Lately, it seems that the big thing on everyone’s mind is mindshare. On my current client engagements and during my last few workshops, the single most recurring question was - “how do we get our distributors to spend more time thinking about and selling our products?”

Channel partners sell products from tens, hundreds or even thousands of suppliers. Sometimes this equates to hundreds of thousands of individual products. A partner’s salesperson simply doesn’t have enough time to adequately sell each vendor’s line. So, what’s a vendor to do?

First, you need to understand where your product fits in the partner’s portfolio. We often talk about primary, secondary or tertiary product lines. For example, at a pump distributor, pumps are primary. Hose, filters and seals are secondary. Small replacement parts are tertiary. Distributors lead with their primary products . . . these products almost automatically get mindshare. Tertiary products, however, are typically “bought, not sold” and vendors struggle to gain mindshare.

To boost mindshare, you need to focus on the distributor personnel with the most potential interest. This can range from the partner’s owner, to outside sales reps, inside reps and even the technical support staff. For each person, craft a message drawing from the following menu: top-line revenue, margin (gross or net), risk reduction and relationship. For example, since sales reps are often paid on gross margin, you might overly emphasize this (assuming your margin is higher than competitors). For inside sales reps, contests or SPIFs are often highly valued.

A product and person-specific strategy is the best way to build mindshare with partners.