5 Must Have's For Channel Success
By Rob Spee, Channel Journeys Consulting
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First off, do you have a documented channel strategy? What are your channel goals for 2020? What's your plan of action to achieve those goals? What are you trying to accomplish as a company? And how does the channel fit into that? — Rob Spee
What does it take to be successful in the channel in 2020? I recently presented my top five must-haves in my Channel Journeys podcast, starting with the foundation of a channel strategy. These critical requirements for success are based on my own work as a channel chief and over 40 podcasts with other channel leaders.
Key Take-Aways – The 5 Must Haves for Success
- Refresh your Channel Strategy
With all the changes taking place in the market, you really need to review and update your channel strategy at least every year.
- Throw away your metallic tiered program
What does bronze, silver, gold or platinum tell anyone about a partner? It doesn't tell you or your customers anything about your partner’s capabilities, skill sets, or value proposition.
- Teach your RCMs how to do Joint Business Planning
A joint business plan starts with setting targets, followed by action plans on how the partner is going to reach those targets. Done correctly, it creates cross-functional shared responsibility and accountability between you and your partner.
- Teach your sales reps how to work with partners
Don't assume that your sales teams know how to work with partners. Educate your reps on rules of engagement, your partners’ business models, and their value add.
- Enable your partners for customer success
When your selling anything-as-a-service in a subscription model, training your partners to deliver an excellent customer experience is even more important than training them how to sell.
Take Action — One Thing You Can Do Today
Compare these five must-haves against your current channel business. If any are missing, listen to the complete my Channel Journeys podcast to learn all the details behind each of them.
About The Author
Rob Spee is founder and CEO of Channel Journeys Consulting and host of the Channel Journeys podcast. Rob applies his channel expertise to help clients create and execute channel strategies to accelerate revenue growth. His global channel experience spans from building channels at startups to vendors and distributors like Arrow, BMC, Carbonite, and SAS. Follow Rob on Twitter and LinkedIn.