What is Indirect Sales?
Indirect Sales is a go-to-market strategy where a company sells its products or services through intermediaries — channel partners, resellers, distributors, agents, affiliates, or marketplaces — rather than selling directly to end customers. The vendor has no direct sales relationship with the end buyer; instead, the partner owns the customer relationship and manages the transaction.
Indirect vs Direct Sales
- Direct — Vendor sales team engages directly with end customer from lead to close
- Indirect — Partner organization manages the customer relationship and sales process
- Key difference — In indirect sales, the vendor may never interact with the end customer
Types of Indirect Sales Channels
- Value-Added Resellers (VARs) — Buy products and add services before reselling
- Managed Service Providers (MSPs) — Wrap products into managed service offerings
- Distributors — Aggregate products from multiple vendors and distribute to resellers
- Systems Integrators — Incorporate products into larger, custom solution implementations
- Affiliates — Drive leads through digital marketing in exchange for referral fees
- Cloud Marketplaces — AWS, Azure, Google Cloud listing and transacting
Why Companies Choose Indirect Sales
- 75% of global commerce flows through indirect channels
- Dramatically lower customer acquisition costs
- Faster market entry in new geographies
- Access to partner’s existing customer relationships
- Local implementation and support capabilities
How xAmplify Supports Indirect Sales
xAmplify’s PRM platform provides comprehensive tools for indirect sales, helping companies scale their partner programs with automation, analytics, and seamless partner experiences.
Book a demo to see how xAmplify handles indirect sales.
