Partner Portal Matters: What to Look for in an Ideal Channel Partner?

Channel partnership is a relationship and just like every relationship in your life, there is a list of qualities that we would like the partner to have. The good news is that in a channel partner relationship, you can dismiss the partner who does not meet your qualifications without the emotional upheaval. Imagine sharing you partner portal with a technologically-challenged partner, for example. It would require additional training to get them up to speed with your business process. So, what would you typically want in a channel partner?

Customer access – For one thing, you’d want this partner to know the target customers for your product. It would also be a plus if they are established and well known by their loyal customers.

Complement your product – I would recommend you choose a partner who is already selling a similar product. This eliminates the need to train and explain your product to the reseller.

Technically savvy - In the IT industry, especially, you’d need partners that know what they’re talking about. They should be competent enough to answer inquiries from customers. Technically inclined resellers would also be able to adapt easily to your channel portal when you send it.


channel sales strategy

Experienced – It is important to have an experienced reseller. An experienced sales rep knows his way around the business and is more likely to close a sale.

Financially Stable – This is an important quality of the reseller. They must have a good credit standing and their financial reputation must be impeccable.

Customer Support – Resellers, especially those selling new technology, must have customer service capabilities. Customers seeking assistance must have someone to call in case there are problems with the products they bought.

Coverage of Territory – It is imperative that you know how many sales representatives a reseller has. If your product is a typical consumer’s products, then you’d need to have more sales reps to promote your product. If however the product is for a vertical market, then you don’t need that much sales representatives because few people would really want to but the product.

Good Impression – Channel partners must be professional and respectful to the customers; otherwise, the product would never sell.
I think that there is no such thing as a perfect channel partner but it doesn’t hurt to try.