Having great technology for your product is a given. The new product needs to be faster-better-cheaper that the competitions. Identifying your target customer set and matching their needs is a requirement. All set, right?
How do you plan to get the product from you to them? Increasingly in the technology market you will probably use some sort of intermediary or distribution arrangement. They can be called distributors, dealers, resellers or retailers, but they will probably be the path of choice to market for a technology based product. Now the question becomes how to target, attract and recruit these channels, and once you have them, how do you retain them and help keep the competition out of them.
The creation of a strong and vital Dealer/Distributor “Advisory Board” can be a solution. Utilize the advisory board to help you solve the issues of problem identification, prioritization and resolution. However expect not only “product” issues, but also “process” issues to be identified. One of the goals for this group should be to help identify how this indirect sales force wants to do business, and be dealt with.
As with internal business teams, where you listen to and work with all business disciplines to create a cohesive solution, the advisory board enables you to extend this “teaming” arrangement outward to the indirect sales channel. Their involvement creates ownership and buy-in on issue identification, prioritization and resolution. As the business responds and adapts to their requests and requirements, their commitment to the business should also strengthen and grow, as should their orders on it. It is essential that the appropriate resources and management commitments are provided to see the process through to conclusion. If your sales channels are going to commit their time and resources to work with you they will need to see the same level of commitment from you, or they will look for other suppliers who will provide the commitment they are expecting.