Author: Cam Wayland

Recently we were engaged by vendor client to help them work through how they would achieve the growth targets they were given, and of course willingly and gratefully accepted. Therefore I thought it was worth taking a broader channel wide view of what drives growth, not only in resellers but across the entire channel ecosystem … Continued

Recently we were asked to review the MDF program for a vendor who was concerned that they were not getting the best return for their marketing dollars. Part of the brief was to look at ideas that were “outside the box”, but could still be implemented rapidly across multiple regions. In addition, any solution had … Continued

I recently had the privilege to attend the ARN roundtable discussion where Dell and Intel were the key sponsors, and so much was discussed about the development Dell’s channel engagement and program. While there was robust discussion amongst the participants about Dell’s (and other vendors’) engagement, the conversation actually began with the changes in customer … Continued

As the saying goes, two things are certain in life, death and taxes. That maybe correct but I think a more relevant quote given the current headlines might be: “Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts” – Arnold Bennett Whether or not the Carbon Tax legislation gets … Continued

I recently attended the RSA security conference in London. Being part of the IT industry we always assume there is a technology fix for technology related problems such as a security breach of a network, server or system. As technologists we might look at patching, layering or even upgrading the hardware or software as a … Continued

We often get asked to audit channel programs and incentives, in order to diagnose why channel facing staff or partners are behaving in a certain manner. In many cases, the answer comes down to the way the reward system has been structured. Partners (like staff) will always look for the easiest way to achieve target, … Continued

Vendors often measure, profile and segment their partners and distributors based on revenue performance, but rarely do they dig deeper to look beyond the numbers to the driving forces behind the strategy. This article looks at tips to ensure your business is aligned to the right match of distribution partners, and therefore the right reseller … Continued

Here is my own real example of not asking the right customer questions, or worse, thinking I had asked the right questions, but still ending up with a project situation that took longer and cost more than anticipated. This is a reminder that if we want to be profitable and have great customer satisfaction, projects … Continued

As channel consultants we are often asked to research and review the performance of a channel program, or group of partners, to help a vendor get greater insight into what is happening. What we often find is that the vendor’s perception of what is going on in the channel (versus the partner’s perception) are poles … Continued

SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) is a simple, proven and well used method of assessing a business, its resources, and its environment. However, most partner account managers would not think of using it as the starting point in a partner or distributor review, nor in the account development process. This paper takes a … Continued