Channel Journeys Podcast

The Managed Service Provider (MSP) industry is poised for massive growth to serve the technology needs of small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs). But there’s a massive hurdle in their way. The core unit economics of MSPs are broken.

Today’s guest, Kaseya’s CEO Fred Voccola is on mission to fix that problem. Kaseya is not only revolutionizing the MSP business model but is also contributing to the stability and growth of the global economy. This mission-driven approach ensures that Kaseya and its partners are aligned toward creating lasting value.

Here are the top five drivers Fred shared for Kaseya’s mission to change Managed Service Providers (MSP) economics:

What if there was a way you could increase your total addressable market and open up a whole new channel of partners? What if this strategic move not only enhanced customer satisfaction, but also significantly boosted your company’s market valuation and overall growth trajectory? All this is possible by adding a new revenue model to your business.

We’re all used to paying for utilities like power and water on a monthly basis based on how much we use each month. That’s exactly how many customers, especially smaller business owners, want to purchase IT services to protect and run their business. In turn, the Managed Services Providers who serve these customers want to buy and bundle technologies from vendors in the same fashion.

In this episode of Channel Journeys, Randy Schirman, VP Worldwide Partnerships at Vectra AI, shares how you can achieve all of these things by serving the needs of the customer and the partner. Randy provides valuable tips on what it takes to execute this strategy based on a utility-based Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) model.

Here are my top 10 lessons learned from Randy on building an MRR model to capture radical business growth:

I’ve gained and shared a ton of channel smarts over the past 6 years producing 150 episodes of the Channel Journeys podcast. It’s hard to condense all this knowledge into one episode, so I aimed at summarizing the key insights for successful partnering. It’s an almost impossible task given the wealth of knowledge shared by my fantastic guests.  

It took me awhile to come up with a strategy for finding the top advice from 150 episodes. I started by reviewing all 150 podcast episodes and classifying them based on the core topic. I found they all fell into 17 different categories.  The top 5 categories were:

I pulled out highlights from my more recent podcasts in these top categories and made sure everything applies just as much today as when I aired the podcast. These insights will help any organization thrive in the partner ecosystem.

I’d like to give a very big heartfelt shout-out to the 120 guests who have been on my show. Thank you for joining me on this channel journey!  

OK, I couldn’t keep it to just 10. Here are my top 11 lessons learned on successful partnering from the first 150 episodes of the podcast:

The market for managed services continues to accelerate, but many software vendors are missing out on this huge opportunity. If you’re wondering what it takes to create a game-changing MSP program, this episode is for you.

Dinara Bakirova, Director of Partner Experience at Lookout, shares the most important ingredients to their successful MSP program that is generating new partnerships and new revenue streams. You’ll hear the challenges and the new opportunities created while building and launching their MSP program.

Here are the top 10 ingredients in Dinara’s blueprint for a successful MSP program:

One of the most rewarding yet most challenging partnerships I’ve seen over my career is working with the massive Global System Integrators, also know as GSIs. Many vendors embark on this journey looking to cash in the attractive potential of multi-million $ sales in the world’s top accounts. Unfortunately, many vendors struggle for years and eventually give up. What is so different about GSIs that makes them such a challenge to work with? And what can you do to capture the power of GSIs?

To answer these questions, I turned to Raj Gupta, the head of global partnerships at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). We delved into Raj’s take on partnerships and the nuances of working effectively with TCS. Raj’s insights serve as a comprehensive guide for building successful partnerships with TCS and other GSIs.

Here are the top ten tips I learned from Raj’s experiences and insights:

Appreciate the Breadth and Scale of GSIs

Founded in 1968, TCS now has nearly 600,000 employees worldwide with close to $30 billion in annual revenues. TCS is the trusted advisor to more than 2,500 clients around the globe, with a 95% repeat business. 

Understand the Unique Nature of GSIs

TCS, like many other Global System Integrators (GSIs), should not be treated like resellers or boutique delivery shops. GSIs function more as brand ambassadors for their partners, leveraging their extensive relationships and industry expertise to amplify the value of partner technologies.

Focus on Long-Term Relationships

TCS has relationships spanning decades with their clients. To successfully partner with TCS and other GSIs, it’s crucial to align with this long-term vision rather than pursuing short-term gains. Building lasting partnerships based on shared goals and mutual trust is key.

Effective Use of Market Development Funds (MDF)

Raj advises that market development funds should be strategically used, primarily for joint events and creating solutions integrated with existing platforms. Providing GSIs with MDF can drive mindshare and foster collaborations that ultimately result in significant business growth.

Embrace Storytelling

Raj shares a compelling story about a young boy’s interaction with Alexa to illustrate the power of technology in everyday life. He stresses the importance of storytelling in conveying the value of your solutions to clients and partners, making complex concepts more relatable and compelling.

Align on Shared Goals and Objectives

It’s crucial for partners to work in sync with TCS’s internal teams and practices. Creating a joint business plan with clear objectives and regular accountability checks can help ensure both parties are aligned and working towards common goals.

Leverage TCS’s Ecosystem

TCS has a vast ecosystem of 220 strategic partners that they have been trimming down to focus on quality over quantity, ensuring that partnerships are strategic, scalable, and beneficial across different industry verticals. Vendors should consider how their solution integrates within the GSI’s ecosystem for maximum customer benefit. 

Importance of Partner Excellence Framework

Make sure you understand what’s important in a partnership to your GSIs. TCS uses a Partner Excellence Framework to evaluate and measure partner performance. Key metrics include stability, market presence, openness to collaboration, and the ability to provide significant extensions of funding and resources. 

Building Heart Share and Mind Share

Raj introduces the concept of heart-share (emotional trust) and mind share (cognitive recognition among stakeholders). The goal is to get the mindshare within the GSI organization and within their enterprise customer base. But Raj says that before the mindshare comes the heart-share. 

Consider Using Funded Heads

Having a dedicated person who works to build the heart-share and mindshare within the GSI organization around the globe can have a powerful impact. Raj has seen the pipeline build up very quickly with this approach. Going after the wallet share before gaining heart-share and mindshare can slow down and even break the opportunity.

In addition to meeting new people and learning new ideas, one of the things I enjoy the most hosting Channel Journeys is the interesting personal stories I hear from my guests. Today’s guest, Jeff Heilman, has one of those amazing stories. It’s how he was the first employee working for Elon Musk’s first startup, Zip2 Corp. But then the story gets even better.

Jeff, a serial entrepreneur, sales master and host of The Jeff Heilman Project, goes on to share his philosophy on productivity, influenced by concepts such as “maker vs. manager” time and having a side hustle. The meat of his story is when he shares his approach to winning eight-figure sales and building nine-figure sales channels.

Throughout, Jeff’s stories of working with giants like Elon Musk and Larry Ellison, coupled with practical advice on channel management and life balance, make this a valuable listen for all channel professionals.

Here are 6 important tips I learned during my conversation with Jeff:

Distinguish Between Maker and Manager Time

A significant part of Jeff’s productivity comes from separating ‘maker’ time (for creative, uninterrupted work) from ‘manager’ time (for administrative and meeting tasks). Allocating specific times for deep work and separate times for administrative tasks can enhance productivity and creativity.

Importance of Side Hustles

Jeff highlights that having a side hustle can provide not only financial security but also diverse experiences and skills. Side hustles encourage innovation and can act as a safety net, ensuring one remains adaptable and resilient through career uncertainties.

Leverage Channels for Large Deals

Jeff shares how focusing on large deals (eight-figure sales) has been more profitable than multiple smaller deals. By nurturing channel relationships and leveraging partners’ extensive networks, businesses can achieve more substantial and lucrative deals.

Focus on Value Over Volume

In channel sales, it’s more beneficial to aim for meaningful engagement and value creation rather than sheer volume of contacts or superficial interactions. Jeff’s method involves personalizing pitches and proving value, which resonates more effectively with clients.

Support and Empower Channel Partners

Jeff advocates for empowering channel partners by providing them with leads and doing the heavy lifting first. By showing tangible value and support, vendors can build stronger, more productive partnerships where both parties thrive.

Personal Well-being and Family

Despite his professional rigor, Jeff underscores the importance of personal well-being, family, and taking time to disconnect and unwind. This balance is essential to prevent burnout and maintain sustained productivity and creativity.

After the last episode with Jason Beal where we talked about Barracuda’s Partner Success Program, it got me thinking about the book that was recently released with groundbreaking research on how partner success drives customer success. I interviewed the book’s authors when it first came out back in episode 132. Today I’m relaunching that episode for those of you who missed it and as a refresher to those of you who heard it the first time.

In this episode, Nancy Ridge and Norma Watenpaugh, share the findings of their groundbreaking research on Partner Experience. They are the authors of an eBook titled Partners are the Customer Experience, brought to you by the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals, also know as ASAP.

Their research arms you with information and data you can use to gain the internal support and budget you need to develop a partner success program in your company.

Here are ten takeaways from my conversation with Norma and Nancy that you need to know:

If you’re a SaaS vendor, partner success is the most important factor in your company’s growth. And your partners’ success in driving customer success is the biggest lever you have in driving more partner originated business.  When partners are doing the services work, they’re gaining real life experience. They have stories of solving business problems that they share with their sales reps and their other customers. That leads to more new customers and account expansion for you. 

How  can you make sure this is happening? You need to change your partner program to one that drives partner success. And how do you do that? That’s what you’ll find out in today’s episode with Jason Beal, VP Worldwide Partner Ecosystems at Barracuda. Jason shares the insights and strategies behind Barracuda’s new partner success program that is built upon a foundation of deep partner empathy, comprehensive enablement, and strategic, data-driven support. By fostering quality partnerships and accommodating local market needs, Barracuda is creating a robust ecosystem of partners are well-equipped to deliver customer success.

Here are the top 10 lessons I learned from Jason about building an effective Partner Success Program:

Partner-Centric Approach:
Barracuda’s program emphasizes a deep understanding of partner needs and business models. The core principle of “partner empathy” underscores the importance of viewing challenges and opportunities from the partner’s perspective. This approach ensures that the program is mutually beneficial and aligns with partners’ goals and operational realities.

Global Scale with Local Adaptation:
The program’s global nature requires it to be versatile yet adaptable to local markets. Barracuda builds frameworks that achieve around 80% standardization but empowers local teams to make necessary adjustments. This balance allows for broad scalability while respecting the unique needs of different regions.

Quality Over Quantity:
Rather than amassing a large number of partners, Barracuda focuses on the quality of its partnerships. This involves nurturing fewer, more productive partners, which ultimately leads to more meaningful and higher-value relationships.

Comprehensive Partner Recognition:
The program acknowledges all aspects of a partner’s business, including resell, renewal, managed services, and marketplace engagements. This comprehensive recognition incentivizes partners across various business models and engagements, reflecting a true measure of their contribution.

LAER Model Framework:
The program is structured around TSIA’s “LAER” model: Land, Adopt, Expand, and Renew. This model ensures that partners are supported and rewarded throughout the entire customer lifecycle, fostering long-term collaboration and success.

Enablement Over Incentives:
While financial incentives like discounts and rebates are a part of the program, Barracuda places significant emphasis on partner enablement. This includes access to training, telemetry, and the facilitation of more project opportunities. The focus on capability building helps partners achieve greater success through increased competence and market opportunities.

Facilitation of Partner Collaboration:
Recognizing diversified partner business models, the program supports and encourages collaboration between different types of partners. While the formal influencer fees might not be in place, the program ensures partners can easily find and engage with each other, enhancing overall service delivery.

Telemetry and Data Utilization:
Sharing telemetry data with partners is crucial for enhancing customer adoption and success. Barracuda emphasizes the importance of providing partners with insights into product usage and customer satisfaction. This data-driven approach helps partners to provide better support and foster deeper customer engagement.

Strategic and Transparent Evolution:
Since its launch, the program has seen enhancements and iterative improvements based on partner feedback. Introductions such as premier partner rebates and increased enablement initiatives demonstrate Barracuda’s commitment to evolving the program to better meet partner needs.

Multipliers Over Margins:
Research into service multipliers has shown that, on average, Barracuda partners achieve a 3:1 service revenue to product revenue ratio, with top performers achieving even higher. This insight drives the focus on enabling partners to achieve high multipliers, reinforcing the notion that overall service revenue potential is more critical than product margins.

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.