New research from partner relationship management specialist Impartner suggests the channel can step up to fill a shortage of direct sales staff.
The report said that direct sales teams are becoming harder to come by and the channel is getting even more of a chance to fill the void left because of recruitment problems. A lack of experienced candidates and high salaries being demanded by those who do have the skills have put the squeeze on firms trying to build their own sales teams.
As a result, more business is being given to indirect partners that can support the products and services with knowledgeable staff.
Impartner CMO Dave Taylor said that the current situation is a huge positive for resellers and heralds a golden age of the channel.
“In a business climate where qualified enterprise sales candidates are costly and in short supply, companies can’t put all their revenue eggs in the direct sales basket.”
Almost ninety percent of the hiring managers that were quizzed by the firm reported problems with recruiting decent sales staff, with just over half revealing the problem had worsened in the last 18 months.
“Why struggle to hire direct sales people in an extremely competitive market that’s stifling your ability to increase revenue, when the indirect sales channel provides an immediate avenue to growth?” Taylor asked.
However, the channel will have to work harder for those suppliers that already had relationships with indirect partners, and direct only players would have to develop a strategy with distributors and resellers.
