Congrats! Your channel reseller program is up and running, you’re building a stable of productive MSPs/resellers. Inevitably there will be situations where you have multiple resellers pursuing the same prospect, competing with each other to win the business.
On the surface, this is GREAT for you! You have multiple horses in the race, increasing your probability of success. It all but ensures a positive outcome for your company.
However, when these competitive situations are mishandles, it can lead to animosity and frustration, and ultimately hurt your program and reputation. The best way to avoid unwanted conflict is to be proactive and set rules up in advance.
By the way, if expanding your program is a priority, here’s 1 Simple Strategy to Increase Your Reseller Recruitment by 50% This Year.
From my experience, here are 3 best tips to eliminate channel conflict between your MSPs/resellers.
Eliminate Channel Conflict Between Your Resellers
It’s super-important to ensure the engagement model between your MSPs/resellers is smooth. 3 Topics to consider are:
- Have representation in diverse geographies and/or vertical markets and/or market segments.
- Define and communicate clear rules of engagement when a competitive situation arises.
- Have fair lead distribution between the MSPs/resellers.
3 Best Tips to Eliminate Channel Conflict Between Your Resellers
The 3 best tips to Eliminate Channel Conflict Between Your Resellers:
1. Have Representation in Diverse Geographies and/or Vertical Markets and/or Market Segments
The best way to avoid conflict between your MSPs/resellers is to ensure they don’t collide in the first place! This means that you shouldn’t overcrowd resellers in the same space. For example:
- Choose multiple geographies where your company needs coverage, and recruit a few MSPs/resellers in each, but ensuring saturation does not occur.
- Select MSPs/resellers that have a specific industry-focus, and diversify across multiple industries to ensure wide coverage.
- Align with MSPs/resellers who are focused on certain sizes of business. Enterprise-focused resellers behave differently than SMB focused resellers. Diversifying will avoid conflict.
2. Define and Communicate Clear Rules of Engagement When a Competitive Situation Arises
Surprise! Both groups found the same prospect and both want to win the deal. They will look to your company’s leadership for guidance on how to proceed.
A deal registration process may be the best solution. It can be as simple as the first MSP/reseller that finds the deal “registers” it with you (ideally in an automated process), giving them exclusivity or at least a pricing advantage if another one of your resellers arrives to the party. This encourages hunting and a sense of urgency.
Another suggest is to publish guidelines on who will hunt where. Sharing a list of your resellers with the group will set expectations on potential competitive situations, and may help them avoid conflict proactively.
3. Have Fair Lead Distribution Between the MSPs/Resellers
One of the best value-adds you can deliver to your MSPs/resellers are qualified leads!
Notice I used the word “fair” above and not “equal”. Joining your program should not necessarily guarantee a win-fall of leads to reseller equally. To ensure a balanced approach to your program, it’s important to distribute these leads properly.
Ideally, every MSP/reseller should get some leads from you, but I recommend developing a system where your best performing resellers get higher quality/quantity leads. It’s OK to reward the top performers, but make sure you’re also supporting the up-and-comers.
Find a system and implement it.
Conclusion
Thinking proactively about avoiding channel conflict will pay dividends in the long run. It will foster collaboration, eliminate confusion and conflict, and drive positive results. Good luck.
