Marketing Tips for Recruiting Public Sector Channel Partners

by Brian Chidester, Manager, Strategic Accounts & Content Marketing

Channel partners can grow a manufacturer’s sales and spread its message about products or services. But to have an effective channel partner program, manufacturers must recruit the right channel partners to achieve their goals.

As a technology manufacturer, you may know what you require in a channel partner. But how do you find the right partners for your program?

Like most marketing activities, you need a list of potential prospects. There are two primary ways to get there: generate your own list from research and recruitment activities, or obtain an existing list from someone else.

Generating your own list of names often yields the most potential because prospective partners have responded to your marketing message so you’ve already started the recruitment process. An external list that is obtained from a reputable source, however, can provide more names in less time and with less effort. This will also give you more control over selecting contacts that match up with your channel partner profiles. Depending upon how you approach it, buying a list often ends up costing less than creating your own.

One way to obtain a list of prospective partners and gain visibility is to explore potential sponsorships at recruiting events such as XChange Public Sector.

This well-known partner recruiting event attracts ISVs, integrators, consultants, contractors, suppliers, customers and vendors for education and networking. It is designed to help organizations understand the opportunities inside the public sector IT market from every angle – federal, healthcare, state, local and education.

When you engage with potential partners at these events, find out how they are selling their current products, the types of relationships they have with vendors, and the support they provide.

Finally, like all good relationships, it is important to nurture your partnerships and provide the backing they need to drive sales. After all, that’s what most channel relationships are all about.