Bold Journeys Podcast

Why is a services-led channel so important? Software-as-a-service has forced vendors to think differently about their customer engagement model. TSIA (Technology Association of America) describes this new model as LAER which stands for land, adopt, expand and renew. Sales-led partners may be great at the land part; uncovering new opportunities and getting a customer to subscribe to the service. But that’s only the first step in driving customer success and building a low-churn recurring revenue stream. 

When channel veteran Steve Stewart landed at SmartSheet as Head of Global Channels, he inherited a channel of mostly transactional partners. Steve knew their customers needed help in the adoption of their SaaS offering for collaboration and work management. And SmartSheet couldn’t expand their own services team fast enough to keep up with the growth. So Steve is building a channel of services-led partners to drive adoption, expansion, and renewals. Steve shares how he’s building and enabling a services-led channel and what’s in it for their partners. 

Steve shares 3 critical success factors for building a services-led SaaS channel: 

Steve offers one last awesome tip. He asks this one question every time he’s meeting with a partner. “Tell me about one best practice from one of your other vendors that has allowed you to execute better than anyone else?”

I needed partners that were willing and able to build a services practice around Smartsheet - @EstebanStewart
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I've got a big focus on recruitment, but I would say very selective recruitment. It's carving with a scalpel. It's not fishing - @EstebanStewart
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It's being upfront right out the gate, because it doesn't do either of you any good to recruit a partner where it's not the right fit. They're going to be disappointed. And so will you. - @EstebanStewart
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Where do the hyper-scale cloud marketplaces from the likes of AWS, Microsoft, and Google fit in your channel strategy? Forrester predicted that 17% of the $13 trillion in B2B spend will flow to marketplaces by 2023, and that was before we were hit by the global Covid-19 pandemic. If you are a SaaS vendor and you don’t have marketplaces in your channel strategy, it’s time to reconsider. To learn how one vendor is finding success in leveraging cloud marketplaces, without alienating their traditional channel partners, I turned to Gary Green, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Cloudera.

Gary shares many ways that Cloudera is leveraging cloud marketplaces while also paying attention to their diverse network of channel partners. Here are my top 5 pieces of advice from our conversation: 

We think that the most effective cost efficient way that our customers will or actually are deploying today is through the Marketplace - Gary Green @ClouderaConnect
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A big side benefit of getting into a cloud marketplace is having access to their partner channels and promotion through their overall partner organization - Gary Green @ClouderaConnect
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Three years ago, two-time Channel Journeys podcast guest, Jay McBain, wrote that the channel is aging and that 40 percent of channel owners plan on retiring by 2024. That comment lit a spark for today’s podcast guest, Linda Rose. Following Jay’s prediction, Linda embarked on a new mission and wrote the book “Get Acquired for Millions”.  Linda knows something about being acquired, having built and sold 3 IT companies. Now she consults with IT solution providers who are looking to be acquired.  Linda and I talk about her journey from accountant to successful business owner. And she shares 5 tips for other business owners interested in going down the M&A path. 

Linda has researched over 100 tips, traps, and tactics for being acquired for her book. We were able to hit 5 before running out of time: 

What's happening now is they're coming down market in terms of revenue. So it's very easy for a private equity firm to pick up a $5 million organization. @klindarose
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If you were to leave your company very quickly after a sale, could your management team take over and maintain the sales after your departure? @klindarose
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Define your value proposition, but it needs to be front and center on your website and all over your brochures or whatever downloadable things you have. @klindarose
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Given everything happening this year, it’s an understatement to say that we are living in uncertain times. Uncertainty creates fear and can wreak havoc on any organization. What does it take to lead a successful partner business as a vendor or as a partner through uncertain times? I took that question to channel chief and host of the Ultimate Guide to Partnering podcast, Vince Menzione. We discuss the traits that are common among successful partnerships.  

There are five common traits of successful partnerships and successful partner organization leaders. You can create certainty in uncertain times by having all five:

I find that when partnerships are successful, there's a growth mindset at both the vendor level and the partner level about that relationship. @vincemenzione
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The best leaders don't just elevate their voice to their customers and constituent groups, they elevate their voice to the channel. @vincemenzione
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We're at a point now where agility is really important to any partnership. We are living in a time of uncertainty. @vincemenzione
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Understanding the challenges your partners face can create opportunities for channel managers. It can also create an idea for a company. That’s the case for today’s guest, Joseph Landis, who is the Chief Revenue Officer for Nerdio, a Chicago-based startup helping MSPs create successful cloud practices in Microsoft Azure. Joseph shares the top 3 challenges MSPs face in moving to the cloud and how Nerdio is addressing them through their SaaS offering.

MSPs face 3 common challenges when building a cloud infrastructure practice. Addressing these challenges can help your success in leveraging the MSP channel. 

1. Talent. MSPs often don’t have the people with the experience to architect and manage a cloud infrastructure. One way to solve this problem is to provide automation to stand up and manage the cloud. 

2. Complexity. The complexity of trying something new can prevent MSPS from taking the leap to the cloud. Get creative in how you can educate your partners through a variety of vehicles including blogs, podcasts, and trade shows. 

3. Risk. Many MSPs view doing things a differently, like moving to the cloud, as risky. Not as much from a technical perspective, but financially. This risk can be addressed through education as well as technology that mitigates the risk. 

I've talked to many MSPs over the past month that wish they had actually made the move to the cloud much earlier. @josephlandes
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If you're looking to be successful with MSPs, look at how your solution automates or reduces the amount of labor required by that MSP. @josephlandes
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