Build a Sales Training Wiki to Educate Partners to Attract New Business

joint venture marketing

joint venture marketing

joint venture marketing partners attract new business and well trained partners close deals. Setting up at least a basic online wiki about the partnership, company or products is important so that everyone who needs to know can have access to. Creating a working document like a wiki allows your businesses to have a central location where specific product information, new product announcements or special sales information can be found. A wiki should be a tool that partners refer to on a regular basis rather than a FAQ that might be provided in an early training session with a new partner. There are both complex software and easy “drag and drop” applications to set up online wikis that can be built quickly with existing marketing collateral and company information that’s essential for sales reps and others to know in order to close deals.

The following are a few important elements of an online wiki for part of the communication channel between partners.

• Company Overview

Include a few paragraphs about the company just as a quick reference to reinforce the way that the company needs to be represented to a new potential customer. By keeping short paragraphs that can teach a sales representative a short blurb about the history of the company and a supporting comment related to the industry is a great piece to develop at the top. Have additional information for supporting details through a link out to the website, but always concentrate on the first couple of lines for each section as those need to be short and punchy and allow the sales reps to then do their work to attract new business so you get leads that will result in closed deals.

• Points of Contact

This is a very important segment of the wiki that needs to be kept up to date on a regular basis. This can help ensure that when a specific problem occurs or a unique opportunity is presenting itself that the right person is being contacted. Make sure for critical points of failure that a business partner has at least two people that can be contacted if the primary person is unavailable during an emergency. It is not essential or necessary to have the executives listed in this portion of the sales training wiki unless relevant. The point of this is to have a working document that keeps all of the active people implementing roles in the business partnership related to selling and servicing a customer.

• Product / Promotions

Keep links to product information and sales sheets that can be quickly downloaded and emailed by sales reps to potential customers. Sales representatives should be reviewing this section on a specific time determined by the two companies. This way they’ll know that any new products or special promotions will be in the system every Monday at 10AM for the week ahead or whatever schedule fits the company.

• News

If there is important company news within the last few months, have this in the wiki so the sales rep can answer accordingly if asked a question regarding the news. This is very important if there has been something negative; as it is essential people have an appropriate response.

• References

If applicable, have a basic reference list that can be provided by a partner when they are discussing the partnership with existing clients or at least have a past / current client list that can be shared.

• Attachments

It’s important to always have a list of attachments with the link to download the document. Make this list in order by date so that the newest items are always at the top. Making a wiki that is only text really does not take advantage of the benefits a wiki can provide. A well-developed wiki can help attract new business with the support of partners that are fully educated about the partnership and the product and services available.

If you have a team that is supporting your website, ask them to recommend an easy to use wiki platform that can be hosted on your server. Another option is to select a cloud based wiki tool like Zoho Wiki and use the drag and drop features to set up the wiki training page. Don’t think a basic FAQ will get the job done in terms of educating a partner’s sales force. You need to develop many tools that will ensure the information is absorbed and a sales training wiki can be a great fall back tool for anyone that needs to quickly catch up to speed before meeting with a customer.

christian fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A joint venture marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

Discover more joint venture marketing Strategies join his free report on joint venture marketing.

joint venture marketing

joint venture marketing

5 Things to Teach Your Customer Service Reps Before Your Joint Venture

If the purpose of a joint venture is to increase your customer base and your sales, you need to prepare your customer service staff for the changes that you are expecting. New customers, who are checking out your business for the first time, want to know that your company is ready and willing to meet their needs. We have five things to teach your customer service reps before your joint venture becomes a reality.

Service with a Smile

An increased customer load may stress out your customer service staff at first, so remind them that service with a smile is at the core of your business success. Even if a customer has to wait in line for a few minutes, getting to the front of the line and meeting a smiling face will do much to diffuse their impatience. Model the behavior by greeting employees and customers with a smile yourself.

When Apologies Work

There are times when it is completely appropriate to offer an apology to a customer after a prolonged wait for service or when the item they ordered is not delivered on time as promised.

Teach your employees that in addition to an apology, customers want to know what you’ll do to make a situation right again. Empower employees by allowing them to offer a discount or other perk to disgruntled customers that might bring them into your business again.

Follow-up is Key

When a customer has a question or complaint, efficient follow-up is the key between keeping a customer or losing him to the business down the street. Teach your staff that once they begin working with a customer, they “own” that customer until the problem is resolved. This gives accountability to the situation and improves your customer service at the same time.

Handling Complaints

More customers means increased complaints, so teach your employees how to handle angry customers with grace and efficiency. Customers sometimes need to vent their frustrations before listening to the possible solutions. Show your staff how to listen actively so they can correctly identify the problem and offer effective solutions the first time around.

The Value of the Cross-Sale

When new customers come into your establishment, they will be more likely to become regular customers if they purchase additional products or services from you. Explain to your staff that cross-selling is not merely about increasing sales. It involves tuning into a customer’s specific needs so the products or services offered will make their life easier, more convenient or more pleasant in some way. Customers who realize you are looking out for them in this way will be more likely to frequent your business when subsequent needs arise.

The purpose of a joint venture is to bring more customers into your business. Be ready for the increased load by training your customer service staff to offer the highest quality service to every new customer who comes through your door.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free report on Joint Venture Marketing.