The Rungis of a Partner Business Practice
At 578 acres, just to the south of Paris, France, Rungis hosts the world’s largest fresh produce market. With 19 restaurants, a bank, post office, multiple gas stations, a seafood section the size of a soccer field, and a police task force solely focused on this market, it would be easy to get overwhelmed, lost, and spend money on things you had no intention of buying in the first place.
Going shopping at this market requires a plan. What are you looking to find? Which side do you start on? How much time do you have to spend in there? Who are you bringing with you and are you going to divide and conquer, or do you have leisure time? The same could be asked for how you are going to Fuel your Partner’s success and help them through the competitive, crowded technology market.
A Market Propeller
Cisco has a solution to help you power through the crowd and collect a solid partner business practice. The Power Your Edge sales motion is Cisco’s path to helping partners deliver greater outcomes through strategic planning. That marketing catch phrase is one that is easily said, but not so simply put into practice.
To help me explore this sales motion, I have brought in Andrico Spates, Sr. Sales and Business Development Executive in Cisco’s Global Partner Organization. Andrico, welcome to my blog directed to the Americas Distribution teams.
Andrico: Thank you for the invitation. I am excited for this opportunity to share my passion, especially in leading Cisco’s Social Justice effort to diversify our partner ecosystem through growth and acceleration of the African American Cisco Partner Community (AACPC).
John: I have heard your focus on this effort has led to creating and delivering targeted offers that can uniquely position our partners. Would you share more on that initiative?
Andrico: Yes, that is true. Like you said our focus is on uniquely positioning partners to drive value through delivering business outcomes. As technology experts, we must shift with the market toward the subscription and recurring services opportunities. Our sales plays or offers should not rely on competition of price alone; our customers are looking for more than just a good deal.
John: I have seen that time and again. Yes, price point is absolutely a valid pain point, but if they can get a complete solution under one subscription service that fits all their needs, the cost becomes less of a priority.
Andrico: I could not agree more. This is an opportunity for partners to re-evaluate how they bring value to their target markets. In fact, I brought a list of 4 tips partners can use to ensure their current and new offers drive home that value to their customers:
- Identify your target line of business (LOB) buyer, their pain points, and business needs
- Create a combination of products and services that drive business outcomes and add value to this buyer and their vertical
- Focus on high value/high margin offers and avoid low value/low margin offers
- Develop and lead with the unique value proposition your offer provides and target the focus LOB
John: In the Americas Distribution team, our motto is “Fueling Partner Success”. Our Distributors are essential and valued extended members of our team in that initiative, so how should they go about helping their partners Power Their Edge?
Andrico: That is a great question and I love that motto. Cisco Distributors should leverage the strengths and expertise of Cisco’s Partner organizations to help them understand how, even their smallest partners, can be full-service technology providers. Distributors and Partners have access to tools like the Partner Journey Dashboard, special offers and incentives, and resources to help guide them through Cisco’s expansive technology portfolio.
Those are all resources I hope the Americas Distributors are utilizing in their efforts to help their partners accelerate business and drive key business outcomes for their customers. Are there any other resources Distributors and Partners should be aware of?
Andrico: Yes, Cisco’s Social Justice team has developed an offer creation toolkit and we invite partners to learn more about and join the AACPC. We also have some upcoming events to help partners and distributors learn about accelerating offer creation and delivery strategies.
John: Thank you for joining me in this blog, Andrico. I appreciate you taking the time to share these resources and your expertise on offer acceleration through our partners. To find out more about Cisco’s Social Justice team and their work in Cisco’s commitment to Power an Inclusive Future for All, click here.
Your business practice does not have to be as complex as the Parisian Rungis. Through these tools you and your partners can develop a clear plan to stay focused and deliver the best outcomes for customers.
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