Guest Column | January 27, 2020

The Fast Path From Direct Sales To 100% Channel

By Rob Spee, Channel Journeys Consulting

John

John DeLozier
SVP Global Channel, 8x8

Headquarters
San Jose, CA

Year Founded
1987

Mission
Transforming the future of business communications as a leading Software-as-a-Service provider of voice, video, chat, contact center and enterprise-class API solutions powered by one global cloud communications platform.

Channel Experience
25 years

Twitter
@jldelozier3

“We care about getting our software to the world, whether that's through a master agent, a VAR, an MSP, or an alliance partner…Let them decide how they will take it to the world. We just want them to do it.” — John DeLozier

What compels a company to go all-in on the channel? In the case of 8x8, it was the vision of the CEO who recognized the channel as the path to taking the company to the next level.

The channel chief chosen to drive that journey from 100 percent direct sales to 100 percent channel is John DeLozier, SVP of Global Channels at 8x8. I had the pleasure of interviewing John on my Channel Journeys podcast where he shared some of the secret sauce of their partner program called Elev8.

Key Take-Aways

  • A successful channel program is a give and take. Expect to give your partner as much as they give you.
  • You need to understand your partner’s battlefield. Go to them and see where their rubber meets the road.
  • Be flexible and adjust your incentive model to fit the partner’s business model. Whether they’re an agent, a VAR, an MSP, an ISV, or an alliance partner. Let them decide how they will take your offering to the world.
  • Let your partners build their professional services and IP on top of your software. Be there to back them up, enable them, but don’t compete with them.
  • Be genuine. Be interested in everyone no matter their level. Be ready to jump in the weeds with them. Be focused on your partners’ success.

Take Action — One Thing You Can Do Today

If you’re looking to drive more sales with your partners, listen to the complete Channel Journeys podcast with John DeLozier and hear how they are taking partner blitz days to a whole new level.

About The Author

Rob Spee is the 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.