Creating An Environment For Great Virtual Delivery

Over the last few months, we’ve written about the need for companies to transition to a new way of doing business. And like many other companies, we’ve had to pivot to delivering our training virtually, rather than face-to-face. But when we set out to adapt our courses, we didn’t just want to run boring webinars… … Continued

Partner Enablement in a Virtual World

Last month I wrote about how Channel Sales will change in what many are calling the new normal. And like people who progresses through the 7 stages of grief after a loss, so too is our industry progressing through the loss of “the way things were” and learning to accept and adapt. The real indicator … Continued

Channel Sales in the New Normal

This week we start to see easing of coronavirus restrictions with pubs and clubs joining cafes and restaurants in allowing patrons back in to dine. That means we’re not far away from being able to meet with our partners and customers in person again. But just because we can, that doesn’t mean we will. While … Continued

Manage Partners? Then Use PowerPoint Better

Over the last 12 months, the training course I have delivered most often has been our Dynamic Sales Presentations workshop. This has been incredibly gratifying for me personally, as I have long been an advocate of the importance of presentation skills for Channel Account Managers, particularly when dealing with partners/MSPs, where the challenge is not … Continued

5 Steps for Negotiating a Better Margin

It doesn’t matter what our role is within the channel, we are constantly in situations where we have to negotiate… whether it’s with partners, customers, suppliers, staff, management, or colleagues. While we might often strive for a Win/Win outcome, our tendency is to slip into old habits and immediately look for ways to haggle or … Continued

Achieving Win/Win Outcomes With Partners

How often do you hear channel account managers or sales reps talking about wanting a Win/Win outcome with partners? But have you ever stopped to think what that actually means? A Win/Win means that the rep wins (ie. gets what they wanted) but also the partner gets what they wanted. The problem is that, not … Continued

Are You Selling Benefits or Advantages

Whether you are a partner (ie. VAR, MSP, SI, etc) selling to end-users, or a vendor promoting your technology to the channel, are you selling genuine benefits or simply selling advantages? More importantly, do you know the difference, and the enormous impact this has in helping you close business? In this article, we look at … 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

Your Partners Are Listening…. Don’t Bore Them

If you’ve read our articles over the years, you will have noticed we try to make them interesting and informative without overtly promoting our own services. So it feels strange for me to write this article because I will be blatantly promoting our services at the end. Don’t worry – this article is still going … Continued