Your Compensation Plan is Fighting Your Channel
You can tell partners they’re important. You can recruit them, enable them, and invest in the relationship. But if your internal compensation structure puts your salespeople in competition with those partners, eventually the compensation plan will win. This is especially common in companies adding a channel motion to an existing direct sales organization. A partner […]
More Partners Doesn’t Mean More Revenue
One of the most common mistakes I see is confusing partner recruitment with partner success. Recruiting partners feels like progress. Your ecosystem grows. Your partner count increases. Everyone celebrates the latest logo added to the website. But partner recruitment is only the beginning. Every new partner requires an investment of time; from channel managers, sales […]
You’re Recruiting Partners Too Early
One of the most expensive mistakes startups make is believing the channel will validate a product the market hasn’t yet. It won’t. Partners aren’t product testers. They’re trusted advisors protecting relationships they’ve spent years building. Before asking partners to invest their credibility, ask yourself: If those answers aren’t clear, adding partners won’t solve the problem. […]
Why Most Startup Channel Programs Never Scale
I’ve spent more than two decades working with technology advisors, distributors, master agents, suppliers, and channel leaders. One pattern shows up over and over again. Startups build a channel program…but operate it like a direct sales organization. That’s the first mistake. Partners are not an outsourced sales force waiting to memorize your product. They’re trusted […]
Multi-Partner Engagements: Leading Without Owning the Room
For most of the channel’s history, the path from opportunity to outcome was relatively straightforward. A customer had a need.A partner brought a solution.A supplier delivered the technology. Today, that reality is disappearing. The average technology engagement now involves multiple providers, advisors, consultants, distributors, and specialists. AI, automation, cybersecurity, cloud, communications, virtualization, and managed services […]
What Partners Expect vs What Suppliers Can Deliver
One of the most consistent sources of friction in the channel isn’t intent. It’s expectation. On the surface, most relationships in the channel start from a good place. Partners want to serve their customers well, suppliers want to support partners and grow the business, and there’s alignment in the goal. But as soon as real […]
Why Being a Channel Manager Can Be a Lonely Role
From the outside, the role looks straightforward. You work with partners.You represent your company.You help drive growth. But the reality feels different once you’re in it. Because you don’t fully sit on either side. Partners see you as part of the supplier.Your internal teams see you as the voice of the partner. You’re expected to […]
The Work That Doesn’t Show Up in the Numbers
There’s a lot in the channel that gets measured. Revenue.Margin.Pipeline.Close rates. Those things matter. They always have. But some of the most important work in the channel doesn’t show up in any of those numbers. It happens in conversations no one else hears. A quick call to reset expectations before a deal goes sideways.A tough […]
Why Some People Thrive in the Channel (and Some Don’t)
The channel is one of the greatest opportunities in business. But it’s also one of the most misunderstood. People look at the residuals, the flexibility, the relationships, the events, the community, and they assume success is inevitable if you just “work hard” or “know the right people.” But anyone who’s been here long enough knows […]
The Quiet Evolution in TSD Relationships: What Partners Are Feeling
For years, TSDs built their businesses on courtship. They worked hard to win over subagents and technology advisors by positioning themselves as partners, advocates, and supporters. The group that would stand beside you, not above you. They differentiated themselves through relationships, responsiveness, and a promise to help you grow your business, not push their priorities. […]