The Channel Buzz

Seamless integration. Real-time visibility. Powerful automation.

When everyone uses the same words, how does a partner explain what makes your solution different?

In this episode of The Channel Buzz, Amiee Keenan talks with partner and product marketing expert Alexis Fox about finding the golden nuggets already sitting in your customer conversations: the problem that started the search, the objection that nearly stopped the deal, and the words customers use to explain what changed.

They discuss how to uncover those details, keep the language customers actually use, and turn what you learn into a story partners can confidently repeat. Alexis also shares what belongs in a useful partner kit and how to turn an encouraging partnership conversation into activity.

Before you rewrite your website or build another deck, listen to what your customers are telling you. Your next message may start there.

Chapters

00:00 Everyone Sounds the Same—What Makes You Different?
02:28 Make Your Story Easy for Partners to Tell
09:36 What Partners Need Beyond Your Product Deck
16:42 Find Your Golden Nuggets in Customer Conversations
22:04 Turn Partnership Conversations into Action
29:44 Shared Visibility and Your Buzzworthy Insight

🐝 Buzzworthy Insight: Make your story easy to repeat and give partners a reason to bring you up.

Learn more about Gallop GTM

Schedule a call with Alexis

🔗 Connect with Amiee on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ 

🎧 Listen & follow to get future episodes on marketing, partnerships, and channel growth.

Learn more about ⁠The ISV Society⁠

“We should do something together.” How many of your partner conversations end there?

Alysha Malik joins Amiee Keenan on The Channel Buzz to explore what happens when that good intention becomes co-creation: building something together that neither of you could create alone.

From finding the people your customers already trust to giving existing partners a reason to reconnect, we talk about turning relationships into shared ideas, useful experiences and opportunities to grow. We also get into what happens after the event ends and how to recognize progress before it shows up on a lead report.

Chapters

00:00 Why relationships can be the go-to-market strategy

02:20 Three questions for finding ecosystem opportunities

04:22 How events, community, and partnerships create a flywheel

05:44 Why growth teams should measure trust beyond leads

09:03 Build community around shared values and purpose

12:01 A partner list is not an ecosystem

14:18 Strategic alliances and co-creation

14:58 Measure visibility, relationships, influence, and revenue

16:22 A six-to-nine-month horizon for ecosystem growth

17:21 Start small, activate partners, and make events memorable

If you have a few partners you’ve been meaning to do more with, this conversation might give you a place to start.

Follow The Channel Buzz on Spotify for more conversations about partnerships, marketing and the people behind the work.

Buzzworthy Insight: It’s not just collaboration. It’s co-creation.

Follow Alysha, https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyshamalik89/

Website: https://www.alyshamalik.com/ 

🔗 Connect with Amiee on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ 

🎧 Listen & follow to get future episodes on marketing, partnerships, and channel growth.

Learn more about ⁠The ISV Society⁠

Planning an ERP move is a big decision. Finding out whose desk an invoice landed on shouldn’t be.

Mark Munson of ACE Micro joins Amiee Keenan from The ISV Society at Community Summit to talk about both sides of that customer experience. We discuss the planning conversations he’s having with Dynamics GP customers, why he encourages a fresh look at Business Central, and the paper approval processes that still have AP teams chasing people down hallways.

Mark also shares what matters when he recommends a solution and why implementation and responsive support helped ACE Micro choose Yooz.

Plus, I ask which industry buzzword he’d happily retire. “Synergy” might want to skip this one.

Buzzworthy Insight: A software recommendation includes the people who will help your customer after the sale.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and guest background

02:24 Current ERP challenges and client concerns

04:12 Common industry buzzwords and their overuse

05:02 AP bottlenecks and manual approval headaches

05:58 Why Ace Micro partners with Yooz

07:14 Resources to learn more about Ace Micro and contact info

Learn more about ACE Micro.

🔗 Connect with Amiee on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ 

🎧 Listen & follow to get future episodes on marketing, partnerships, and channel growth.

Learn more about ⁠The ISV Society⁠

Everyone’s talking about new technology. Accounting still has a month to close.

Janice Phelps, Director of Sales at Blue Moon Industries, joins Amiee Keenan from The ISV Society at Community Summit o talk about what customers are trying to figure out beneath all that conversation. How will their jobs change? Can they handle more work without more people? Where would automation actually help?

We discuss the pressure acquisitions put on accounting teams, the routine AP steps that keep needing a follow-up, and why giving customers room to ask questions matters.

Janice also shares how Blue Moon approaches software recommendations, why the company chose Yooz, and why she’s ready for AI to become an ordinary part of the workday.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Blue Moon Industries and Community Summit

01:22 Current ERP challenges and customer concerns

03:28 The overuse of the term AI in ERP discussions

04:23 How Yooz helps automate accounts payable processes

05:47 Why Blue Moon chose to partner with Yooz

06:14 Closing remarks and episode wrap-up

Buzzworthy Insight: Understanding what customers need starts with understanding the work they still have to get done.

🔗 Connect with Amiee on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ 

🎧 Listen & follow to get future episodes on marketing, partnerships, and channel growth.

Learn more about ⁠The ISV Society⁠

There’s plenty of interest in what AI and automation could do. In construction, the questions quickly get specific: Have the invoices come in? Are the costs coded correctly? Has anyone approved them?

Stuart Blumenthal from LBMC joins Amiee Keenan from The ISV Society at Community Summit to talk about what customers want from their ERP systems and where the everyday work still gets complicated. We discuss reducing manual entry, checking accuracy, and getting invoice information into the system so teams can better understand where a project stands.

He also explains how those steps connect to billing and cash-flow concerns, and why construction capabilities, integration, and approvals mattered in his company’s choice of Yooz.

We also make time for one phrase he’d happily retire from industry vocabulary.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to ERP and AI trends

02:52 Common client concerns about AI in ERP

04:37 The importance of accurate cost coding in construction

05:32 Approval processes and their impact on project management

06:00 Why the company partnered with Yooz for construction solutions

Buzzworthy Insight: Getting more from automation starts with the details people need to trust.

Learn more about LBMC.

🔗 Connect with Amiee on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ 

🎧 Listen & follow to get future episodes on marketing, partnerships, and channel growth.

Learn more about ⁠The ISV Society⁠

The Channel Buzz at VIBE 2.0 — Episode 6

Guest: Monica Hoyer
Roles: Conference Chair, Voices Partner Marketing Conference; CMO, Partner Talks
Series: The Channel Buzz: Conversations from VIBE 2.0
Recorded live: VIBE 2.0, Provo, Utah

Marketing can feel pretty lonely when you're trying to figure everything out on your own.

When Monica Hoyer entered the Microsoft partner ecosystem in 2021, she describes feeling like an “island”—looking for other B2B marketers who understood the questions and challenges she was navigating.

Then she started finding her people.

Recorded live at VIBE 2.0 as part of The Channel Buzz's media sponsorship, Amiee Keenan sits down with Monica, Conference Chair for the Voices Partner Marketing Conference and CMO at Partner Talks, to talk about why partner marketers need more opportunities to learn from one another.

Monica shares what inspired the creation of Voices, an online conference dedicated to partner marketers in the Microsoft ecosystem, and why she's excited to bring together established experts and brand-new speakers.

Amiee and Monica also reflect on how marketing education within ecosystem events has evolved and why creating dedicated spaces for marketers matters.

Plus, Monica shares the VIBE sessions that made her think beyond tactics and ask a much bigger question: Who do I want to become?

🐝 Buzzworthy Insight: You Don't Have to Market on an Island.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the episode and speakers

01:57 Details about the Voices Conference and its purpose

04:16 Excitement about the diverse sessions and new speakers

05:09 Key takeaways from Vibe event sessions and speakers

06:29 Reflections on the Vibe community and its impact

07:09 Closing remarks and call to action

Check out the Voices conference and sign up.

🔗 Connect with Amiee on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ 

🎧 Listen & follow to get future episodes on marketing, partnerships, and channel growth.

Learn more about ⁠The ISV Society⁠

The Channel Buzz at VIBE 2.0 — Episode 5

Guest: Ugne Fink Jensen, Tech Lawyer & Business Negotiator
Series: The Channel Buzz: Conversations from VIBE 2.0
Recorded live: VIBE 2.0, Provo, Utah

Negotiation isn't just happening in boardrooms, contract discussions, sales calls, or procurement meetings.

It's happening all day long.

Recorded live at VIBE 2.0 as part of The Channel Buzz's media sponsorship, Amiee Keenan sits down with tech lawyer and business negotiator Ugne Ving Jensen to rethink what negotiation actually looks like at work.

From status calls and resource discussions to customer conversations and project management, Ugne explains why so many everyday interactions involve managing expectations, understanding competing priorities, and finding a path forward.

But one of the most important negotiation skills may also be one of the most overlooked: listening.

When we're focused on an important outcome, it's easy to spend the conversation thinking about what we want to say next instead of hearing what the other person is actually telling us.

Ugne also breaks down the difference between influence and pressure, explains why knowing your own triggers matters before a difficult conversation, and shares what she believes she'll remember most from VIBE long after the sessions end.

🐝 Buzzworthy Insight: Listen for What You Don't Already Know.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Ugne Fink Jensen and her expertise

02:00 Negotiation is everywhere, not just in contracts

03:50 Difference between influencing and pressuring

05:09 The importance of understanding emotional triggers

06:03 The value of community and genuine connections

06:49 Closing thoughts on negotiation and community

🔗 Connect with Ugne on LinkedIn

🔗 Connect with Amiee on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ 

🎧 Listen & follow to get future episodes on marketing, partnerships, and channel growth.

Learn more about ⁠The ISV Society⁠

Guest: Erika Boccuti
Series: The Channel Buzz: Conversations from VIBE 2.0
Recorded live: VIBE 2.0, Provo, Utah
Series context: The Channel Buzz joined VIBE 2.0 as a media sponsor, capturing conversations with people across the technology and partner ecosystem about community, growth, leadership, and the lessons shaping what's next.

You don't need a senior title to contribute something valuable and you don't need to wait until you feel completely ready.

Recorded live at VIBE 2.0, where The Channel Buzz joined the event as a media sponsor, Amiee Keenan sits down with Erika, a young professional who grew up watching her mom build a career in the Microsoft partner ecosystem and ultimately decided she wanted to build one of her own.

Erika shares what surprised her when she entered the channel, why so much of the ecosystem's knowledge lives within its people, and how mentorship often happens without anyone formally calling it mentorship.

She also challenges established leaders to do more than invite young professionals into the room: bring them into the conversation, ask for their perspective, and give them a platform to build their own voice.

It's a conversation about learning, mentorship, community, and recognizing that contribution has no age requirement.

As Erika puts it: Whether you are 25 or 55, you do not have to wait for permission to contribute to this community. Start before you are ready. Show up before you feel qualified. Build before you have permission.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the episode and guest Erika

02:19 Influence of family and early exposure to the industry

04:32 The impact of mentorship and informal guidance

05:48 Supporting young professionals and fostering inclusion

07:09 Describing the Vibe community in three words

08:14 Reflections on learning, community, and staying engaged

🔗 Connect with Erika on LinkedIn

🔗 Connect with Amiee on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ 

🎧 Listen & follow to get future episodes on marketing, partnerships, and channel growth.

Learn more about ⁠The ISV Society⁠

The Channel Buzz at VIBE 2.0 — Episode 3

Guest: Donna Krizik, Krizik Marketing Group
Series: The Channel Buzz: Conversations from VIBE 2.0
Recorded live: VIBE 2.0
Series context: The Channel Buzz joined VIBE 2.0 as a media sponsor, capturing conversations with leaders across the technology and partner ecosystem about the ideas, relationships, and practical lessons shaping their businesses.

Should you be posting on LinkedIn? Starting a podcast? Attending another conference? Investing in the latest marketing tactic everyone else seems to be trying?

Maybe.

But first, Donna Krizik wants you to answer a much more important question:

Is your audience actually there?

Recorded live at VIBE 2.0, where The Channel Buzz joined the event as a media sponsor, Amiee Keenan sits down with Donna Krizik of Krizik Marketing Group for a candid conversation about what VARs, ISVs, and technology companies often get wrong about marketing.

Donna shares her rule of “no tactics without strategy,” why marketing should begin with audience, benefit, and call to action, and why companies need to stop making their messaging all about themselves.

They also explore the human side of B2B marketing, the overused words that co write what six years of entrepreneurship have taught Donna about discomfort, growth, and not always having the answers.

Plus, Donna shares why her first VIBE experience left her energized by a community willing to share knowledge without expecting something in return.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and guest background

01:30 Lessons learned as an entrepreneur

03:59 The importance of authenticity in marketing

06:56 Focusing on strategy over tactics

10:09 The value of community and connections

11:57 Key takeaways from Vibe 2.01

3:34 Describing the Vibe community

13:51 Closing thoughts and final advice

🔗 Connect with Amiee on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ 

🎧 Listen & follow to get future episodes on marketing, partnerships, and channel growth.

Learn more about ⁠The ISV Society⁠

The Channel Buzz at VIBE 2.0 — Episode 2

Guest: Rob Triggs, RTR
Series: The Channel Buzz: Conversations from VIBE 2.0
Recorded live: VIBE 2.0
Series context: The Channel Buzz joined VIBE 2.0 as a media sponsor, capturing conversations with leaders about the ideas, relationships, and personal lessons shaping the technology and partner ecosystem.

You can have the sales training. You can know exactly what you're supposed to do. You can even look confident to everyone around you.

And still something keeps you from taking action.

Why?

Recorded live at VIBE 2.0, where The Channel Buzz joined the event as a media sponsor, Amiee Keenan sits down with Rob Triggs of RTR to explore the role mindset plays in sales, entrepreneurship, and personal performance.

Rob shares his own journey from a quiet, shy Xerox service technician to a successful sales leader—and why he believes technical skills alone aren't enough to create sustained success.

They explore imposter syndrome, procrastination, visualization, limiting beliefs, and Rob's simple six-word approach:

First see it, then do it.

Rob also gives listeners a preview of his upcoming book, The Manifested Seller, which combines his own experience with stories and practical techniques designed to help sellers and entrepreneurs change the thinking that may be holding them back.

Plus, Amiee and Rob talk about what makes VIBE different—and why the relationships created in an authentic environment may be the most valuable thing attendees take home.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and guest background

01:02 Rob's journey from service technician to sales expert

02:22 Understanding impostor syndrome and its effects

03:15 How childhood beliefs influence adult fears

04:22 Procrastination and the power of belief

05:43 The meaning of 'First see it, then do it'

07:09 Visualization techniques used by athletes and salespeople

08:23 The truth about manifestation and energy vibration

09:43 Rob's upcoming book, The Manifested Seller

11:46 The vibe community and conference takeaways

The Manifested Seller

🔗 Connect with Amiee on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ 

🎧 Listen & follow to get future episodes on marketing, partnerships, and channel growth.

Learn more about ⁠The ISV Society⁠