Key Summary
- Channel partners boost sales—They act as an extension of your team (dealers, distributors, reps) and need incentives to stay loyal.
- Incentives drive performance—Travel rewards, competitive perks, and training motivate partners to sell more and stick with your brand.
- Long-term success requires alignment—Shared goals and strategic rewards (like exclusive benefits) strengthen partnerships and growth.
We love channel partners here at Motivation Excellence. We understand they are integral to the success of many of our clients. So, if we can motivate them with sales incentives, we know our clients will be happy. The big question for you is this: why are sales incentives so important to your channel partners?
A Quick Word About Channel Partners
We are constantly working with new clients that get on board with sales incentives for the first time. That being the case, a quick word about channel partners is in order. Channel partners are B2B customers that work with an organization to market and sell products or services. In essence, an organization’s channel partners are an extension of its own sales team. Examples include:
- Authorized dealers
- Product distributors
- Independent manufacturers
- Independent sales reps
- Independent installers
Channel partners all make money by marketing, selling, or installing an organization’s products. They make money by reselling an organization’s services. In that way, they have an opportunity to serve their own customers without having to be the direct manufacturer or service creator.
Channel Partners Are Motivated by Something
Getting back to the main topic of sales incentives, the first thing to understand is that channel partners are motivated by something. That something is almost always directly related to income, a non-monetary award or benefits for their business.
This ties into the primary reason behind sales incentives: if your channel partners are not incentivized properly, they will look for other partners willing to provide what your organization is not. You don’t want your channel partners jumping ship and hooking up with the competition. You want them to remain loyal to your organization. Sales incentives are one way to accomplish that.
How Sales Incentives Impact Your Partners
When effectively incentivized, partners will do their best to sell your products and services. They are directly impacted by doing so. Let’s briefly discuss some ways in which this occurs:
- Financial Benefits – Sales incentives, whether monetary or non-monetary, motivate channel partners to sell. When they sell more, they earn more. More effective sales are good for a channel partner’s bottom line.
- Competitive Differentiation – In a channel partner market, you want your company to stand out among your competitors. A sales incentive can help you attract attention away from other brands in the same space.
- Skills Development – You can build in product training, as well as best practices to your incentive program. This can provide your channel partners with the opportunity to grow. It also provides a perfect opportunity to establish relationships. If you’re dedicated to helping your distributors succeed, they’ll be more loyal to you.
- Long-Term Partnerships – Sales incentives offer the opportunity to build loyalty through rewarding experiences. Exclusive access to your company executives, the prospect of visiting a luxury resort with other successful business owners and other rewards the build over time set the scene to grow friendships that extend beyond the transactional.
One last thing to remember as we prepare to close this post: all this hinges on making sure both you and your channel partners are strategically aligned. Successfully leveraging sales incentives to motivate your partners requires that you’re all on the same page. You are all shooting for the same goals so that together, you all win. Contact us today to find out more about how we can manage your channel partner incentives.
