MarketStar Blog

In the world of B2B sales there are different types of distribution partners, and each one plays a distinct role in reaching and servicing customers. Value-added resellers, for example, are high-touch partners that sell goods and services as part of a complete solution. At the other end of the spectrum are direct market resellers (DMRs), distributors that sell directly to businesses online or via telephone orders. DMRs maintain catalogs of goods to sell through online storefronts or by taking phone orders. DMRs can be an important part of any vendor’s value chain if you know how to provide the right support.

If you are selling enterprise technology, then you probably are selling cloud services. The cloud is here to stay, and everything-as-a-service sales are outpacing traditional enterprise software sales. Cloud services are faster to deploy, less expensive, and easier to manage. Cloud computing is being used to handle data storage, business applications hosting, custom development, and more. The cloud is driving most of today’s technology buying decisions. Migration to the cloud is also taking decision-making out of the hands of IT since you now are selling business solutions to multiple stakeholders.

Titus, current MarketStar President and COO, to replace Dave Treadway who is retiring December 31, 2018

When the best partners have countless companies vying for their attention, how do you stand out from the rest and build a mutually beneficial relationship? The answer lies in well-executed partner marketing programs and tactics, which happen at the intersection of sales enablement, to-partner marketing, and through-partner marketing.

Software-defined data centers (SDDCs) continue to become an attractive option for organizations looking to maximize versatility with their data environments. According to a report from Allied Market Research, the market for SDDCs will grow to an impressive $139 billion by 2022. Organizations that get on board with this trend will be well-positioned for this expansion.

To succeed in channel sales, it’s essential to emphasize thought leadership as a way to enable existing partners and attract new ones. According to Forbes, thought leadership takes marketing to a new level. It increases the visibility of your organization by accelerating marketing efforts to accomplish goals and generate new leads.

My leadership philosophy is a combination of my own experience and that of watching and being mentored by key contributors at MarketStar. What have I learned? A sales leader is an individual who isn’t afraid to roll up their sleeves to accomplish goals and lead their team to success. But we all know leadership takes more than barking orders!  I try to lead my teams with empathy, performance, and transparency as my guideposts. I don’t want to scare new hires away after their first week on the job!

Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma, How Will You Measure Your Life?, and other landmark business publications, writes about disruptive innovation. This occurs when smaller companies root a product or service in simple applications at the bottom of a market and relentlessly move up a market, resulting in the displacement of bigger companies. He states that large companies are consistently disrupted by smaller, nimbler, and more aggressive companies that attack a niche—or possibly lower end—of the market.

As the sales industry continues its rapid evolution, sales reps will need a higher level of technical competency to sell complex products, services, and solutions. Technology has created a demand for sales teams to stay up to speed on the wants and needs of their customers and the pulse of their respective industries at large. Not only is technology changing how teams operate and interact with their customers, but products are becoming increasingly complex. This requires a rethinking of sales knowledge and skill sets.

While most businesses believe that the risks of investing in emerging markets have increased over the past decade, just as many believe that the rewards have also increased, especially in markets that seem to have become saturated with existing customers and competition. In other words, businesses by and large believe that the risk and return ratio of investing in global markets is becoming increasingly favorable.