How Data is Redefining Success in Channel Sales
How Data is Redefining Success in Channel Sales
Revolutionizing Sales Hiring: How Data is Redefining Success in Channel Sales - Insights from Tracy-Ann Palmer, VP of WW Channel Sales Programs, Investments and Compliance at VMware
BCI: Today, we have a special guest joining us, Tracy-Ann Palmer, the VP of Worldwide Channel Sales Programs, Investments and Compliance at VMware. Tracy-Ann is here to share her insights on hiring channel sales professionals and how data can play a crucial role in this process. Welcome, Tracy-Ann!
Tracy-Ann Palmer: Thank you, BCI. It's a pleasure to be here.
BCI: Let's dive right into it. In your experience, what are the key challenges in hiring for channel sales roles, and how have you tackled them?
Tracy-Ann Palmer: Accurately predicting a candidate's future performance in sales, especially in the channel sales domain, is indeed a challenging task. One of the core challenges I've faced is defining the unique skills, knowledge, and attributes required for channel sales, as it differs significantly from other sales roles. To address this, I've found it crucial to leverage data and competency-based assessments rather than relying solely on personality and cultural fit assessments, which can be unreliable predictors of on-the-job performance.
BCI: That's a valuable perspective. Can you elaborate on the importance of data in assessing and selecting candidates for channel sales positions?
Tracy-Ann Palmer: Certainly. Data can provide invaluable insights into a candidate's skills and abilities. When hiring for channel sales, it's essential to look for candidates who are highly motivated, possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, demonstrate strong business acumen. They should understand the Go-to-market strategy, the product or service they'll be selling, the partner profitability model, and be able to analyze customer needs effectively. Additionally, they need to grasp the competitive landscape and identify growth opportunities for both the partner and the company.
However, channel sales roles involve complexities such as channel conflict, contract negotiation, compliance, financial analysis, and more. To make well-informed decisions, we need to consider nearly 200 attributes. This is where data comes in as a powerful tool to assess candidates comprehensively.
BCI: That's a lot to consider. How can employers effectively use data to hire channel sales professionals?
Tracy-Ann Palmer: Employers can make informed decisions by focusing on several key steps and best practices:
One, Focus on the Right Metrics: Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that indicate a candidate's potential for success. These might include industry experience, past sales achievements, customer relationship growth, and business expansion.
Two, Collect Data from Various Sources: Don't rely solely on interviews and resumes. Gather information from diverse sources such as references and background checks to get a complete picture of a candidate's skill set.
Three, Use Analytics Software: Leveraging analytics software helps uncover insights and patterns that may go unnoticed manually. This tool can provide valuable attributes and percentile scores, making it easier to identify top performers.
Four, Create Scorecards: Develop quantitative assessments by assigning numerical values to factors like experience and qualifications. This allows for a straightforward comparison of candidates and helps identify the best fit for the organization.
And finally, Monitor Progress: After hiring, track a new employee's performance over time. Use tools like analytics and scorecards to measure key metrics like sales volume and customer satisfaction ratings.
By incorporating these steps, organizations can make better hiring decisions and ensure they bring in the right people for sales and channel sales roles.
BCI: Those are excellent tips and best practices, Tracy-Ann. To wrap things up, what's your key takeaway for organizations looking to hire channel sales professionals?
Tracy-Ann Palmer: My key takeaway would be leveraging data and focusing on the critical skills and attributes needed for success in channel sales role, employers can maximize their chances of success in their channel sales operations. Data-driven insights provide a competitive advantage in the hiring process and help organizations identify top performers who will drive success.
BCI: Thank you, Tracy-Ann, for sharing your valuable insights and expertise on hiring channel sales professionals. It's been a pleasure having you here today.
Tracy-Ann Palmer: Thank you! It's been a pleasure discussing this crucial topic with you, and I hope our conversation helps organizations make better hiring decisions in the future.
Want to Read More?
Tracy-Ann Palmer is one of 18 contributors to share their expert insights in our new book, A Field Guide to Data-Driven Sales Enablement. This field guide helps sellers and sales teams address the top three challenges in sales:
Hear from industry experts on how they were able to reduce sales turnover by 62% and increase the number of reps making quota by 88%. This book will show you how to substitute data for opinion.
About Tracy-Ann Palmer
Tracy-Ann Palmer is Vice President of Worldwide Channel Sales Programs at VMware. In this role, she leads worldwide partner programs, investments, compliance, partner experience, and practice development.
Seasoned, well-rounded channel leader with 25+ years of global transformation experience and deep expertise across all areas of the business. Catalyst for change; savvy, courageous leader unafraid to tackle difficult challenges. Optimistic in the face of uncertainty, able to skillfully navigate through ambiguity and stay ahead of the market. Fosters bold resilient leaders through passionate, empathetic mentorship. With an innovative mindset, develops winning cultures and empowers people to deliver value beyond their own expectations. Celebrated motivational speaker known for accelerating growth in the face of adversity and exceptional entrepreneurial success.
Prior to joining VMware, Tracy-Ann held leadership roles spanning global sales, channel, GTM, business operations, and global strategy and transformation at AWS, Rackspace, Cisco, Salesforce, and in the start-up world - where she founded her own award-winning experiential marketing company.
She is an active contributor in the community including serving on several boards. She founded "We Build Character," a non-profit focused on building future leaders through executive mentoring programs.
She is a Zimbabwean native residing in Texas with her husband.