The Four Traits of a Trusted Advisor

If I had to pick my most annoying phrase right now, it would be “Trusted Advisor”. Greatly overused, often misrepresented, and largely misunderstood, those two words are now well and truly entrenched in the “Meeting Bingo” category – they seem to get bandied about without any particular definition or consideration. But while I may hate … Continued

Improve Profit Through Operational Efficiency

Most channel firms today acknowledge that transforming their business from hardware-centric reselling to a business model that embraces services and recurring revenue is not only the future, but should at this point be the present. There are however, many moving parts involved in the transformation process, notably anything to do with business operations and process … Continued

Use Customer Segmentation to Enable Partners

I often ask Channel Account Managers (working for vendors or distributors) why they think their partners buy products from them. And I’ll get a range of answers from “we have the best technology” to “great service” to “a strong relationship”. But at least one person will respond with the correct answer, namely, “to sell it … Continued

Forget About Disrupting and Just Get on with it

If “Cloud” was the most overused word in 2016, then “Disruption” would be my pick for this year’s winner. It seems that the mantra for the new breed of workplace warriors is “disrupt, or be disrupted”, and anyone who isn’t turning their business on its head is surely going to end up in the dictionary … Continued

Don’t Trust Your Partners? Trade Places

I’ve been in more than a few meetings with vendors where the question of trust has come up. Typically it sounds like this… “I’ve got an opportunity, and I want to give it to a partner, but I’m concerned they’ll make a mess of it or sell something else, so I’ll hold on to it … Continued

Maybe It’s YOU That’s Not Adding Value!

It’s funny how things come in waves. In the last month, I’ve had four conversations with four different vendors, concerned that their sales team is not engaging the channel because their reps believe partners add no value. And while I agree that there are certainly partners who add no value, we obviously wouldn’t be in … Continued

Ten Lessons From Trump For Channel Managers

On the 20th January 2017, Donald J. Trump, an American businessman and television personality with no prior government experience, became the 45th President of the United States, in what many consider to be one of the biggest upsets in American political history. Since then, he has gone on to lead what many consider to be … Continued

Do You Honestly Believe You Are A Disruptor?

If “Cloud” was the most overused word for 2015, then “Digital Disruption” would have to be my #1 pick for 2016. I’m struggling to think of a vendor event that I attended last year that didn’t reference at least Uber, AirBnB or Netflix in the opening slides; the message of course being … Disrupt (like … Continued

Lessons For MSPs From a “Free” Phone App

I’m fascinated by some of the games available on phones nowadays (which is kind of interesting given that I don’t play them). But what I find interesting is not the game itself, but rather the business model behind how it makes money for its developers. One of my favourites is Candy Crush – a “free” … Continued

Advancing Women In IT Isn’t Just A Women’s Issue

Last month I attended CompTIA’s ChannelCon event in Florida. This is an annual event where 1,500 vendors, solution providers/MSPs and distributors come together to network, learn, and discuss issues affecting the industry. It’s also where attendees can sit in on various CompTIA Communities Meetings. One of my favourite sessions over the three days was the … Continued