By Diane Krakora, CEO of PartnerPath
As I was winging my way back from a week in Las Vegas at the Channel Partners Conference and Expo, I reflected on several insights from the event. In addition to the ever-present life lessons you gain at a large conference like: drink lots of water (seriously, lots), wear comfortable shoes (but still look good) and don’t mix hard alcohol and red wine (this is key) I came up with ten takeaways from the event. In no particular order:
Topics: Industry Perspective
One of the most persistent issues in the vendor/channel community is the level of relationship between the two. Specifically, how deep should vendors and their channel partners be in each other’s business? If a vendor is too hands-off, its channel partners might accuse it of not helping—or caring—enough to make them successful. If the vendor is too hands-on, its channel partners might accuse it of trying to steal their customers and sabotage their success.
This week, hosts Charlene O'Hanlon, channel industry editor & writer, and Diane Krakora, CEO of PartnerPath, discuss one of the data points from our 2016 State of Partnering report: What are the top vendor priorities for growing and managing their partner ecosystem in 2016?
Topics: videocast, Channel Best Practices, Industry Perspective
By Diane Krakora, CEO
Last week I discussed a few eyebrow-raising comments Chris Rimer of IBM made during our most recent webinar. Chris, one of two guests during the webinar, positioned that vendors are not responsible for funding partners’ shift to the cloud.
This week, hosts Charlene O'Hanlon, channel industry editor & writer, and Diane Krakora, CEO of PartnerPath, discuss some comments made in our recent webinar, "Resale vs. Referral: How is cloud changing partner roles?" (Listen to the recording or read some of the highlights.)
Topics: News and Programs, videocast, Channel Best Practices, Industry Perspective
It’s no surprise the cloud has impacted every facet of the IT space, from the way technology is built, sold and delivered to the way vendors and partners interact. It’s also no surprise that the number of partners that have the ability to support a cloud-only business model is disappointingly low. That’s why the question, “What is the role of partners in an increasingly cloud-focused world?” is being asked regularly—and often with different answers.
Topics: Partnering Tips, Channel Best Practices, Industry Perspective
This week, hosts Charlene O'Hanlon, channel industry editor & writer, and Amanda Hawkins, Marketing Director at PartnerPath, talk about a new infographic showcasing the changing funnel in the new customer lifecycle. Vendors and partners both can benefit from understanding the change from a traditional funnel to an new ongoing sales and marketing cycle. In the second half of the discussion Charlene and Amanda focus on what steps marketers can take at each stage of the customer lifecycle to keep customers engaged. What do you think of our five steps to get started?
Topics: videocast, Channel Best Practices, Industry Perspective
03.23.16
By Amanda Hawkins, Marketing Director
Topics: Partnering Tips, Industry Perspective
This week, hosts Charlene O'Hanlon, channel industry editor & writer, and Diane Krakora, CEO of PartnerPath, discuss some of the findings from the PartnerPath 2016 State of Partnering report around partner regrets. According to partners, what are the top three reasons they regret joining a vendor's channel program? What are the bottom two? How have these rankings changed over the last several years? Be sure your channel program isn't causing your partners to have regrets. Take a listen and let us know what you think of the results.
Topics: Partnering Tips, videocast, Industry Perspective
Gone are the days of partners purchasing products from vendors or distributors, warehousing those products, configuring the solution and installing it on the customer’s site. Yes, some products are still delivered in this manner and some solution providers are still making a very good living as resellers. However, as we look to where the industry and channel ecosystem are going – this model doesn’t have long before it is obsolete. Partners are becoming trusted advisors and also taking on more cloud roles.
Topics: Partnering Tips, Industry Perspective
