Partner Relationship Management for B2B Manufacturers

To keep business afloat, you need to make sure your dealers and distributor partners are satisfied with your services. One of the easiest ways to maintain this satisfaction is to enact Partner Relationship Management (PRM). According to Techopedia, PRM is defined as “a business process by which an organization incorporates policies, procedures and methodologies to deliver, manage and maintain its relationships with external business partners.” 

PRM software is an optimal solution for B2B companies because it connects your internal team with your partners so your company can better understand sales activities at each step in the process. These partners include, but are not limited to, your distributors, manufacturers, integrators, Value Added Resellers (VAR), resellers, suppliers, and other partners. PRM software can also help identify trends and predictive forecasts, which can help your sales team fully support your partners.

Partner relationship management does not stop at just maintaining partner satisfaction. It may involve working hand-in-hand with distributors on promotional or marketing campaigns, pricing, invoicing warehouses or other facilities for suppliers, or commissioning new services and products for resellers.

Indirect sales is still a vital part to many businesses. According to Accenture, some Fortune 500 Companies drive upward of 33% of their business from indirect channels, and nearly 80% of their revenue is generated by channel partners. With such a large chunk of business coming from indirect efforts, it is vital for B2B companies to ensure their partners are receiving the support they need from the sales team in order for them to keep generating high revenue.

The following are clear indicators it’s time for a business to implement a PRM software solution:

• Leads and deals are being documented in spreadsheets (or not being documented at all)

• Sales material is being manually sent to partners through email

• Collateral and promotions are nearly impossible to monitor

• Response times for partner requests is greater than 48 hours

PRM software offers viable solutions to all the above indicators. Leads’ information can be logged in one place that your entire sales team can access. Rather than sending emails with the same sales material, it can be sent out to your partners with a push of a button. Asset distribution is a breeze because all the collateral and active promotions are visible in one area of the program. Finally, rather than remembering to answer each and every email, all of your messages and requests are in one place so you can answer your partners in a timely manner.

End-to-end partner relationship management is attainable with PRM software. B2B companies greatly benefit from maintaining positive, strong relationships with their partners that help drive business to new heights each year.