Bold Journeys Podcast

If you’re brand new to the channel world, how can you quickly get up to speed on what partnering is all about? That’s exactly what today’s guests had to figure out. In the podcast episode, I’m speaking with Vandan Jain and Mani Bansal, the authors of a new book titled “Maximizing the Impact of the Channel.” They interviewed 15 partner professionals and summarized their channel experience and wisdom into 3 powerful chapters on partnering. We talk about the key lessons in their book and dive into their journey, the purpose behind writing the book, and key insights they’ve gained along the way.

Here are the top 10 things I learned about Vandan and Mani’s new book:

What is the top challenge you are facing today? Changes in buyer behavior, increased competition going after fewer dollars, longer buying cycles – these changes are driving a huge amount of stress and strain on partner leaders. Today’s episode looks at these challenges and what you can do to address them.

Joining me is Mark Rogers, SVP of Global Partnerships at Impartner. Working for a partner technology firm, Mark gets to speak with a wide variety of partner leaders. Over the past year, he has noticed a big shift in their top challenges and concerns. There is increased scrutiny on every channel dollar spent. Partner leaders are having to justify the existence of their partners and their partner team.

Mark delves deep into the scrutiny on channel investments, the evolving partner landscape, and the critical importance of partner experience (PX). From fostering strong partnerships to embracing humility and gratitude, this episode is packed with valuable advice for anyone navigating the channel ecosystem.

Here are my top 10 takeaways from my chat with Mark. By focusing on these areas, channel chiefs can better face the increased scrutiny and set their partner programs up for success.

Channel Scrutiny: In the current environment, there is increased scrutiny on every channel dollar spent. Proving the channel’s value is more critical than ever.

Changing Roles: Channel chiefs are facing shorter tenures due to rising expectations. Entire channel organizations are being reevaluated and, in some cases, overhauled.

Visibility and Metrics: Leveraging analytics and AI to track and validate partner contributions is essential. You need to demonstrate a clear ROI to justify channel investments.

Best Practices: Implementing best practices in the channel, including proper incentive structures, can significantly improve partner performance and outcomes.

Importance of Partner Experience (PX): The partner experience should be a priority, ensuring it’s easy for partners to do business with you.

Adaptability: As market conditions shift, like the rise of marketplaces, vendors and partners need to adapt. Reinventing your ideal partner profiles to match the changing landscape is crucial.

Communication: Regular, open dialogue with partners, including feedback loops through partner advisory boards, helps align goals and improve partner satisfaction.

Support Systems: Leveraging channel advisory services and channel tech partners for their expertise can provide critical insights and streamline processes.

Empathy and Gratitude: Showing humility and gratitude towards your partners builds trust and long-term relationships. Acknowledging and rewarding their efforts can drive mutual success.

Validation: Workshops and ROI validation sessions can be run with the help of channel tech vendors and their partners, enhancing the effectiveness of channel strategies across the board.

For this 4th of July holiday week, I’m going back in the archives to replay this story of a sailing adventure. This one took place during the summer of 2021 when we were still under the grip of the covid pandemic. I took a break from the covid madness to sail from Bermuda to New York with my sailing hero, Tania Abei, the author of Maiden Voyage, and 4 other crew I’d never met before. We’ve got 800 miles of open ocean and a Berudua High to cross, giving us plenty of time to get to know each other and enjoy the ever changing mood of the blue ocean. My trip is filled with drama and uncertainty, and that’s before I even get to the boat!

What does co-selling mean to you? Is your company co-selling at scale with your partners or are you still at the stage of random acts of co-selling? The changes in buyer behavior that we’ve all been talking about is making co-selling more important than ever. And the advent of automated partner mapping technologies is enabling co-selling at scale.

In this episode I’m speaking with Cassandra Gholston, CEO and Co-founder of PartnerTap, about her playbook for co-sell transformation. Cassandra shares a robust framework any organization can leverage to enhance its co-selling efforts. These steps underscore the necessity of strategic leadership, clear communication, and the proper use of technology and data in driving successful co-selling. If you’re looking to enhance your co-selling capabilities, these strategies from Cassandra’s playbook are an excellent place to start.

Here’s what I learned from Cassandra about the 11-steps to co-sell transformation:

Many software vendors and solution providers are still making the digital transformation to the SaaS business model. This transformation impacts just about every facet of your business – sales, marketing, finance, product development. And it absolutely impacts your channel strategy – in fact your entire go-to-market strategy will likely change.

In this episode, Lisa Citron, VP of Global Partner Ecosystems at F5 Networks, shares her extensive knowledge and insights on modernizing channel strategies.  Lisa shares new partnership dynamics and leveraging innovative technologies for partner success as F5 transitions to a SaaS model. This episode is packed with actionable strategies and expert advice for anyone navigating their own SaaS transformation or looking to enhance their SaaS partner ecosystem.

Here’s are 5 things I learned about F5’s SaaS channel transformation:

SaaS Transformation and Channel Strategy

Lisa Citron shared insights into F5’s ongoing transformation to a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. This transformation involves not only product changes but also significant organizational adjustments to support modern go-to-market strategies including maintaining their commitment to hybrid models that include both hardware and SaaS offerings.

Importance of Trust in Channel Partnerships

Trust was emphasized as a cornerstone of F5’s channel strategy. Lisa discussed how consistent support and genuine partnership with channel partners over the years have built a strong foundation of trust, essential for successful collaboration and mutual growth.

Digital Transformation and Partner Enablement

F5 is going through its own digital transformation, modernizing systems and processes to better support its channel partners. This includes leveraging CRM tools like Salesforce to provide partners with better data visibility and consumption analytics, enabling them to add more value to customer relationships.

Adapting to Evolving Market Needs

F5’s approach includes offering flexible consumption models and motivating partners and customers to adopt new solutions. The focus is on addressing diverse business requirements with tailored product and commercial solutions, maintaining a blend of on-premises and SaaS offerings.

Channel and Services Integration

F5 maintains a 100% channel sales strategy with a low single-digit attach rate of its own professional services, emphasizing partner-driven managed services. The company’s strategic acquisitions are enhancing their services landscape, creating more opportunities for partners to offer comprehensive application security, optimization, and delivery solutions.