What’s the best way to start, or strengthen, a partnership with a VAR? Investing in traditional marketing efforts is a fine start, but then what? How do you make your solution stand out to a VAR among your competition? Do you find ways to make it easier for a VAR to sell your solution?
Many of the ISVs I speak with are under the assumption that the right marketing pitch will result in the launch of a new and energized marketing and sales campaign by the VARs. But what they might forget is that their competitors are pitching their solutions to the very same resellers, and chances are, your marketing pitch will not put you that much ahead of your competitors, if at all.
What will set your solution apart? How about generating leads for your solution, and selectively distributing them to your resellers? Not nearly enough ISVs focus on delivering leads to resellers, but those who do are winning deals. And VARs we talk to certainly see the value in such information. In turn, your resellers will be more likely to return the favor by pitching your solutions to their customer base.
You not only need to be creative in approaching VAR partnerships, but once you are in the relationship, you need to keep giving.
