AEM - Association of Equipment Manufacturers

06/12/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 06/12/2025 08:09

Where's the Gap? Identifying What's Holding Back Your Sales Team Performance

By Shannon Hughes, Director of Digital & Media Strategy, Lessing-Flynn -

Even the strongest sales channels have weak links- likemisaligned messaging, under-supported partnersor inconsistent execution. These cracks in your sales channelnetwork can quietly erode performance and stall growth. But with the right strategy and a willingness to dig in, you can uncover friction points - areas where your customers get stuck in the funnel - and turn them into opportunities.

Let'sbe honest: Today's market demandsthat sales teams get back to selling. The days of COVID-driven backlogs and automatic demand are over. Now, it'sabout standing out, earning attentionand closing the deal.

Not Seeing The Sales You Expected? It Might Not Be the Product.

If your sales are lagging despite offering a competitive product, it'stime to zoom out. Many underperforming teams strugglebecause of support issues, not what they'reselling. Sales partners often lack the marketing firepower, sales toolsor product clarity to confidently close deals. Others simply don'tview your brand as the standout in their portfolio.

The solution isn'talways "sell harder." It's"support smarter."

How To Spot the Gaps in Your Sales Channel

Thefirst step? Take a hard look at whether your channel is set up to succeed.Here are a few areas where friction often hides:

  • Awareness deficiency:If your partners aren'tarmed with brand-building tools, your product may never get on the customer'sradar.
  • Messaging mayhem:Inconsistent, unclearor generic messaging across the channel erodes trust and hurts conversions.
  • Support shortfalls:A lack of training, templates or co-branded assets leaves your partners scrambling to DIY their materials. And that couldbe underselling your product.
  • Disengagement drift:Sporadic communication and weak incentives can make partners feel like an afterthought
  • Data blindness:If you'renot tracking and sharing marketing performance metrics with your channel, you'reflying blind.

Each of these gaps eats away at the impact of your marketing investment and slows down your sales engine.

So, What Can You Do About It?

You don'thave to reinvent your sales strategy - but you do need to refine it. Here are a few solutions that drive channel-wide improvement:

  1. Build awareness that opens doors.
     If your partners are struggling to build a sales pipeline, your marketing strategy may need a boost. Invest in geo-targeted campaignswith dealer-specific creative, social content that tags partner locations and co-branded direct mail that drives foot traffic.

  1. Create consistency across the channel.
    From digital ads to sellsheets, your message needs to be clear and compelling, no matter who'sdelivering it. Create templates, brand guides and content libraries to keep partners on-brand.

  2. Empower partners with the right tools.
     Don'tleave your sales force guessing. Give the sales team a reason to talk to customers withone-pagers, customizable outreach materials and persona-driven pitch decks. These tools can alsohelp them understand the unique needs of different buyers.

  1. Elevate your partner relationships.
    Go beyond transactions. Offer structured communication plans, regular check-insand exclusive incentives to keep partners engaged and motivated.

  1. Let data lead the way.
    Track what'sworking (and what'snot). From email engagement to local lead conversions, share performance data with your channel so they can optimize, improveand grow alongside you.

Bridge The Gap and Build Momentum

Even high-performing sales networks have room to grow. And the best way to transform sales potential into measurable results is to identifythe cracks in your channel marketing and strengtheningyour partnersupport.

Not sure where to begin? Pinpoint your greatest friction points tofigure out whether you needto boost brand awareness, drive partner engagementor sharpen your sales enablement strategy.

ShannonHughesis Director of Digital & Media Strategy at Lessing-Flynn, the longest-standingindependently owned advertising agency in America. Committed to innovation, she ensures clients stay ahead in the ever-evolving digital, mediaand sales channel marketing landscapes.

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