Seeing what’s coming in the channel in 2020 and beyond doesn’t require a crystal ball when you have Forrester’s Principal Channel Analyst Jay McBain in the room. In this episode, Jay and I talk about the top 10 things he sees coming in the channel based on his conversations with hundreds of companies and loads of data and rigorous research. His views helped confirm my channel strategy and gave me some new things to consider building into my plans for 2020. 

Jay lists all 10 trends in his blog What I See Coming For The Channel In 2020. Here are the five that really stood out for me:

Indirect Sales Will Shrink Every Year For The Next Decade

Channel Leaders Contemplate A Trifurcated Channel Model

Channel Professionals Become Ecosystem Professionals

Partner Experience (PX) Will Catch Up To Customer Experience (CX)

Channel Account Managers Turn Into Community Managers

If you look at the global technology spend, which sits around $3.5 trillion, 64% of that goes indirectly. @jmcbain
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For the first time in 38 years the amount of revenue, the percentage that goes indirect, has plateaued in 2019. And it's going to start to shrink.
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We're seeing the surge of influencer channels, they go by the names of affinity partners, referral agents, affiliates, advocates, ambassadors, alliances, all of those people. This is the Kim Kardashian of the channel @jmcbain
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