Frequently Asked Questions

Ask us any question in the chatbot, call or send us an email. You can also start with our FAQ below

BRM is an abbreviation for Business Relationship Management. It enables the commercial process or collaboration between account managers and indirect sales partners. It facilitates the two-way approach (push and pull) and helps manage the relationship between the existing parties to increase sales.
BRM means “business software and relationship manager”. Ideally, these tools enable users to form strategic analysis, create business plans and conduct follow-ups or collaboration.

A BRM is a business software that connects companies with their sales partners, intermediaries, resellers and brokers in a digital way. It enables joint business planning, digital collaboration and follow-ups. It helps relationship managers aggregate and centralize relevant data from other tools and systems. You can describe this as a performance management and collaboration tool or partner software for channel sales.

A BRM or a business relationship management software connects companies with its sales partners through digital means. BRM is different from PRM (Partner Relationship Management), the latter is a partner software that is focused on providing sales partners with the right content (Push). In contrast, BRM focuses on account management, as well as the commercial process and collaboration.

BRM software is important for two types of companies:
•Companies selling their products or services through indirect sales channels such as intermediaries, resellers and brokers.
•Companies that need account management solutions because they sell their products or services through a set of recurring strategic accounts.
The following are examples of industries that use BRM software: financial services, IT companies, manufacturing companies, FMCG, construction material companies, retail, etc.

The benefits of BRM are threefold:
1. Increased productivity: Increased focus for account management teams due to segmentation and strategic alignment of sales plans and sales strategies.
2. Increased share of voice for sales partners: Established digital relationships provide more opportunities to improve partnerships with intermediaries, resellers or brokers and create more relevant touchpoints.
3. Increased commitment: Joint business planning leads to increased accountability, effective follow-ups and a better understanding of each other’s goals to help increase sales.
4. Segmentation: Classify partners, intermediaries, resellers or brokers to effectively implement your strategy and activities.
5. Business strategy based on OKR’s: Create activities and campaigns linked to your company goals and sales plan.
6. Partner strategy: Generate an automated account plan and customize your plan on segmentation and sales strategy.
7. Regular follow-ups: Get information to effectively evaluate partner activities with our partner software solution.
8. Performance management: Get instant insights on partner and account management performance.
9. Internal activity tracking: Measure how BRM is used by your account management team or relationship managers and get results.

Qollabi is a user-friendly Business Relationship Management (BRM) software. It is the first business software to-date that enables businesses to commercially collaborate with indirect sales partners (intermediaries, resellers, brokers, branches or agents). Our customers get more than 10% production increase and 10% efficiency gains by improving their collaborations and partner plans with indirect sales partners.
The pricing of BRM software is comparable to the prices of CRMs. At Qollabi, pricing starts at €100 per user per month.
BRM is a business software used for connecting a company’s account management team and relationship managers with their sales partners, intermediaries, resellers and brokers through digital means. It enhances commitment in the commercial relationship from both parties. It helps create clear objectives and activities (OKR) for both parties working towards a joint sales strategy and sales plan. It can also be used to aggregate and centralize relevant data from other tools and partner software (BI, CRM, ERP etc) to prevent the overload of data for the account managers.

CRM is an operational tool used to register data, centralize and aggregate data from various tools or platforms, and analyse data.
In contrast, BRM is a strategic business software focused on the commercial process of account management and collaboration. It connects with CRM systems to facilitate the two-way approach (push and pull) of relevant data.

While CRM systems are great tools that can enter all the data and provide a complete overview. Sales and account management teams only need 20% of the relevant data to generate 80% of its impact. Moreover, they don’t like to enter all the fields in the CRM system.

BRM is a strategic tool or business software focused on the commercial process of collaboration between an organization and its existing customers or intermediaries. BRM is different from PRM (Partner Relationship Management), the latter is a partner software that is focused on providing sales partners with the right content and marketing materials. It helps to create clear objectives and activities (OKR) for both parties working towards a joint strategic collaboration for their sales plan and sales strategy. It can also be used to aggregate and centralize relevant data from other tools and systems (BI, CRM, ERP etc) to prevent the overload of data for the account managers. In contrast, PRM software sends your marketing material to your channels, agents, resellers, brokers and partners. It makes it easy to collaborate with indirect sales partners like independent software vendors (ISVs), value-added resellers (VARs), consultants, retailers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) among many others. It also keeps track of their performance and stores store up to date information.

There are three main reasons:
• To connect with sales partners, intermediaries, resellers and brokers through digital means.
• To support account management teams and enable them to become strategic advisers of
their sales partners in order to increase sales.
• To aggregate relevant data and get an overview of the status of strategic accounts or sales
partners for a better sales plan and sales strategy.

Channel sales refers to the sale of a good or service by a third-party such as an indirect sales partner, reseller, broker or affiliate, rather than a company’s personnel.

Channel management refers to the process whereby the company develops various marketing techniques, sales plans and sales strategies to expand their customer base. It involves the use of “channel partners,” which refer to partners (i.e. resellers, brokers or affiliates) that your company uses to indirectly sell your organization’s products.
The definition of strategic alliance describes a partnership between two different organizations which gather their assets such as customers, knowledge, technology or products to achieve a common goal or solve a problem.

The three common types of strategic alliances include:

• Non equity partnerships: Start with an informal or formal agreement between two parties. The partnership may be based on knowledge sharing, new product development, customer databases, fostering trust and credibility, and offering technological advancements.
• Equity partnerships: Parties involved contribute to the capital of the other company and vice versa.
• Joint venture: A formal or informal agreement with a cost component or profit and loss responsibility between stakeholders. 

Strategic alliance examples: 

• Example 1: A bank and telecom provider collaborating for cross-selling purposes to increase profits for a new product.
• Example 2: A manufacturer collaborating with a tech company to co-create IOT devices with a new pricing model.
• Example 3: A manufacturer and retailer teaming up to guarantee the production of high quality products. 

PRM or “Partner Relationship Management” refers to partner tools often used by organizations that frequently collaborate with partners to sell products. With this tool, businesses can streamline deal registration, content marketing and strategy in an all-in-one platform.

The format used for Quarterly Business Review (QBRs) meetings between a channel account manager and clients. The objective is to discuss the results of the partnership, how you can support them, or modify account plans to improve results.
A partner business plan includes the strategy of two collaborating organizations. With partner planning, these organizations can ensure that their overall business strategy aligns with the organization’s desired outcomes.
The template by channel account managers and clients for their business planning process.
Indirect selling refers to the sale of a product or service through a third-party or indirect sales channels, such as intermediaries, resellers and brokers.

The advantages of an indirect channel of distribution include the following:
•Tap into an existing customer base: Indirect sellers and brokers often have existing relationships with their current customers. As a partner, you can leverage the existing relationships within these indirect channels to promote your own products.
•Indirect sales is cost-efficient: Brokers, resellers and agents already have dedicated marketing, sales, account management teams, as well as industry connections. That is why indirect distribution is a cost-efficient way to get your goods in the market.
•Enter markets quickly: Entering new markets and global channel management can be quite a challenge. With indirect sales channels, you can instantly enter new markets at an affordable price with low risk to your business.
•Established logistics: Indirect sellers already have an established logistical infrastructure. Hence, you can streamline and scale your operations as fast as possible.