Best Advice For Channel Success

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

How channel partners can operate a successful business in 2016

Vendors and distributors are always looking ahead to ensure their channel partners are equipped to meet market demands and face challenges around the corner. Business Solutions recently polled solutions providers, vendors, and distributors on the question: What is the most important piece of business advice for channel partners to help them operate a successful business in 2016?  They shared their advice for success in the next 12 to 18 months.

Solutions providers stressed working with partners, improving performance, and paying attention to marketing and branding:

• “Vendors should support their partners and make it easy for them to work with you and sell your products.” – Debbie Simurda, Mainstreet Inc.
• “Be actively engaged in your partner's deals, and reward good business with incentive pricing and other services.” – Brett Bennett, Positive Technology
• “A good channel program should differentiate the various levels of partners and create enough spread between the levels in terms of pricing, support and value.” – Tony Varco, Convergint Technologies
• “Stay on top of your vendors to keep ahead of the technology curve.” – Robert Barron, BECPOS
• “It's all about performance, putting your business out there in front of existing customers with new and better solutions to the problems that that they have. Putting yourself and your team out there with helpful advice to prospective clients, and generate as much communication as possible. It's good stuff.” – Tony Priestley, Avantage LLC, dba Best PC Service
• “Pay special attention to your marketing and branding efforts. Don’t just pay it lip service. With the cost of solutions continuing to drop, you have to find ways to get more customers for a lower cost/customer cost. If you don’t, you’ll be gone.” – David Gerber, Tallega Software
• “Marketing in the current business world, with the right marketing you can sell anything … so it's not really about the product anymore.” – Clint Hofer, Slingfly Media
• “Keep offering great service to your customers and refining your processes to be as efficient as possible in delivering your services.” – Dave Ketterer, C.D.’s IT Consulting LLC

Meanwhile, from the vendor perspective, responses focused on execution, proactive engagement, communication, and the formation of complementary, rather than competitive, partnerships.

• “2016 is the year of execution.  Channel partners face a rapidly changing market landscape; this presents many growth opportunities to adapt their services and address the total needs of their customers. Vendor-provided partner programs offer new perspectives on sales and growth strategies that channel partners can take to market today.” – Fred Gerritse, General Manager AVG Business
• “Operate like a consultant when it comes to payments and mobile/supplemental apps. Users are more likely to buy from you once you have established a reputation as an expert with them.  It also opens up-sell conversations.”– Patrick Grueschow, QUORiON
• “Look to being proactive with your vendors and communicating with them to ensure that they are reaching their markets through your efforts. Be open to evolving your business to the Cloud and finding a market differentiator that will make your business stand out.” – Reid. A. Cooper, Avatier
• “Bring in channel partners that can expand your market presence and don't compete in the same space as you do from a sales process.” – Mitri Dahdaly, Infor
• “Partner with only those vendors who are willing to help you build your business.” – Dede Haas, DLH Services LLC
• “Search out new ways to brand, partner and broaden your horizons. Technology and the market are rapidly changing, and in order to stay afloat you will need to invest in new ideas and marketing tools that appeal to a wide audience.” – Dawn Burrell, Touch Dynamic
• “Compare multiple partner programs because no two are the same. There are many ways to slice and dice the responsibilities of both parties, make sure the solution takes advantage of each partner’s strengths.” – Paul Daigle, PartnerInVoIP
• “Listen to your customers. Don't assume that you know exactly what they need. They are seeing and reading a lot about new ways to transact and treat their consumers. Let's make sure that we aren't offering cookie-cutter solutions. Don't be afraid to sell customized offerings.” – Luis Artiz, Epson America