and enabling impactful collaborations beyond traditional sales channels.

What Happens When Relationship Is Not Equal?

Channel partners have been dealing with a lack of equality in relationships with vendors for a long time, so if they feel nothing has changed, partners will just move on to other vendors that will treat them like equals. As for the vendor that struggles to see that change needs to happen in their relationships with partners, they will continue to see strained interactions and diminished collaboration. Channel partners won’t invest fully in promoting the vendor's products or services, which the vendor will continue to see decreased sales performance and missed business opportunities.

Channel partners who feel they are not on equal footing with their vendors will continue to erode their motivation to work with them and be less inclined to provide valuable insights and feedback, hindering the vendor's ability to adapt to changing market dynamics and effectively meet customer demands.

Ultimately, the lack of perceived equality will strain the vendor-partner relationship, jeopardizing long-term partnerships and potentially leading to channel conflict or even losing key partners to competitors who offer a more equitable and collaborative environment.

Inequitable Vendor-Partner Dynamics: The Cost of Neglecting Equality

• Seeking Fairness Elsewhere: Persistent inequality prompts channel partners to seek vendors who prioritize equitable treatment, fostering loyalty and commitment beyond the current partnership.  
• Resistance to Change: Vendors resistant to recognizing the need for equitable partnerships perpetuate strained interactions and diminished collaboration, hindering mutual growth and success.
• Diminished Performance and Missed Opportunities: Continued disparities in partnership dynamics discourage channel partners from fully engaging in promoting vendor offerings. This results in diminished sales performance and missed business prospects, undermining the vendor's market position and growth potential.

Working “With” is the Future

Channel partners today seek collaborative relationships where their expertise is valued and their voices heard. They are transitioning from traditional vendor-reseller dynamics to equal partnerships focused on mutual success. Empowered to contribute strategically, they aspire to co-create solutions, enhance customer experiences, and drive innovation in the ever-evolving business landscape.

However, when relationships lack equality, channel partners seek fair treatment elsewhere, risking strained interactions, diminished collaboration, and missed opportunities for both parties. Vendors resistant to change jeopardize long-term partnerships and market position, while those embracing equality and collaboration foster loyalty, drive mutual success, and maintain a competitive edge in today's dynamic marketplace.

Utilizing platforms like Relevize can help vendors work with their partners and make it feel more like a team effort, not a hierarchy. The demand gen platform provides a creative way to drive brand awareness through partners at scale, generating revenue and increasing engagement. Real-time visibility into the results for both the vendor and their partners also provides invaluable insights, allowing both to work together to fine-tune strategies and optimize performance effectively.

To learn more about Relevize and how it can help vendors work with their partners, click here to schedule a time with a representative.