Author: Cam Wayland
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 “fix”.

During the conference I attended a number of the less technical sessions focusing on human behaviour and security, and especially data leak prevention. These sessions made me have a bit of a general rethink as well as how this might apply to the channel.   Read More

In many of our workshops, we talk about the importance of building trust with partners. If your partners don't trust you or feel that you believe in what you're saying, then your message will be relegated to the big file of unmemorable sales presentations.

"Trust is established through congruence -- that perfect alignment between what is being said and the body language that accompanies it". In the attached article, Dr Carol Goman explains that if a speaker's gestures are not in full agreement with the spoken words, the audience consciously or subconsciously perceives duplicity, uncertainty or (at the very least) internal conflict.

But to use gestures effectively, we need to be aware of how those movements will most likely be perceived. Here are some common hand gestures and the messages behind them.

www.connectitnews.com/usa/story.cfm?item=4612

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Author: Cam Wayland
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 need to be done right the first time, and that means asking the right questions upfront and not assuming anything.

A while back I was asked by a colleague to help setup their new computers and network. Now while I have reasonable technical knowledge, I am not an engineer, but would consider myself to be quite competent around SMB PC networking, security and associated applications a sales/solution level.  Read More

Author: Moheb Moses
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 effective consultative questioning approach that will help you uncover what partners really need, and enable you to deliver genuine benefits.

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that all partners want the same thing - margin, rebates, leads, support, etc. And it's easy to see why - these nearly always get raised in partner review meetings. But the real skill of the professional Channel Account Manager is to delve beyond this and get to the crux of what drives the partner's behaviour. And that means taking off your salesperson's hat, putting on a consultant's hat and asking the right questions.   Read More

Author: Cam Wayland
Vendors often measure, profile and segment their partners based on sales performance. But rarely do they dig deeper to look beyond the numbers to what is driving the business. This paper looks at the concept of measuring channel trust and how it impacts on a partner’s performance and attitudes to the vendor.

The research for this paper was conducted by Professor Louis Stern at the Kellogg School of Management, Xerox Europe and then published by VIA International, a London based channel consulting company and alliance partner of Channel Dynamics.   Read More