A well-planned and executed training and certification program is critical to the success in a distribution channel. The most effective training strategies target the right mix of learners depending on the specific needs and objectives of your company and its channel partners. Devising and delivering the right training strategy is not an easy task. The training curriculum offered in a distribution channel can vary significantly depending upon a channel’s characteristics and a dealers’ capabilities to deliver that training.

1. EXECUTIVE BRIEF
The Definitive Guide
to Training and
Certification in the
Distribution Channel

2. A well-planned and executed training and
certification program is critical to the
success in a distribution channel. The
most effective training strategies target
the right mix of learners depending on the
specific needs and objectives of your
company and its channel partners.
Devising and delivering the right training
strategy is not an easy task. The training
curriculum offered in a distribution
channel can vary significantly depending
upon a channel’s characteristics and a
dealers’ capabilities to deliver that
training.
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INTRODUCTION

3. TRAINING: WHO, WHAT AND HOW
Who. The first step is identifying target learners. Key
targets in a sales channel are typically any of the
following job categories: sales, service, parts and finance,
and will include upper management and general staff
members. It may be necessary to train all functional roles
within the distribution channel or only those in sales roles
depending on the products or services a company offers.
Trainees must possess the skills, knowledge, and
behaviors necessary to effectively sell the product.
What. Training an indirect sales force is quite different
from training internal employees. There are three
components of a classic training program:
• Skills. Basic sales skills that include developing a
territory and soliciting a business while showcasing
value.
• Knowledge. Sales teams should possess product,
application, industry, and systems knowledge.
• Behaviors. Provided expectations regarding how
employees dress, their interpersonal skills, work
habits, etc.
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4. TRAINING: WHO, WHAT AND HOW
How. For implementation, you will need an enabling
technology in order to deliver the training effectively to
everyone within a sales channel no matter where they
are in the world. Choices fall into two main categories:
A Partner Relationship Management (PRM) system
or a Learning Management System (LMS).
A LMS is often monolithic, expensive, and difficult to
use. It will also have a singular focus on delivering
training, most in the form of informal experiences,
such as reading documents, watching videos, etc. A
PRM solution with a built-in training module is an easy-
to-use training and certification solution that many
sales partners find to be more effective and efficient. A
PRM provides the benefit of associating training
initiatives with larger business objectives in the
channel, like sales readiness, incentive programs, lead
management, and new partner onboarding to name a
few.
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5. INTRODUCING CERTIFICATIONS
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Certifications provide a way of knowing that distribution partners are prepared to sell and support offered products. A
certification differs from a training curriculum in that it has a start and expiration date, is often renewable, and can be
single tier or multi-level, most of which are the latter. Each level can also contain multiple tracks; this is simply a way of
organizing certification levels and allowing the learner to focus on each track separately.
• Level 1. Typically, web-based, this level reaches the most people. It should be affordable and efficient.
• Level 2. Most vendors introduce a mix of ILT and WBT into this level, because hands-on training (for service techs)
and real-world performance metrics (for salespeople) become more important in these levels.
• Level 3. This is often a level associated with the concept of “mentoring” and is usually delivered with hands-on
techniques and performance reviews. Sales and service techs certified at this level are often certified to teach, coach,
and mentor others.
Mindshare
Sales
Fully Captive
Fully Independent
Low Mindshare:
Single-Level
Medium Mindshare:
Simple Multi-Level
High Mindshare:
Complex Multi-Level

6. MOTIVATING THE SALES TEAM
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A channel sales force works directly for distribution partners which
means dealers must provide a training experience that incentivizes
participation and is easy to access. Like all motivation challenges,
motivating sales partners to achieve certifications comes down to
the carrot or the stick—sometimes both.
• The Carrot. Acknowledgment and recognition are verifiable
means of incentivizing employees. Partners can also use a PRM
system to publicly (within the distribution channel) recognize
certifications. Most partners will also attach pay scales to levels
of certification. In this model, getting certified means more
money.
• The Stick. This is a very powerful motivator and it can be
wielded in the following ways: Warranty reimbursement tied to
certification where a PRM system maintains a dynamic database
of certified service technicians in the channel, pay scale tied to
certification where lower certification equals lower pay, and/or
Partner contracts with certification clauses where a partner must
maintain a specific level of certified personnel at all times.

7. “DISTRIBUTED OWNERSHIP WITH
CENTRALIZED CONTROL”
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Avoid politics in training programs by leveraging
the concept, “distributed ownership with
centralized control”. This can be done through
creating a training campus, a separate learning
environment within an enterprise that is dedicated
to addressing specific training need(s).
Content within a campus can remain discrete, or
can be shared by one or more campuses. Partners
can create as many campuses as desired. No
matter how many are created, they are still an
integral piece of the overall learning system and
will share the same records database.

8. TURNING A TRAINING CENTER INTO A PROFIT CENTER
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Training centers are often the first to be cut when times turn tough. In most cases, a training center is a non-mission
critical cost center, but training centers can be turned into profit centers through four commonly used models.
• Cable Model. Flat subscription fee for basic catalogs, additional fees for premium content.
• Café Model. Pay per completed course
• Rewards Model. Funded by the dealers and tied to training certifications
• Hybrid Model. This is a mash-up of the above.
Cable Model Café Model Rewards Model
Pros Fixed fee.
Easy to implement
Predictable income
Encourages usage
Zero surprises
Low cost of entry
Significant financial
upgrade
Easy to implement
Fees paid by dealers
Increase productivity from
workforce
Motivates employees
Adding points can be fun
Cons No incremental option
Fixed fee limitations
Limited financial upside
No upfront income
Does not drive engagement
More marketing is required
Sustainable interest
Profit will not support other
programs
Requires administration
May not encourage outside
learning

9. CROWDSOURCING FOR CONTENT
It’s surprising how much content can be
added to a training library by launching a
company sponsored, crowdsourced
training site. This training is created with
very little cost to the dealer and the
manufacturer, and always comes with
pros and cons.
It may be necessary to have a custom
channel created for your company and an
integrated approval process to ensure
that only company approved content is
available for your dealer’s service and
sales people. In most cases, once this is
implemented the many benefits of
crowdsourced training are obvious.
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10. PATHWAY TO SUCCESS
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There are several components
integral to delivering a successful
training program to channel
partners.
Ultimately, it comes down to two
things: Enabling technologies such
as a webinar tool and a cloud-
based PRM system (ex: The
LogicBay Performance Center) and
content including informal training
materials, interactive distance
learning platforms, and web-
based/instructor lead training
courses.

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