Is AI good or bad? Should it be used in Oscar-nominated movies? I don’t claim to have an answer to either of those questions, but I can say that AI, leveraged correctly, can help vendors save time and personalize some of their tools, processes and content for partners. It’s called a relationship for a reason, and we all know relationships take work. But with only so many hours in the day, it’s worth thinking about how some of the recurring actions of a partner program could be performed by AI.
Topics: Partnering Tips
In one of our thought-leadership webinars, Lisa Wight, Global VP of Partner Programs, Success and WW Distribution at Ericsson, made a compelling case for leveraging distribution as part of your indirect partnering strategy. Leveraging distribution partners helps expand reach, optimize supply chains, reduce operational costs, and better serve customers in diverse markets. Local distributors bring valuable market knowledge, regulatory expertise, and logistical support that can facilitate faster market entry, improved customer service, and overall growth. You can hear us expand upon these points in our “Value of Distribution” webinar.
Topics: Industry Perspective
11.19.24
For thirty years we’ve been helping technology vendors foster alliances with other hardware and software companies. I have to say, most of those technology alliances produced very little value in comparison to the effort involved in building the integration or extension.
Topics: Industry Perspective
We had a fantastic summer series with three partnering leaders sharing their background and experience [find the links to watch the recordings at the bottom of this blog or view in the Resource Center]. From these sessions, we learned that VPs wear a lot of hats, and they need the entire organization to support partnering efforts. If you want to be a VP of Partnering, these are 10 talents you need to master:
Topics: Industry Perspective
10.16.24
In our August webinar, John Schwan, Head of Partner Sales, North America, at Synopsys, was on fire with great quotes about being successful in partnering. In no particular order, are his pearls of wisdom.
Topics: Industry Perspective
09.04.24
I believe in karma. What you put out into the world comes back to you. ‘Do unto others’ and all that. However, I’ve become concerned about a general trend towards ‘taking’ versus ‘giving’ in our global economic, political and social environments. We’re hearing fewer stories about unqualified generosity and more about wars, dictators, and selfishness.
Topics: Industry Perspective
08.21.24
My stepson, like many recent college graduates, is trying to figure out what he will be when he grows up. On a recent trip for his graduation, he asked me about how I got into partnering and what skill set I consider important for the job. Trying to answer these questions prompted our summer series of interviews with partnering executives: Bob Skelley, Beth Glasstetter and John Schwan. I asked our first webinar guest, Bob Skelley, Vice President of Channel Sales & Strategy at Arctic Wolf, how he got into partnering and what skill set he thought would be important. His answers about listening, lifelong learning, and consistent follow-through align with those I’ve found to be true.
Topics: Partnering Tips
I’m a fan of indirect channels and I’ve spent years helping companies engage, empower and evolve partner ecosystems. I’ve always defended solution providers to vendors who undervalue partner contributions. But lately I’ve noticed that customers are being sold complex solutions when simpler ones will do – and I suspect partners are partly to blame. Don’t get me wrong, direct sales are also guilty of selling complexity. The fact is: complex solutions ensure lucrative services revenues (which is bread and butter for partners). But ultimately, everyone wants happy customers. If the right thing for the customer is a simpler solution (with a faster install, easier onboarding and less ongoing maintenance), how do we encourage a shift in sales priorities?
Topics: Partnering Tips
05.14.24
Change management is leading to sleepless nights. More than 80% of the attendees at our last partner programs roundtable indicated it’s keeping them up at night (yowza). After two decades of partnership model and program consulting experience, we’ve seen all the warning signs of failure. Without organizational change management, your new program, compensation plan, or portal initiative is pretty much worth the paper it’s printed on.
Topics: Partnering Tips, Industry Perspective
A participant in our recent partnering executive roundtable asked the group: “Are you in favor of or opposed to creating compensation neutrality for your direct field team?” Without missing a beat (and to my surprise), almost half of the roundtable participants said they were against ‘comp’ neutrality. How could anyone be against something with the word “neutral” in it? If you’re not familiar with the term, compensation neutrality means a salesperson gets paid, or their sales quota is retired, at the same rate if the product is sold by a partner or themselves. How compensation is defined for your direct sales force can help or hinder your partnering efforts and there’s no clear consensus on the right answer.
Topics: Partnering Tips, Industry Perspective
