Bold Journeys Podcast

By Rob SpeeReligion & Spirituality Education Self-Improvement Religion

Bold Journeys Podcast episodes

July 31, 2019Hope Galley: How to Leverage Partners to Drive Customer Success
Customer success is more important than ever with the transition to the Software as Service (SaaS) recurring revenue model. With the traditional on-premise license, the large upfront sale is of primary importance. With SaaS however, it’s all about renewals and reducing churn. And while vendors are used to using partners to drive new sales, many have not yet realized the important role partners can play in customer success.
This week I discussed this topic with Hope Galley, Sales Director of Software and Services in Cisco’s America’s Partner Organization. Cisco is an excellent example of a vendor that places a huge importance on customer success and is transforming their channel to play a front-seat role. Hope shares the important role partners play and how Cisco is enabling them to drive customer success through an innovative partner program.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Why Partners Should Play a Key Role in Your Customer Success Strategy
Customer success is a lot more than the initial sale. It’s about what comes after that. Post-sales support, adoption, and expansion are vitally important to you and your customers’ growth and success.
As many companies move to the SaaS model, customer obsession is even more important to reduce churn and, better yet, reach negative churn.
Start by looking at your partners and your partner ecosystem as a whole. Look at their staff, their business processes, their financial incentives, how they recognize revenue, how adaptive they are, and how open they are to change.
How Cisco is Driving Customer Success
Cisco launched the Lifecycle Advisor Program to enable partners to drive customer success. The purpose of the program is to align the partner’s services to the customers’ software life-cycle.
Cisco Lifecycle Advantage
With the Lifecycle Advisor Program, Cisco provides opportunities and incentive rewards to help partners land, adopt, expand, and renew business.
Partners are evaluated for the program based on how committed they are to meeting with Cisco, going through the metrics, and whether they have some sort of customer success motion where they’ve been successful.
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Cisco's Lifecycle Advisor Program is focused on folks who understand up to the sale, post sale, and getting us through the renewal process. It's about that choosing, using, and loving motion. @HopeGalley
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It's more than just a sale. How are they using the technology? How are we helping them use the technology? What business concerns are we meeting and then, are they loving what they're doing? @HopeGalley
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LINKS & RESOURCES
Follow Hope on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Pick up a copy of Customer Success.
Learn more about the Cisco’s Lifecycle Advisor Program
Check out the TSIA blog to look at what they’re talking to customers about their leading industry indicators.
The post Hope Galley: How to Leverage Partners to Drive Customer Success first appeared on Channel Journeys.
36 min
July 31, 2019 Hope Galley: How to Leverage Partners to Drive Customer Success – CJ31
This week I speak with Hope Galley, Sales Director of Software and Services in Cisco's America's Partner Organization. Cisco places a huge importance on customer success and is transforming their channel to play a front-seat role. Hope shares the important role partners play and how Cisco is enabling them to drive customer success through an innovative partner program.
36 min
July 24, 2019Sandra Glaser Cheek: Why it’s Time for a Modern Partner Program
The channel partner ecosystem is expanding with the digital transformation. And with that, many traditional partners have evolved with the times while many of them haven’t, or just simply can’t. This has caused the channel to be increasingly difficult to navigate. Vendors need to examine how their partner ecosystem has changed and develop a modern partner program.
This week I talk to Sandra Glaser Cheek, the global VP of channel sales at Ciena. Sandra has experience in channel leadership roles at many big brands, including Amazon and Adobe. We discuss why it’s time for a modern partner program, what that would look like, and how her company is able to handle a whole network of different partner types by launching a personalized partner program.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Why It’s Time For A Modern Partner Program
The channel is being introduced to many new partner types, while existing partners are evolving and adopting new multiple business models. Partners want to engage in different ways, depending on the situation.
In the past there was a homogeneous environment of resell partners. But now there are a wide variety of partner types. Partners no longer fit into just one category. As a result, they need a personalized program. A “one size program” no longer fits all.
When you look at how most partners make the majority of their revenue, it is through services. The enablement to do that has become more important than the financial incentive for the sale.
Tiers are becoming a thing of the past. Instead of being based on tiers, incentives like Market Development Funds (MDF) should be based on the strength of your partner’s proposal and the investment you’re making to drive alignment to the goals.
How to Design a Modern Partner Program
When designing a modern partner program, look holistically at the channel and what you need to grow your business
Look at the data, and talk to your partners, find their pain points. Understanding the types of partners you have and where they’re going with their businesses is a really important piece of assessing whether you need a new program or not.
Enablement typically used to mean standardized technical support, training, certifications, and specializations. Now it means personalized training and support, especially for the partner that has a deep specialization in a particular vertical market
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Why aren't partner programs keeping up with the times? Not only are we introducing new partner types into our ecosystems, but our existing partners are evolving, and they have multiple business models. @sgcheek
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We need to look holistically at the channel - what is it that you're looking for to grow your business? @sgcheek
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LINKS & RESOURCES
Follow Sandra on Twitter and on LinkedIn
Learn more about Ciena
The post Sandra Glaser Cheek: Why it’s Time for a Modern Partner Program first appeared on Channel Journeys.
43 min
July 24, 2019 Sandra Glaser Cheek: Why it's Time for a Modern Partner Program – CJ30
This week I talk with Sandra Glaser Cheek, Global VP of Channel Sales at Ciena about why it's time to modernize your partner program. We discuss how the channel is evolving, how a vendor can stay relevant through this change, and how Ciena modernized and personalized their partner program to motivate an ecosystem of partners of many different shapes and sizes.
43 min
July 17, 2019Neeraj Satija: Disrupting the Channel with Blockchain Applications
As exponential innovation continues to disrupt the market, blockchain certainly comes to mind as a key player. While we think of blockchain as the system behind cryptocurrency, it has many more potential uses for market disruption. For example, it has the power to improve inefficient business processes and remove third party transactions that slow down workflow.
One potential market disrupter is this week’s podcast guest, Neeraj Satija. Neeraj is the CEO of Concordus Applications and co-chairman of the CompTia Blockchain Advisory Council. And he is launching a new company called Maxcentive with a blockchain application to solve a very real channel problem. We discuss why blockchain can do a lot more than just drive cryptocurrency and the potential it has for disrupting the channel.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Blockchain Overview
Blockchain is a decentralized global public ledger. It is capable of securely recording digital transactions between two peers, regardless of their location.
Tokenization replaces any sensitive data from assets with an undecipherable token. That way it can be securely traded through the blockchain framework.
The transaction between you and the other entity is securely recorded. It cannot be tampered with and it cannot be removed. This makes it nearly completely fraud resistant.
Common Blockchain Misconceptions
Blockchain is much more than cryptocurrency. It is essentially an architecture designed to remove the third party or the intermediaries from any business workflow.
Blockchain applications are not the silver bullet for every industry and every use case. Carefully consider the relevance for your scenario.
Blockchain Applications for the Channel
A Blockchain component called smart contracts allow the user to encode the terms of that contract into the platform. When the terms of that contract are met, settlement can take place instantaneously. This forces stakeholders to remove any ambiguity in the contract.
With Blockchain, location truly does not matter. Consequently, applications could help facilitate global channel trade, irrespective of the currency.
Blockchain has potential for channel contracts, partner crowd funding, commissions, rewards, loyalty incentive programs, and any type of channel workflow management.
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Blockchain's magic is not only in the technology, but in how it can improve inefficient business processes.
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Blockchain's decentralized architecture is built to deal with the complexity of the channel ecosystem because it facilitates the trade between two peers.
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Blockchain applications are not the silver bullet for every industry and every use case. It's relevance for your scenario needs to be carefully considered.
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LINKS & RESOURCES
Follow Neeraj on LinkedIn
Learn more about Concordus Applications and MaxCentive
The post Neeraj Satija: Disrupting the Channel with Blockchain Applications first appeared on Channel Journeys.
46 min
July 17, 2019 Neeraj Satija: Disrupting the Channel with Blockchain Applications- CJ29
My guest is Neeraj Satija, CEO of Concordus Applications and Co-Chairman of the CompTia Blockchain Advisory Council. Neeraj is launching a new company called Maxcentive with a blockchain application to solve a very real channel problem. We discuss why blockchain can do a lot more than just drive cryptocurrency and the potential it has for disrupting the channel.
46 min
July 10, 2019Jeff Ponts: How to Navigate the Evolving MSP Channel
Tips on Navigating the Evolving MSP Channel
The MSP Channel is evolving, creating challenges for vendors and MSPs (Managed Service Providers). With the popularity of the cloud, new technologies, and the exponential rate of innovation, vendor and partner companies need to dig in on their own domain expertise and keep the end customer in the forefront of their minds.
This week’s guest is Jeff Ponts, founder of master agency Datatel Solutions. Jeff made a bold move when founded his company 16 years ago. He bet the farm on Managed Service Providers when all the other Master Agents were working with telco agents. We discuss how Datatel has been successful in leveraging the MSP channel. And Jeff shares what vendors and MSPs can do to stay relevant and drive business growth for both partners and vendors.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Advice to Vendors
Vendors need to get out of the mindset that they only have one route to market. MSPs are a powerful channel to leverage.
Put more focus on the end customer and go more in depth into knowing the partners they use and why.
Advice to MSPs
The most successful MSP’s pick a vertical and develop deep domain expertise. They really go after their local market and focus heavily on their marketing. And they’re continuously learning new applications.
With new technologies popping up all the time, MSP’s have to fight to stay relevant. One way to do this is by integrating their marketing and sales strategies.
Change is inevitable. Be nimble and don’t get married to a platform because that platform is going to change.
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The most successful MSPs I see are the ones that just kill it in their local markets and the ones that went vertical. -Jeff Ponts.
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If you're not a software integrator, get to know one. -Jeff Ponts.
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Change is inevitable. You have to be nimble. Don't get married to a platform because that platform is going to change. -Jeff Ponts
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LINKS & RESOURCES
Follow and reach out to Jeff about his missionary endeavors on LinkedIn
Learn more about Datatel Solutions
Listen to The Secrets to Success with Managed Service Providers
Listen to the Incentive Models for the Changing Partner Ecosystem Webinar
The post Jeff Ponts: How to Navigate the Evolving MSP Channel first appeared on Channel Journeys.
40 min
July 10, 2019 Jeff Ponts: How to Navigate the Evolving MSP Channel - CJ28
Jeff Ponts, founder of master agency Datatel Solutions, shares how to navigate the evolving MSP Channel to stay relevant and drive business growth for both partners and vendors. Jeff made a bold move when he founded Datatel 16 years ago. He went all in on Managed Service Providers when all the other Master Agents were focused on using telecom agents.
40 min
July 03, 2019Peter Thomas: 5 Steps to Maximizing Your Channel Marketing ROI
How to Drive Higher Partner Engagement and More Effective Channel Marketing
Channel Marketing is a big investment. And you want to get as large and predictable return on your channel marketing efforts as possible. This is getting even more difficult with new partner types emerging. Different types of partners require different types of incentives to keep them engaged and interested in your marketing campaigns.
This week’s guest is Peter Thomas, channel marketing expert, founder of Averetek, and author of Marketing Multiplied. Peter shares 5 practical steps that you can take to maximize the return on your channel marketing investments. Learn how to driver higher partner engagement with your channel program and marketing campaigns. This will lead you to a higher and more predictable channel marketing ROI.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
5 Steps to Maximizing Your Channel Marketing ROI
1. Use a data driven approach to your channel marketing planning.
Look at the entire life cycle of your products, from production to distribution to the channel partner, and finally the customer.
This data allows you to see which channel routes are the most successful, and which ones are growing versus shrinking.
2. Segment your partners and then align incentives accordingly.
Lifestyle partners and growth partners have drastically different motivations. Consequently, they need different incentives.
Money is an easy incentive, but partners ultimately value experiences over monetary prizes. Enablement is an experience that will drive greater results.
3. Offer packaged marketing services and either minimize or eliminate proposal-based funding entirely.
Most partners lack marketing expertise and do not know how to plan marketing activities.
With proposal-based marketing, there is no guaranteed ROI or even a predictable outcome it the proposal has no track record.
It’s important to offer a diversity of services. The way people in different regions with different cultures engage needs to be taken into account.
4. Be fun and interesting.
It can be difficult to keep partners interested in the campaigns. For that reason, keep it fun and interesting for them to be actively engaged.
Shuffle the deck every quarter. For example, start with a cross-selling campaign, transition to up selling, and then move into buying new accounts. This way you keep changing the objectives and campaigns quarter by quarter and break up the monotony of constantly doing the same thing.
5. Inspect what you expect.
Look back and audit the channel marketing programs that you are running and funding you are providing. That way you can ensure that you are getting the expected ROI and that there is no abuse or fraud taking place.
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You have to find partners that demonstrate a willingness to work with you. If they're willing to take the steps that lead toward a successful outcome, double down and help them take those steps.
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Once you've segmented your partners, align your incentives to them. Don't align an incentive to the transaction, align the incentive to the activities that lead to the transaction.
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Partner experience is just as important as customer experience. Making it fun and interesting can go a long ways towards creating a better partner experience and make them want to work with you.
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LINKS & RESOURCES
Follow Peter on LinkedIn and Twitter
Learn more about Avertek
Get a copy of Marketing Multiplied
Hear more marketing tips from Heather Margolis and Laz Gonzalez
Listen to the Incentive Models for the Changing Partner Ecosystem Webinar
The post Peter Thomas: 5 Steps to Maximizing Your Channel Marketing ROI first appeared on Channel Journeys.
44 min
July 03, 2019 Peter Thomas: 5 Steps to Maximizing Your Channel Marketing ROI - CJ27
This week's guest is Peter Thomas, channel marketing expert, founder of Averetek and co-author of Marketing Multiplied. Peter shares 5 practical steps that you can take to maximize the return on your channel marketing investments. Learn how to driver higher partner engagement with your channel program and channel marketing efforts.
44 min