Channel Edge

From what I know of Tina Gravel, I'd guess that channel growth, incentive automation, ROI on channel programs, PRM and TCMA are all on her mind. As a successful channel leader with years of experience under her belt, driving channel success is always on her mind, but as an advocate for women, she's also thinking about how to help women achieve success in the channel and in life.

Join us as we immediately change topics from how to grow the channel to how to grow as a person. The irony, according to Tina, is that it takes the latter to make the former work so much better.

Where are we today with regards to inclusion and diversity for women in the channel? Why is it so important to push for both diversity and inclusion and what's the difference between the two? How can we all work together to make inclusion happen?

Please join us for a personal discussion around Women in the Channel with Theresa Caragol, founder and CEO of Achieve Unite and former Channel Chief. A life-long advocate for diversity, equality and empowerment in the workforce and beyond, Theresa talks about the real challenges that still exist today for women, while celebrating the notable progress and success that continues to happen every day.  She also provides some meaningful insight into what really needs to happen in order for more people and organizations to celebrate more achievements in these areas - for all. 

What happens when the pandemic ends? Naturally, there’s an inevitable rush and expectation to go back to business as usual. But, surprise! So much of a successful channel partner’s go-to-market strategy doesn’t always immediately revert back to pre-COVID times. As Larry and many others are surmising, COVID did not create a change or even spark new transformation. Rather, the pandemic and the world’s various responses have just accelerated what was already happening. 

What kind of environment does this evolution of channelnomics really create?  How does it impact partners’ selling motion, marketing motion, and revenue generation? Join us for another eye-opening conversation on what happens when partners realize that while the “new” reality may still be new, the wheels have been in motion well before COVID and buyers are better off for it.

The question every partner and dealer wants to answer is: How do we drive profitability? The answer is so critical because profitability is exactly what they need more of now and in the future.

During an upcoming ChannelEdge Podcast interview, Scott Mann from Scale Computing, discusses how he believes it's all about keeping things simple, which is never as easy as it sounds.

Please take a listen as Scott talks about Scale Computer’s "Keep it Simple" culture, which he attributes to better partner/dealer engagement and improved overall CX/PX at every contact point throughout the buyer's journey. From product, marketing and sales, to finance and customer support, simplifying experiences leads to greater partner and customer satisfaction, which ultimately results in more profitability for channel organizations. 

What happens in the Channel in 2021? How do we learn from the challenges of 2020? What do we keep, what do we throw away, and what do we need to build new? 

During the most recent ChannelEdge Podcast, Steven Kellam spoke to 306insights’ founder &  CEO, Jason Atkins. Please listen to their discussion as Atkins shares what he learned from 2020 and what he expects as we move forward in 2021. Jason is incredibly well positioned to share key learnings, as well as his forecast for success as the CEO of the largest per play (CIM) Channel Incentive Management Company in North America.  So, tune in to understand what is necessary to ignite growth, manage retention and drive loyalty in both the B2B to B2B2C in 2021.

Channel 2021 is here, that joyfully said, what can we take from an incredibly wild ride in 2020 to be successful in 2021? Theresa Caragol, CEO at Achieve Unite, believes that while everything from the need for Incentive Automation to the rise of influencer Channel programs will be a integral part of the journey, the one essential consideration is building Channel trust, individually and corporately.

Please join us as Theresa talks about the what and the how to accomplish just that, along with other key takeaways to get the most of what we have learned from Channel 2020.

Is how you sell today different from past years? In most businesses, the answer is a resounding yes. The coronavirus global pandemic changed selling. Was your business ready for it? This week’s Channel Edge guest Tiffani Bova the Global Growth, Sales and Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce, talks about how companies that focus on digital transformation adapted better those that don’t.

Tiffani challenges channel leaders to think about how much time they’re spending on running their businesses versus transforming them. She sees a big difference in the performance of companies balancing their time versus those that don’t. Listen in and hear her thoughts on “the growth mindset” and who leads the transformation the vendor or channel partner.

Tiffani recently conducted a webinar named The Future of Sales 2020, in which she shared ten future trends. This Channel Edge podcast dives deeper at a couple of those trends, where leaders should focus, and how we’re not likely to swing back to where we were pre-pandemic.

The founder of Johnny Cupcakes is a true entrepreneur starting sixteen businesses before he was sixteen years old. Who would have guessed the one that would stick would begin by creating a T-Shirt advertising a bakery that didn’t exist?  Johnny Cupcakes is a story of branding, but more importantly, brand adaptability.

The initial batch of Johnny Cupcakes’ T-Shirts sold out right away, so he took the money and made more T-shirts. Before he knew it, Johnny was the keynote speaker at events, opening retail stores, and training Cake Dealers. What started as a fun T-Shirt idea has become an International story of brand adaptability.

Like every good story, every decision doesn’t work out. From hungry people not finding any baked goods in stores to those who disagree with his social justice stance, listen as Johnny Cupcakes shares the brand’s many twists and turns with Channel Edge.

In the old days, a salesperson would walk into a prospect’s office, observe pictures, books, and other items on the desk and walls, and start a conversation about something of mutual interest. Those conversation starters broke the ice and created a bond between the salesperson and the customer. Today, we’re doing this online, and we call it breaking into the new narrative.

This week Gabriel Carrejo, award-winning Director of Global Social Marketing at Automation Anywhere, and Michael Brito, EVP Digital & Analytics at the Zeno Group, join Channel Edge and discuss the evolution of social selling and marketing and what they call the new narrative.

What is the new narrative, and why should you care? It’s about understanding your target audience’s affinities and interests and using that data to connect with them and create meaningful engagement. Listen in as Gabriel and Michael talk about how salespeople can use data to find the right angle to start a conversation and create an immediate bond with prospects. It’s also being used by marketers to achieve better engagement.

Influencers like Kim Kardashian, The Rock, and Taylor Swift have had a profound impact on consumer buying behavior. This phenomenon isn’t new, and it impacts how consumers spend billions of dollars.  Does the same thing exist in the B2B world? This week’s episode of Channel Edge discusses influencer and their role in both B2B and B2C. 

Larry Walsh, CEO and Chief Analyst at The 2112 Group, rejoins Channel Edge to discuss some recent research his organization has done around influencers and his unique take on the subject. Listen in as Larry shares why influencers are important and why we shouldn’t ignore them.

Influencers come in many forms and operate at many levels. Your host Steven Kellam and Larry Walsh discuss essential topics like rewarding influencers and building programs to support them. Larry believes influencers have been in B2B all along and we’re just now starting to pay the proper attention to them. He discusses how he sees companies institutionalizing and monetizing influence.

We spend inordinate amounts of time developing channel programs. We need to start giving time to referrals and influencers. Larry and Steven discuss why and offer a place to start.