Frustrated thinking about ways to increase your revenue?
You've already pushed your sales team's efficiency and maximized your work hours, and while you are hitting your sales goals, you can't seem to go higher.
Now, expanding your sales team looks like an attractive choice.
But recruiting new hires comes with several underlying costs, including training. Getting your new sales reps where they can deliver remarkable results can cost you six to nine months' worth of an employee's salary.
A sales channel strategy enables you to distribute your products via partners that help you market and sell your goods to your customers.
This article will help you clear up the following:
Let's dive in.
Partnering with a sales channel can make or break your sales channel strategy. You can use one or multiple sales channels, but understanding their benefits to the partnership and how your sales goals align will help you decide the best channels to partner with. Sales channels significantly differ in how they sell products to the consumer.
Before you choose a sales channel, you should consider:
Let's look at the A-Z of sales channels, with examples to help you understand what they look like for your business.
|
Sales Channel Type |
How it works |
|
Affiliate partner |
Sell your products for a commission |
|
Agents |
Mediators between your business and your target audience |
|
Consultants |
Connect retailers, distributors, and vendors to ensure your product is delivered to your target consumers |
|
Dealers |
Specialize in selling one kind of product to the end-user rather |
|
Distributors |
Act as intermediaries between producing the product and getting the target audience |
|
Independent retailers |
Generally buy from distributors and sell retail |
|
Resellers |
Serve as the intermediaries between the production company and final consumers |
These channel partners help you sell your products for a commission based on how much they reach. You can agree on the commission's size either per product or based on bulk sales. A good example of affiliate partners includes influencers that market your product to their audience and receive a percentage off each sale.
Typically, agents are mediators between your business and your target audience. They can help you source for clients and negotiate a deal between both parties in exchange for an agent fee. You can usually see agents in the real estate market that connect clients to property owners.
Regarding building and maximizing sales channels' efficiency, consultants are the most sought-after partners. Their primary job is to connect retailers, distributors and vendors to ensure your product is delivered to your target consumers without hassle. Top examples include Deloitte, PwC, and KPMG.
Dealers primarily specialize in selling one kind of product to the end-user rather than selling a wide range of products. Car dealers are the most common example in this category.
These are the significant intermediaries in connecting products to consumers. While the manufacturing company focuses on creating the product, distributors enable you to focus on production while they ensure that the product reaches the consumer. Distributors act as intermediaries between producing the product and getting the target audience.
From not being tied to the production company to running their retail company to selling a wide variety of products in their niche, independent retailers thrive without the support of a parent company. And customers love them. 65% of consumers prefer to shop in stores.
Like distributors, resellers serve as the intermediaries between the production company and final consumers. But, resellers buy the product from the parent company and sell it at a different price to the end consumer to gain profit. Typically, the consumer contacts the reseller for the product, and the reseller gets the product from the primary producer.
When developing a sales channel strategy, one of the most important decisions is whether to sell directly to customers or work through partners, resellers, and distributors. Both models have their benefits, and choosing the right approach often depends on your business size, goals, and market reach.
To help you understand the differences, here's a detailed comparison of direct sales versus a channel sales strategy:
|
Aspect |
Channel Sales |
Direct Sales |
|
Customer Relationship |
Partners and resellers manage customer relationships on your behalf. |
You build and manage relationships with customers directly. |
|
Control Over Sales Process |
Less control, since partners follow their own processes within your channel sales strategy. |
High control because your team handles messaging, pricing, and delivery. |
|
Scalability |
Easier to scale through partner networks, making a multi channel sales strategy more flexible. |
Scaling requires hiring and training more internal sales reps. |
|
Cost Structure |
Lower upfront costs, but margins are shared with partners in the channel sales strategy process. |
Higher upfront costs due to in-house sales team salaries, training, and tools. |
|
Market Reach |
Broader reach, as partners can expand your presence into new geographies through a cross channel sales strategy. |
Typically limited to regions where your internal team operates. |
A well-defined sales channel strategy doesn't always mean choosing one over the other. Many businesses adopt a hybrid or multi channel sales strategy that blends direct and indirect approaches.
For example, you might sell directly to enterprise accounts while relying on channel partners to reach smaller businesses or international markets. This flexibility allows you to tailor your channel sales strategy process to different customer segments and maximize growth.
If you're serious about creating a sales channel strategy that actually drives revenue, you can't just throw a few emails and calls at your prospects and hope something sticks. Buyers today expect conversations on their terms, and on their preferred channels.
That's where SMS becomes a game-changer. With open rates hovering around 98% (compared to just 20–30% for email), text messaging deserves a front-row seat in your multi-channel sales strategy. Here's a step-by-step look at how to make it work.
Now. Let's look at how you can build a multi-channel sales strategy with SMS at the core.
A smart channel sales strategy starts with understanding where your buyers actually want to hear from you. Some prospects respond better to email, others prefer a quick text, while some will still take a call (yes, those unicorns exist).
You can uncover these preferences by:
When you line up buyer behavior with channel choice, your cross-channel sales strategy starts to feel less like a guessing game and more like a tailored conversation.
Texting isn't meant to replace email or phone. Instead, it's the glue that holds your sales funnel together. Think of it as the follow-up that cuts through the clutter.
For example:
Platforms like Ringy make this seamless by letting you automate SMS within your CRM stages, so you're not scrambling to send manual texts at scale. This is the kind of integration that turns a basic sales channel strategy into a streamlined channel sales strategy process.
You can't just wing a cross-channel approach. Every stage of the funnel needs its matching communication channel, otherwise you'll confuse prospects, or worse, annoy them.
A solid process might look like this:
This mapping ensures your multi-channel sales strategy doesn't just exist on paper—it becomes actionable and measurable.
The real magic happens when you strike the balance between automation and personalization. Automation keeps you efficient; personalization keeps you human.
In other words, your prospects feel seen, but your team doesn't burn out.
A channel sales strategy isn't "set and forget." You've got to measure, tweak, and improve constantly. The best way? Monitor how each channel performs and how they work together.
Key metrics to track:
The beauty of a cross-channel sales strategy is that you're no longer reliant on a single channel's success. Instead, you're orchestrating a multi-channel sales strategy that keeps prospects engaged from first touch to post-sale loyalty.
If your sales channel strategy doesn't include text messaging, you're leaving money, and leads, on the table.
Let's break down where SMS fits best.
Text sales aren't about blasting generic promos. They're about timely, relevant touchpoints that move leads closer to conversion. Here's how to use SMS strategically within your channel sales strategy process:
Here's the thing: SMS alone won't close deals. But when woven into a thoughtful cadence alongside email, phone, and even social touches, it multiplies your impact. This is where a true cross-channel sales strategy outperforms single-channel efforts.
Imagine this flow:
Each channel reinforces the other. Instead of feeling spammy, your outreach feels persistent yet considerate, like you're meeting buyers where they are. Studies show that businesses using a multi-channel sales strategy see 3x higher engagement rates than those relying on just one channel.
The takeaway? SMS isn't a "nice to have" anymore. It's the engine that powers a cross-channel cadence, ensuring your channel sales strategy process stays consistent, engaging, and results-driven.
A sales channel strategy does more than improve your sales channel program's efficiency.
Using a sales channel strategy enables you to maximize your collaboration with channel partners, get reliable customer feedback, and use actionable insights to grow your revenue.
And Ringy makes it more convenient for you to reap the benefits.
Ringy can help you manage and enhance your sales channel strategy with:
Request a demo to learn more about how we can help work towards achieving your sales goals.