Maximizing ISP Dealer Sales

Other businesses can be a great adjunct to your in-house sales effort. Thoughtful support from your organization can help them sell your services even better.

by Christopher M. Knight [October 18, 1999]

ISP Dealers, otherwise known as resellers, affiliates, associates, partners, or Value Added Resellers (VARs), are important sales channel that you can use to increase your ISP sales volume.

Types of reseller channels
Most often, ISP dealers are local computer hardware or software shops. Other kinds of computer-related businesses also make great resellers: video game shops (online gaming is a current craze that requires Internet access), computer training organization, or anyone who believes their clients could be up-sold or cross-sold dialup, dedicated Internet access, or web related services that you offer.

But it pays to look beyond the classic PC shops and related businesses for dealers or resellers, thus expanding the potential return you can receive from this viable marketing avenue. For example, PR firms or any type of local media agency can make good ISP sales channel partners.

Analyze and manage
The classic management-by-measurement technique pays big dividends with dealer sales, just as with in-house sales. At least once per quarter, calculate the total referrals received and total referrals converted by each of your ISP dealers or resellers. Sort this information by month and by dealer category (PC shop, computer training firms, PR firms, gaming companies, etc). If you take the trouble to compile this information (many ISPs don't bother), you'll begin to see patterns, such as that some of your resellers have a high referral rate but low conversion, while others have a low referral rate, but high conversion.

These performance data will make it clear which resellers or types of resellers could most benefit from your help to improve distribution or conversion of their referrals. You may even learn that it's time to terminate several unprofitable relationships with resellers who are not doing anything or might be misrepresenting your ISP. Conversely, you may learn that you're able to get a significant chunk of your dealer channel sales from types of resellers that you never thought were possible. And you may decide to offer extended personal services to help a particular type of reseller that fits particularly well with your ISP.

After your commission payouts surpass $1,000 per month, you may wish to develop this information monthly instead of quarterly.

Strategies for growing dealer sales

"Anything that increases ISP Dealer confidence will eventually increases your sales."

Visit them. There is a direct relationship between the payoff you receive from dealers and the time and resources you invest in them. Dealers you have never met personally, never sent literature to, and only hoped they'd be able to figure everything out about your ISP dealer channel program probably won't be very productive.

If at all possible, find a way to get a human from your sales management or reseller staff to visit every single one of your resellers, to create a warm personal touch relationship—as well as handle problems or disputes. This will help you hold onto your resellers much longer than a competitor who is hoping to convert them from you via a telephone call or email instead of personal visit.

Support them. This includes marketing flyers, dialup kits, banners that proclaims them proud resellers of your ISP services. Chances are good that your marketing material gets updated frequently. If that's the case, make sure your ISP marketing manager delivers updated flyers or marketing materials to your dealer channel the same day your internal sales reps receive the information. Don't keep your resellers in the dark or strand them with outdated marketing information. Make it easy for them to request additional information and make sure your ISP delivers on their requests.

Make them feel special. Your dealers may not be signing exclusive contracts with you, but that does not mean you can't give them exclusive treatment, by giving them information before everyone else gets it with in regard to new services you're about to offer. Solicit them to help you improve your ISP services through their feedback. Send them a monthly dealer newsletter that includes tips on how to improve their ISP affiliate program sales with you. You should also assign a dedicated account representative for each ISP dealer of yours, so they have someone they can call with questions or needs.

Offer co-op advertising support. Co-op ad money is usually a percentage of the total anticipated or real sales that you've had for the current or past quarter. This is a way of helping your reseller channel to increase awareness of your ISP through their own marketing campaigns. I suggest only doing this with your top resellers first, to see how it works, and remember that you have the right to set the rules because it's your program.

Keep them informed. This includes access to the customer referrals they have sent you and their current status with you, access to how much in commissions they have earned to date, along with conversion rate. Information is power, and affiliate-program marketers have proven that resellers who have easy access to information about their accounts always feel more engaged and will actively continue to help you build your ISP while they increase their commissions.

To Your ISPDealer Sales Success!
Christopher Knight
Founder & Managing Editor of the ISP-Lists Discussion Community

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