A Time for Giving and Gratitude

Written by Channel Maven | November 30, 2018

Thank you to each and every one of you who has tuned in for the past (almost) 10 years to our newsletter. Speaking of being thankful, that’s what we're talking about in our November issue. Timely isn’t it? In the past few weeks, I’ve asked some of our Vendor clients what they are thankful for and we're hearing, over and over again, they appreciate their team, their committed Partners, and the resources that make their lives easier and their Channel goals more successful.

Think back 10 years in your Channel journey. What resources and tools were most valuable to you? How have they evolved. I think we can all be thankful that we’re not tracking MDF in a spreadsheet or taking a week (or 3) to send an email to our Partners because someone needs to program it, or helping Partners drive demand by letting them have golf events. And by the way, if you’re still doing any of these things we need to talk!

We’re looking to change our newsletter up a bit in 2019 and we’d love to hear from you. What do you want us talking more about? Which tools, resources, content, trends, and communications can we help you learn more about? Please reach out, we always appreciate hearing from you!

All my best,

Heather

Prepping For Success

Brad Rolfe, VP Client Strategy

Although Thanksgiving is behind us, there’s still plenty to be thankful for and a ton of planning to be done! If you’re like me it’s a juggling act. Conference calls, friends and family arriving for holidays, a calendar full of team meetings, school plays, and other festivities, all in between helping clients build winning strategies, and wrapping up 2018! Sound familiar? I’m right there with you. To ensure you're not caught unprepared we wanted to help you think about your end of year and 2019 goals.

Let’s all take a collective deep breath to set ourselves up for success. Here's what works for me:

Planning is key. Avoid waiting until the last minute to minimize stress!
Don't sweat the small stuff. Try not to panic over every detail; keep the larger goal in mind.
Think strategically. It’s not just about getting that email sent or the Partner ramped up. It’s about building a Channel strategy for next year and staying competitive.
Carve out time for yourself. It’s impossible to strategize while juggling multiple tasks. Take the quiet, uninterrupted time you need to think.
Lean on your team. Recognize and accept your strengths and weaknesses and ask your team to contribute their expertise when you need it, with gratitude of course!

Remember, we’re always just a call or email away if you need help!

Happy planning,

Brad

Spotlight: Give Partners What They Need

Inevitably, when planning, you consider tools that will help make your Channel more successful in the year(s) to come. We are seeing less of an uplift in one-to-many resources and a stronger focus on customized enablement. It might sound overwhelming but really it’s not. Here are a few simple, yet very effective, tactics that will work to help you and your Partners for the long haul.

Custom is key. Instead of one campaign in your Partner marketing automation tool, tweak it for very specific audiences by vertical. Your Partners are more likely to use your email marketing specific to Financial Services if that’s their target than they are a general campaign. Not to mention their customers are going to be more receptive if a piece speaks directly to their pain points.

One size does NOT fit all. Your Partners are unique - VARs, Resellers, MSPs, SIs, etc. When communicating to them, it is important they feel you understand their business. That may mean a different message or vehicle to each Partner type and it definitely means different lead/demand generation resources.

Remind what's in it for them: Don’t just spend on the resources, spend on promoting them! Remember “if you build it they will come?” Well, this is not a field of dreams and I’m guessing you are not Kevin Costner. If you expect your Partners to “check-in” with you to see what’s new you’ll be very disappointed. Just like your product announcements, you need to do a full-scale launch for a program/comms/resource announcement as well.

Doing “Good” While Doing Business

We are truly thankful to our clients, Partners, and team for helping us support the charities we love and enabling us to donate to these organizations in the way they need it most. Of course, at the end of the day, the positive impact they have on us is equally, if not more, extraordinary and inspiring than our contribution to them. This month, we are deeply honored to have been chosen as one of the top 5 Colorado-based companies doing “good" for our community. Congratulations to the Knotty Tie Co for taking first place!

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