Q4 2009 Check-in

done

By Diane Krakora, CEO

Diane speaks briefly about  partnering priorities this quarter that could very well expand through 2010, including partner program refreshing, optimizing channel spend, breaking into new markets, and internal and external channel sales training.

Getting Back to Basics

By Sandra Glaser Cheek – Director, Client Services

Often when we work with clients on their channel communications strategies, our social media recommendations bring on a mountain of questions and concerns. There is a lot of apprehension around developing a social media strategy. Questions like getting executive buy-in, integration of internal teams that will engage partners in social technologies, which tools and platforms to use, etc., often come up. Not that these aren’t good questions – they are. But they really miss the point. I’d recommend borrowing a basic journalism approach and starting with the “Five W’s” (and one “H”) questions instead:

WHO are you trying to reach?

WHAT are your objectives, and what are you trying to accomplish?

WHEN and HOW is the best time and way to reach them?

WHERE do these people spend time online?

WHY do they care about what you have to say? What is the value that you bring to the table/conversation?

When formulating your channel social media strategy, what are some of the questions you think are important to start with?

Channel Complexity – Vendor/Partner Marriage Counseling

By Beth Vanni – Director, Market Intelligence

When psychologists ask most married couples about what creates conflict in their marriage, there is often a classic gender gap in perceptions.  Women will often talk about lack of sharing, communication and having joint goals — those long-term things in a marriage that create meaningful bonds.  Men will often talk about arguments over money and not enough physical intimacy (OK, sex).   The day to day “glue” of a marriage that keep the wheels on the bus.   Not that I’m trying to indict the male species, but this classic gender-based delta in needs feels much like the results from our recent research study focused on Channel Complexity.   Let me explain ….

The goal of our research was to identify what areas of channel programs and processes caused partners the most cost, wasted time and generally infuriated partners  about their leading vendor’s programs.  We then compared those responses to the vendor’s own perception of where they felt they could improve in their ease-of-doing-business quotients.   The results were fascinating – much like a marriage counseling session.   Beyond the one resoundingly common complexity issue of managing training and certification requirements, the wish list of things to simplify seemed quite divergent.

Partner Profitability – Show Them The Money

Ingrid Krivin

One of the hottest issues right now in the channel is Partner Profitability.
In other words, showing your partners that by selling your products you can make them more profitable than if they sell other vendors’ products.

But how to do this with credibility? And who has the time to think about your partner’s profitability?

Well, I say, who doesn’t have the time considering that if you want your partners to sell your stuff, you’d better start thinking about what drives them – bottom line profits.

So how to make your footprint larger in your partner’s business, and how to drive more revenue out of the partners that you have?

Recruiting the Right Partners

By Beth Vanni

Recruiting the right partners remains an age-old channel  management challenge.

Vendors have gotten increasingly more sophisticated at the “whys” and “hows” of recruiting over the years.  But the fact that nearly 50% of vendors surveyed in our 2009 State of Partner Program study indicated that recruitment represented a “very” or “somewhat” challenging issue in 2008 tells us there’s still progress to be made.

Is Your Channel Partner Dashboard Flashing “Maintenance Required”?

Sandra Glaser Cheek

I recently took my 2006 Honda Odyssey into the mechanic because as I was driving to work the dashboard light indicators were lighting up like a Christmas tree. It began with a bright red brake indicator, next came the oil light, then “maintenance required”, and finally some random light I still don’t know the meaning of. So, I started thinking – can I even make it to the mechanic, should I call a tow truck, will I miss my meeting? Not to mention that this will undoubtedly mean, ka-ching – an unanticipated expense!

This experience got me thinking about our business. What if I just ignored my dashboard? I mean, yes the indicators were on but the car was actually running and sounding fine. In the old days when I drove my 1980 hand-me-down Chevy Citation, there weren’t any sensors on the dashboard. I just drove the car until, well, it broke down – and trust me I got more than my fair share of that back in “the old days”. However, today’s cars are fine-tuned, high-tech machines with lots of thing-a-ma-jigs that make sure I can brake to a stop faster, I won’t get as hurt in an accident, I get better mileage, etc. So yes, I could probably still drive “old school” like I did in my younger days and ignore the flashing dashboard. But at what cost?

New Year’s Resolution…Adopting a Values Based Model

Natascha Lee

Life goes on in this heavily media fueled recession world we live in. And, as a fair part of our world’s economy seems to operate on ‘confidence’, I started to think about what confidence means. My thesaurus gives a whole list of nouns including belief, faith, trust, support and loyalty. For something clearly not tangible, it’s quite amazing what effect it can have. So, I wondered if we as individuals can make a positive difference on a local level – at home and at work – by making a concerted effort at being all those things people describe as being ‘confident’ and see what impact it has on those around you In other words, see if a confident demeanor is as infectious as the latest cold bug, with more positive consequences.

Partner Segmentation … Critical to do? Or just another “fad” in channel modeling?

Sue Redmore

“Partner Segmentation” seems to be the new buzz word in many high tech circles these days.  If companies are not already in the midst of some form of segmentation analysis, they are considering adding it as a critical component of partnering engagements moving forward.

This sort of modeling exercise is not a new concept, so why the renewed interest?

From our vantage point, we think one reason is the evolution of partner business models. Those of us who have been in this industry for many years remember the days of the basic VAR and distributor model. Looking back seems a kinder and simpler time then. Fast forward 10 years and witness the transition to a partnering model based on a wide range of partnering types, options for multiple points of entry into a program, and the growing trend to move from a pure volume based model to one driving the total value of a partner’s skills and expertise based on competencies or specialization.

School is “In” for the Channel: Training is Profitable

Mary Lee Shalvoy

School may be out for the summer, but in the business world, the need for training never takes a break. It’s a hot topic in our (consulting) circles. Well, it’s not hot in the “this is the latest, coolest thing” kind of way, but more in just figuring out how to manage it in all of its complexities.

If you haven’t already heard, there is an enormous IT talent shortage, which equals a big gap in terms of talent when staffing partners and corporations. It’s been reported widely in the press and on the Web that in order for the big vendors to meet their growth targets, they need to get people up and trained on their products and technology in general.

Partner Advisory Councils – Build A Partner-Centric Organization

In our recent PAC, there were sessions weaved into the program where the client was not present in the room and proved to be the most powerful part of the program. Without the clients in the room, the partners can provide honest feedback without feeling a need to grandstand to make a point or fear of potential retribution. These partner-only sessions result in the PAC developing into a unified team and presented a single voice to vendor management. Typically, the meetings result in 10-12 prioritized issues or concerns which are presented directly to the management team. This relatively anonymous feedback helps the vendor understand which issues are the biggest hurdles to the sales, profitability and loyalty.