Bold Journeys Podcast

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Bold Journeys Podcast episodes

February 12, 2019 Mike Kelly: Turning Channels into a Profession - CJ7
This episode features Mike Kelly, founder of Channel Institute. Inspired by entrepreneurs like Richard Branson and Elon Musk, Mike loves Big Hairy Audacious Goals like scaling mountains and running marathons. Hear about Mike's most audacious goal yet; turning channel management and channel marketing into a profession.
36 min
February 08, 2019Harry Brelsford: Time to Start Up or Start Over
Talking partner transformation with the founder of SMB Nation
CJ6. This episode features Harry Brelsford, founder of SMB Nation, ski racer, and cycling enthusiast. Harry is a long-time advocate, consultant, and spokesperson for partners and is passionate about helping them succeed. Harry is on a new mission to help MSPs through partner transformation. Find out why his message is Start Up or Start Over in this fun episode spanning Harry’s own channel journey.
SHOW NOTES
[3:30] Harry’s favorite place is Stellenbosch, South Africa, known for its wine country and amazing cycling. (after seeing pictures, I can’t wait to go there!)
[4:15] His favorite pastimes are cycling and cross-country skiing. He was a Nordic ski racer growing up in Alaska.
[9:00] Harry was an adjunct professor for 12 years before launching his small business server business. Writing articles led to books which led to workshops. His audience was the “computer guy” who’s now often called an MSP.
[11:30] Harry’s interest was in saving the world with small business servers and got involved in shipping servers to the Peace Corp to help small businesses compete. He’s since been to 45 countries during his career.
[15:30] With today’s technology, growing sentiment in Seattle is “why have office space, why have employees, why commute?”
[17:00] Russell Johnson, the actor best known The Professor from Gilligan’s Island, lived and died on Bainbridge Island, across the Puget Sound from Seattle.
[17:45] Harry’s new mission with SMB Nation is to transform partners into new areas like analytics and dev ops and get them to create intellectual property to increase their value.
[19:45] Start Up or Start Over – it’s the tagline of SMB Nation and their mission which is half geek and half business. If you are 50 and at a Fortune 500 in Seattle, you’re fired. Only option is to start up a company. Start over refers to the core MSP audience of SMB Nation who need to reinvent themselves and transform their businesses.
[24:45] Harry’s transformation of SMB Nation includes moving away from live events to digital content and online events like Tech Talks to help the MSPs who are members. Vendors are invited to sponsor the Tech Talks.
[31:00] Seeing population of MSPs shrinking and transforming. Contraction coming in many forms, from mergers and acquisitions to exits.
[35:00] Pivoting SMB Nation content to 8 minute YouTube videos including his On-The-Road series.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Find Harry Brelsford on LinkedIn
SMB Nation
On the Road with Channel Journeys
The post Harry Brelsford: Time to Start Up or Start Over first appeared on Channel Journeys.
39 min
February 07, 2019 Harry Brelsford: It's Time to Start Up or Start Over - CJ6
This episode features Harry Brelsford, founder of SMB Nation, ski racer, and cycling enthusiast. Harry is a long-time advocate, consultant, and spokesperson for MSPs and is passionate about helping them succeed. Learn why now is the time for partners to Start Up or Start Over in this fun episode spanning Harry's own channel journey.
39 min
January 31, 2019Rod Baptie: How Customers are Driving Channel Transformation
Channel transformation insights from the founder of channel Focus
CJ5. This episode features Rod Baptie, the founder of Channel Focus – the world’s largest community of channel professionals. Rod shares his channel journey that took him from London to Colorado to Scotland. Hear how customers are driving channel transformation – having a huge impact on vendor programs and partner business models. And learn what you can do to drive channel growth as traditional channel partners are exiting and merging and a new whole breed of partners is emerging.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Channel transformation we’re experiencing is both technology-driven and customer-driven. In response, new channels are emerging and existing partner business models are changing to meet customers’ needs.
The old technical services no longer needed. Partners are challenged to provide a much more important service – that of genuinely helping their customers build a more successful and profitable business.
This in turn is driving a huge trend towards specialization. The money now is in becoming specialized – either vertically or technically. And we’re seeing a rise of the micro-vertical solution provider. For example, a born-in-the-cloud IoT company focused on wine growers in Napa.
There’s a new breed of “shadow channel” partners. If you have a financial SaaS solution, you want to take it through the CPAs. If you have a marketing SaaS solution, you want to take it through marketing agencies, and HR product, through HR consultancies.
We’re also now seeing born-in-the-cloud CPAs, HR firms, etc. who are technology companies with business expertise.
SHOW NOTES
Channel Focus
Channel Focus is the world’s largest community of people running channel programs – around 7000 members located primarily in North America and Europe, but Far East growing quickly. Their web site offers best practices, and the annual Channel Focus event brings together 250 channel leaders talking,
The Channel Focus Club 50 is a gathering of the most powerful channel leaders discussing top issues.
Cloud Services Community of around 5500 CEOs of partner companies actively selling cloud (at least 50% of their business is cloud based).
Channel Transformation
Estimates there are upwards of 30,000 organizations selling cloud products and services in North America alone.
Huge trend towards specialization. Money for cloud providers is no longer in moving customers to the cloud. Still lots of customers who need to move to the cloud, but it’s becoming a commoditized business. Money now is in becoming specialized – either vertically or technically.
New breed of “shadow channel” partners. If you have a financial SaaS solution, you want to take it through the CPAs. If you have a marketing SaaS solution, you want to take it through marketing agencies, and HR product, through HR consultancies.
Now seeing born-in-the-cloud CPAs, HR firms, etc. who are technology companies with business expertise. And seeing the rise of the micro-vertical solution provider. E.g. born-in-the-cloud IoT company focused on wine growers in Napa.
Channel Journey
Rod’s favorite sport is rugby. Holds season tickets to Glasgow Warriors and Scotland team.
Raised in London. Now splits time living in Colorado and in Scotland, just north of Edenborough.
Rod’s a dog lover. Has 3 Springer Spaniels and walks them 5 or 6 miles per day.
Half way through getting his helicopter pilots license, has 4 motorcycles, and has never learned to drive a car!
Started his career as a chef then became an entrepreneur. First started advertising agency. Then set up a consultancy business.
Launched Europe Direct events – all about direct marketing and direct sales. Started working with IT distributor and migrated to setting up Channel Focus events 24 years ago in Europe, then US 2 years later.
Big trend in partner-to-partner partnering. With cloud, customers need more than most providers can offer and they want it tomorrow. Only way to serve the customer is for partners to partner with other people.
Channel Focus 2019
Channel Focus May 2019 in Carlsbad, CA. Will be talking about specialization in channel, initiatives vendors are taking, success stories in channel transformation, building global partner programs.
Holds workshops where you can bring questions, get really cool answers, and go back to the office and be a super hero with answers to questions that have been top of mind.
Channel Tips
Channel transformation that we’re experiencing is both technology-driven and customer-driven. New blood coming into the channel. Old blood exiting the channel.
New channel emerging and changing, and partner business models are changing dramatically to meet customers’ needs.
Old technical services no longer needed. Real challenge is for partners to provide a much more important service – of genuinely helping their customers build a more successful and profitable business.
Advice to new channel managers – really understand your partner’s business model and the challenges they are facing as a company. Do that an you can walk into the partner’s CEO office and have a meaningful conversation.
Industry has to do a better job of training and enabling channel managers to discuss business issues with their partners.
As we look forward, we’ll see more specialization, different routes to market providing different types of services that are more business related. People who build the skills and expertise to talk to specific business challenges will be the most profitable.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Find Rod Baptie on LinkedIn
Channel Focus Community
Channel Focus North America 2019 – Carlsbad, CA
The post Rod Baptie: How Customers are Driving Channel Transformation first appeared on Channel Journeys.
40 min
January 30, 2019 Rod Baptie: How Customers are Driving Channel Transformation - CJ5
This episode features Rod Baptie, founder of Channel Focus, the world's largest community of channel professionals. Rod shares his channel journey from London to Colorado. Learn how customers are driving channel transformation – having a huge impact on vendor programs and partner business models.
40 min
January 23, 2019Jay McBain: Will Channel Automation turn Channel Chiefs into Chief Channel Officers?
Jay’s Channel Analysis, Insights and Predictions
CJ4. This episode features channel rock star Jay McBain, a super-connector and channel analyst with Forrester Research. Jay shares his analysis, insights, and predictions on the channel, including a wave of channel automation that could turn Channel Chiefs into Chief Channel Officers, just as marketing automation has turned Marketing VPs into Chief Marketing Officers. Jay talks about his channel journey, how he became fascinated by numbers, and his quest to visit 100 countries on roller blades.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Jay says we are seeing three stages of automation in corporations over the past twenty years:
The first stage of automation, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) started in the sales department 20 years ago. Now just about every company has invested in CRM. As sales management becomes more scientific, you need CRM expertise to become a VP Sales or Chief Revenue Officer.
The second stage, Marketing Automation, started 10 years ago. Today, it’s hard to imagine a Vice President of Marketing or Chief Marketing Officer not having experience in leveraging Marketing Automation.
Today, it’s time for the third stage; channel automation using Partner Relationship Management (PRM). Over the next 10 years, Channel Chiefs will pave the last mile to the customer with PRM.
SHOW NOTES
Jay has been in the channel his entire 25 year career and has kept a channel blog the entire way.
He loves the numbers. Started when he got an Apple II. Threw out the games, learned basic, and built his own version of Quicken. Now has 35 years of transactional data.
Jay counts, analyzes, digs deeper to ask questions multiple layers down, then publishes results, like his 10 Rules to Guarantee a Promotion to Channel Chief article.
Channel Chiefs look more like CEOs.
Indirect channel drives 75% of sales, yet channel still has a complex, the neglected stepson.
Analyzed channel automation vendors, created infographic of 2019 software stack with over 100 vendors. Over 10K downloads of infographic and #1 featured insight on Forrester.com
Visited 85 countries on a mission to eventually visit them all, many on roller-blades.
Got an MBA in the channel (entrepreneurship and family business) by taking 10 night courses in 10 months.
MBA valuable, but recommends channel pros work for 10 years to gain a wide variety of channel experience before getting MBA.
Now looks at the channel from a much broader perspective. The journey goes well beyond the reseller.
Best channel programs recognize the large ecosystem of different types of partners and organizations touching the customer. Includes the non-transacting partners who are influencers. Requires different methods to bring them on board and motivate them to co-sell, co-market, etc.
73% of Salesforce customers prefer to buy direct or from marketplace. Doesn’t make sense for partners to be reselling at 10% to 20% margin, when they can make 70% margin on services.
Gig economy is coming to the channel as every service becomes an uber-like service.
Customers buying directly from vendors via marketplaces is going to accelerate, which is going to decelerate resell.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Find Jay McBain on LinkedIn
Channel Software Tech Stack Infographic
100 Country Rollerblades and Red Bull Tour
Jay’s Crazy MBA Story
The post Jay McBain: Will Channel Automation turn Channel Chiefs into Chief Channel Officers? first appeared on Channel Journeys.
48 min
January 23, 2019 Jay McBain: Will Channel Automation turn Channel Chiefs into Chief Channel Officers? - CJ4
This episode features channel rock star Jay McBain, a super-connector and channel analyst with Forrester Research. Jay shares his analysis, insights, and predictions on the channel, including a 3rd wave of automation that could turn Channel Chiefs into Chief Channel Officers, just as marketing automation has helped turn Marketing VPs into Chief Marketing Officers.
46 min
January 10, 2019Matt Reaves: Swimming with Sharks from Drilling to Distribution
Creating Value-Added Distribution
CJ3. This episode features Matt Reaves, channel chief, distribution veteran, and long-distance swimmer. Matt tells how his career went from drilling for oil to creating a value-added distribution model and becoming a leading distributor for IBM. Hear Matt’s view on the role of distribution today and learn about his personal journey from horseback riding next to the pyramids of Egypt to swimming with sharks in the San Francisco bay.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[4:40] Matt went to high school in Cairo where he rode horses next to the pyramids and graduated under the Sphynx.
[7:00] Joined the oil business right out of college and worked their until the oil crash.
[9:00] Transitioned from oil to the channel by working as an IT reseller calling on doctors.
[11:00] Joined Dallas distributor Horizon Technology as the 32nd employee in 1990. Horizon became Pro America, one of three IBM distributors at the time. Developed the value distribution model where you could earn more margin for delivering more value.
[14:00] Pro America merged with Dickens Data Systems in Atlanta, then acquired by Pioneer Standard (Keylink), then by Arrow.
[15:45] Role of distribution today – still have the reach and scale most companies don’t have, adapting to changing markets by building new services like cloud portals, and changing to become IoT and analytics companies. And still provide channel credit that keeps the wheels turning.
[19:30] True character comes out when times are tough, not when things are good.
[21:30] Channels are all about influence. Direct sales are all about command and control.
[30:00] Jumped out of a boat into the shark-infested waters of San Francisco bay to swim 1.5 miles from Alcatraz to Ghirardelli Square to prove he could and raise money for Alzheimer’s research.
[35:00] Matt’s passion is passing on his channel knowledge on to those entering the field today, and hopes that other channel pros will do the same.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Find Matt Reaves on LinkedIn
Wild World of Sports Thrill of Victory and Agony of Defeat
2019 Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim
The post Matt Reaves: Swimming with Sharks from Drilling to Distribution first appeared on Channel Journeys.
39 min
January 09, 2019 Matt Reaves: Swimming with Sharks from Drilling to Distribution - CJ3
In this episode I talk with Matt Reaves, channel chief and long-distance swimmer, about his channel journey from horseback riding next to the pyramids of Egypt to swimming with sharks in the San Francisco bay. Matt tells how his career went from drilling for oil to being a leading value-add distributor for IBM, and we come up with a challenge for our channel journey listeners who are ready to dip their toes in the water.
34 min
January 02, 2019Rich Blakeman: Why 1 + 1 = 8 with a Hybrid Sales Channel
Bridging the Gap Between Direct and Indirect Sales
CJ2. Our first episode of 2019 features Rich Blakeman, a channel chief, consultant, and author of The Hybrid Sales Channel. Rich explains why direct sales reps are often so hesitant to work with partners. Then he lays out how you can overcome channel conflict through a hybrid sales approach. By doing so, you maximize the talents and strengths of both your company’s sales reps and your partners so that one plus one can equal eight. As you’ll learn from Rich, his approach is all about the customer, where all good sales strategies should begin.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[3:00] Rich’s favorites outside the channel: scuba diving, cycling, and skiing (see photo above of Rich’s early cycling days).
[5:00] Rich’s first job out of college was a different calling; as a Methodist preacher.
[15:30] The hybrid sales channel is like a hybrid vehicle that has a battery, a gas engine, brakes. All are designed for a very specific purpose that don’t overlap each other at all. Apply the same principle to in sales to take advantage of the unique strengths of the vendor and the partner.
[17:30] Selling is all about how the customer buys and not how you want to sell.
[24:00] The partner account manager focuses on the partner, not in the weeds with transactions. Meanwhile, the direct rep and partner rep should focus on the customer.
[26:00] The direct rep can act like a sales manager with a team of reps who work for the partners.
[28:00] Historic seagull behavior describes why direct reps are so reluctant to let go and leverage partners, and why when acting that way they lose more often than they win.
[30:00] Change doesn’t happen without executive commitment and alignment to the hybrid channel strategy. But it falls to the first line manager to make change happen.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Find Rich Blakeman on LinkedIn
Read the book: The Hybrid Sales Channel: How to Ignite Growth by Bridging the Gap Between Direct and Indirect Sales
The post Rich Blakeman: Why 1 + 1 = 8 with a Hybrid Sales Channel first appeared on Channel Journeys.
41 min