Managing the Channel in Uncertain Times

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As the press fluctuates between “doom and gloom” and “light at the end of the tunnel” scenarios, the only thing we can be certain of in the short term is “uncertainty”. And while the financial system is predominantly at the centre of this turmoil, the current global financial situation (coupled with the significantly lower and … Continued

Distributors – Why bother?

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Author: Nick Verykios Beyond the question of “which distributor should a vendor partner with?”, a more relevant question in many cases is – “do I even bother contracting a distributor?” There is an old Buddhist philosophy that suggests in order to cut through the root of all phenomena and our attachment to its false representations, … Continued

Getting Your Message Across

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Selling has been described as “a transfer of enthusiasm.” And as sales people, it’s our job to talk about our company or product to our customers (and in some cases, our suppliers) in a way that transfers our enthusiasm. In this article that appeared in CRN, Moheb Moses shares several simple steps on how to … Continued

Sell To Your Vendor

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Vendors often complain that they have allocated Marketing Development Funds (MDF or Co-Op) to resellers, but it’s not being used. And resellers will complain that they would like to find ways to grow their business but don’t have the money to do it. In this article that appeared in ARN, Moheb Moses shares his thoughts … Continued

Partner Recruitment – “Selection” not “Collection”

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The success of any business is largely dependent on the quality of people it recruits. Similarly for vendors, the success of a channel program is largely dependent on the quality of partner it recruits. However, few vendors really devote as much time to their partner recruitment strategy as they do to their staff recruitment. In … Continued

What’s Your Value Proposition

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It is amazing to me that so few resellers can articulate their value proposition succinctly. I know they have one. They wouldn’t be in business if their customers didn’t see value in them. But it seems to me that only a very small minority has ever spent the time to sit down and clarify what … Continued

Selling to SMB – it’s not about the product

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Author: Sean Murphy As more and more vendors look for ways to reach the SMB market, our business – a small/medium VAR in the IT industry – has gone from relative obscurity to being one of the key “go-to-market” strategic partners for many of our suppliers. And while some of our vendors have worked out … Continued

Balancing Work and Life in Times Of Growth

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Author: David Blackman Today’s work environment is one where customers, partners, peers and staff expect instant gratification. Perception is reality and if you can’t respond in a timely fashion, or your organisation provides less that expected levels of customer service, there is always a competitor standing by to eat your lunch. I’ve always pitched work-life … Continued

Be A Consultant To Your Channel

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In our last newsletter, we discussed the difference between Features, Benefits and Advantages, and the importance of being able to genuinely identify the needs of your partners (or end-users, if you happen to be a reseller account manager). In this article, we will delve deeper into this topic of identifying needs, and show you an … Continued

A New Look At SWOT Analysis

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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