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WEBINAR:The Hybrid Sales Channel: Bridging the Gap Between Direct and Indirect Sales

Thu, Dec 3, 2015 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM GMT

Rich Blakeman / Managing Director /MHI Global

End customers are continuing to change the way that they buy, creating a market mandate for vendors and partners to change the ways that they sell: being focused on the outside-in, in their coverage strategies and execution all the way down to the direct territory and partner sales rep level.

Join Rich Blakeman, the author of the just-released and thought leading book "The Hybrid Sales Channel," as he walks us through new perspectives on how to ignite true organic growth without adding resource - by gaining effective and efficient alignment of direct and indirect resources in a breakthrough version of a hybrid model.

Key points will include:

- The market drivers that bring about the need for a new type of Hybrid Sales Channel.

- Critical objectives and obstacles around aligning coverage models for growth rather than maximizing for cost.

- The basic design principles of a Hybrid Sales Channel model that keeps the Customer at the Core.

- Key alignment and implementation steps to get to a Hybrid Model.

-CLICK THE LINK TO JOIN THIS WEBINAR-

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Introducing the Sharks If you’ve seen any of the combined 25,000-plus FanDuel and DraftKings commercials that aired in September (only 214 hours of airtime), you have been introduced to some of the sharks of daily fantasy sports (DFS) gambling. On FanDuel, Scott H. let us know that he has won $2.1 million on a mere $35 invested. That’s an ROI of 6,...

NEW! BLOG: What Channel Leaders Can Learn From FanDuel and DraftKings: Be a Shark

Introducing the Sharks

If you’ve seen any of the combined 25,000-plus FanDuel and DraftKings commercials that aired in September (only 214 hours of airtime), you have been introduced to some of the sharks of daily fantasy sports (DFS) gambling. On FanDuel, Scott H. let us know that he has won $2.1 million on a mere $35 invested. That’s an ROI of 6,000,000%. Or there is David Gomes, who was a $1 million winner on DraftKings. Not a bad day at the office for these sharks.

For those of you who aren’t as familiar with FanDuel and DraftKings, here’s a quick primer. Both recently raised huge new rounds of investments, and are valued at greater than $1 billion. They are also investing heavily in marketing as they try to acquire new customers in mass quantities—they were No. 3 and No. 4 in TV advertising spend in September, behind only Geico and AT&T. In DFS, you have a salary cap that you must allocate to build a lineup of players that you think will perform well on that specific day or weekend. If your players have better statistics than your opponent(s), then you win. You legally invest real money, and win real money.

A study by the Sports Business Journal suggests that there are three core types of players in the DFS ecosystem:

Sharks: These “pros” are only 1.3% of the pool, but are taking home 91% of the profits.

Big Fish: These high-rollers are only 5% of the pool, but account for 75% of all losses.

Minnows: These novices are the mass majority, making up 80% of the pool.

-CLICK THE LINK TO READ FULL POST-

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If you’re going to survive in the wilderness, you’d better have a guide. And right now, managing data in the channel is the Wild West. Or, to borrow a phrase from The Wizard of Oz, \Toto, I have a feeling we\'re not in Kansas anymore.\ What’s changed about the channel is access to data. Mountains of it. What hasn’t changed is the ability of channel...

NEW! BLOG: The Channel Chief Survival Guide

If you’re going to survive in the wilderness, you’d better have a guide. And right now, managing data in the channel is the Wild West. Or, to borrow a phrase from The Wizard of Oz, "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

What’s changed about the channel is access to data. Mountains of it. What hasn’t changed is the ability of channel chiefs to analyze and use this data to better understand their channel partners and end customers, and act on the insights gleaned from this knowledge.

-CLICK THE LINK TO READ FULL POST-

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WEBINAR: Loyalty lessons from global brands - learn how to turn your channel partners into fans and drive engagement

How do you increase partner engagement and boost your channel loyalty? B2C companies have finely honed loyalty strategies to help them win and retain customers in highly competitive industries.

WEBINAR: Loyalty lessons from global brands - learn how to turn your channel partners into fans and drive engagement

How do you increase partner engagement and boost your channel loyalty?

B2C companies have finely honed loyalty strategies to help them win and retain customers in highly competitive industries. Channel partner programs can benefit from B2C companies and leverage tested techniques that will help you not only attract and recruit new partners, but more fully engage with and retain your current valued partners.

Join Ian Hutchieson and Stuart Evans of global loyalty agency ICLP to learn how brand giants Manchester United, Cathay Pacific and a major global hotel group have created a competitive advantage engaging and building loyalty. After all, your partners are customers!

Register today to learn how your channel program can deliver a ‘customer experience’ that exceeds your partners’ expectations.

B2C practices that really make a difference in the channel:

• How to combine gamification and loyalty marketing to engage and drive behaviour cost effectively

• Using readily available data to deliver a more meaningful, relevant, “all about me” experience for partners

• Creating a connection with your partners that will create brand advocates, not just resellers and increase sales. -CLICK THE LINK TO DOWNLOAD THIS WEBINAR REPLAY-

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For companies that rely on channel sales for a significant portion of revenue, there’s been a noticeable shift in channel operations over the past couple of years. Evolving technologies, buyer behaviors, and environmental factors have all had some effect on how companies at various points of the channel conduct and experience business. For many, ch...

BLOG: Improving Incentive Programs to Increase Channel Revenue: 3 Essential Steps

For companies that rely on channel sales for a significant portion of revenue, there’s been a noticeable shift in channel operations over the past couple of years. Evolving technologies, buyer behaviors, and environmental factors have all had some effect on how companies at various points of the channel conduct and experience business.

For many, changes in the landscape have creeped up on them. The result? A tight, competitive market for top-performing, loyal channel partners. More than ever, companies are sharing the same partners. Thus, the need to stand out among channel partners is imperative. Manufacturers are tossing out their old, “vanilla” strategies in favor of developing more strategic, better-targeted, and high-impact incentive programs to stand out amongst competitors and appeal to partners.

Of course, the more strategic and complex the incentive program, the more difficult they can be to manage. They will include more precise eligibility requirements, such as complex combinations of products, purchase models, customer types, markets, market share, and geographies. The complexities are further amplified when you are offering complex products through multi-level complex channels!

The right incentive program will bring in the right partners. For most channel teams, going back to the older, simpler – albeit, easier to manage – incentive programs of the past is not an option if they want to be successful today. So, what do channel teams need in order to launch and manage more strategic – yet more complex – incentive programs effectively?

Purpose-built systems to define, operationalize, and assess their incentives. -CLICK THE LINK TO READ MORE-

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Creating Channel Incentive Programs that Drive Performance and Increase Loyalty.

Wed, Oct 21, 2015 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM BST

Jennifer Hartwell | Product Marketing Manager | Revitas

2 PM ET | October 21st

-CLICK THE LINK TO SIGN UP FOR THIS WEBINAR-

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WEBINAR: Loyalty lessons from global brands: Turn your channel partners into fans and drive engagement from brands like Manchester United

Ian Hutchieson, Global Director, Channel Strategy at ICLP

and Stuart Evans, Director Global Loyalty Practice at ICLP

11 AM MT | September 17th

How do you increase partner engagement and boost your channel loyalty?

B2C companies have finely honed loyalty strategies to help them win and retain customers in highly competitive industries. Channel partner programs can benefit from B2C companies and leverage tested techniques that will help you not only attract and recruit new partners, but more fully engage with and retain your current valued partners.

Join Ian Hutchieson and Stuart Evans of global loyalty agency ICLP to learn how brand giants Manchester United, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and a major global airline have created a competitive advantage engaging and building loyalty. After all, your partners are customers!

Register today to learn how your channel program can deliver a ‘customer experience’ that exceeds your partners’ expectations.

B2C practices that really make a difference in the channel:

• How to combine gamification and loyalty marketing to engage and drive behaviour cost effectively

• Using readily available data to deliver a more meaningful, relevant, “all about me” experience for partners

• Creating a connection with your partners that will create brand advocates, not just resellers and increase sales.

-CLICK THE LINK TO JOIN THIS WEBINAR-

[estellejohannes]

WEBINAR: Creating a Journey of Transformation for Your Organization

Tue, Sep 1, 2015 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM BST

Alyssa Fitzpatrick | SVP Global Partners and Alliances | CA Technologies | 11 AM MT | September 1, 2015

Like any good relationship, a strong partnership needs to be built upon trust, respect and open communication. But what happens when that breaks down between partners? The business may need to evaluate and take responsibility for its own contribution. And, perhaps that means undergoing fundamental change – but how? In order for true change to be instituted, you must first identify and understand your objectives.

* What are you trying to achieve? *What are your goals for the organization? *Where do you want to be?

Only when you’ve identified business / channel challenges and conflicts and set milestones for success, can you begin to move ahead and map out a plan for success. To achieve the success you envision in your business and with your partners, you need to commit to the journey: it’s not a sprint, it’s a continuous movement that starts from the top down.

In this discussion, we will hear some the winning strategies and approaches for recognizing, planning, and moving teams and companies through a true journey of transformation.

-CLICK THE LINK TO WATCH THIS WEBINAR-

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WEBINAR: Overcoming the Channel Paradox - Eight Best Practices for Revenue Acceleration in the Channel

Channel teams are caught between the need to grow significant revenue through channel and a number of paradoxical factors that make it difficult for success.

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Tom Gorey | Vice President, Indirect Channels | Integra 10 AM MT | August 13, 2015 Changing dynamics in the channel involve new and promising routes to market including the emergence of VADs, MSPs, SaaS, and the “cloud”. In this changing market, telcos play a vital role in offering connectivity for managed services, convergence of fixed and mobile solutions, and the scale to deliver services across a wide and expanding marketplace. This informative webinar offers a thought-provoking look at how you can partner with large telecommunications service providers and not get squashed in the process.

-CLICK THE LINK TO JOIN THIS WEBINAR-

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Jennifer Hartwell | Product Marketing Manager | Revitas 12 PM MT; 2 PM ET | August 6 Channel teams are caught between the need to grow significant revenue through channel and a number of paradoxical factors that make it difficult for success. Highly skilled channel partners are typically less engaged and loyal than ever before, and a lack of support systems prevents efficiency expected from the channel operations. As a result, there is an imperative need to optimize channel effectiveness. Having worked with leading channel-intensive organizations for more than 25 years, Revitas has identified the top eight best practices which are proven to optimize channel effectiveness for improved outcomes. In this upcoming live session, we will review these best practices in depth – the resulting business impacts, why they work, and how to overcome system challenges. Join us on August 6th, 2015 at 2:00 pm EDT, to learn how to: • Increase channel revenue with improved incentive programs • Improve cost-efficiency of sales by eliminating overspend • Strengthen partner engagement with better insight and more profitable programs • Improve program and product performance using robust analytics

-CLICK THE LINK TO JOIN THIS WEBINAR-

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Business Outcomes - Who are Your Partners Selling to? The Demise of CTO and Rise of the "C" Suite Decision Makers!

Wed, Jul 15, 2015 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM BST

Richard Flynn | Sr Principal | Spur Group

10 AM MT | July 15

The customer has fundamentally changed. The partner of tomorrow requires a different business model because customers are expecting more from their partners. You need to retool your channel offerings to remain relevant. End users are asking for total solutions from technology platforms to address their business issues. This trend requires partners to be much more sophisticated in their approach to the market, offering real value-added services to complement what the vendor provides, and articulating the business benefits of the technology solutions they are recommending. This webinar will provide 5 powerful takeaways to help guide your channel program through this shifting technology landscape.

-CLICK THE LINK TO REGISTER FOR THIS WEBINAR-

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WEBINAR: The Channel Focus Benchmark Survey - The Results: What Really Matters to Vendors and Partners

Thu, Jun 25, 2015 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM BST

Rod Baptie | President | Baptie & Co

10 AM MT | June 25

How do your Channel programs measure up? Are you running the programs you need? We asked the Channel Focus audience to rate the importance of a variety of channel programs and how successful they felt these Channel programs were. Their feedback provides both invaluable insights and unique peer feedback to enable you to benchmark the programs you are running and track how these programs are changing over time. This is an annual survey run by Channel Focus and is one of the most popular webinars we run each year. -CLICK THE LINK TO SECURE YOUR SPOT ON TOMORROWS WEBINAR NOW-

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Rethinking Channel Strategy for the Internet of Things

Tue, Jun 16, 2015 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM BST

Presented by John DeSarbo | Principal | Sales Channel Strategy and Management | ZS

The buzz in the channel regarding the Internet of Things is getting louder every day. Analysts are predicting the market for IOT solutions will exceed $7 trillion by 2020. Tech vendors are forming alliances that span industry sectors to capitalize on the opportunity. This cross-industry collaboration is not only driving product innovation, but also channel convergence. The lines between the traditional IT, industrial technology and consumer products channels are blurring as channel partners scramble to expand their portfolios and build new capabilities. How should vendors choose the optimal channels for new IT offerings? What channels will enterprise customers prefer in the future? Should you enable your current channels or build new routes-to-market? In this presentation, we outline an approach for answering these questions to define a a winning go-to-market strategy in an increasingly connected world.

-CLICK THE LINK TO REGISTER FOR THIS WEBINAR-

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Event description:

Join us for a free webinar presented by Rod Baptie on "Benchmark survey and Concluding remarks: The Channel Focus Benchmark survey – The Results – What Really Matters to Vendors and Partners?"

During the Channel Focus 2015 conference, attendees were asked to rate various industry features and best practices in a survey. At the culmination of the two-day event, these results were presented in an insightful read-out on what your industry peers think about channel programs, techniques, and strategies.This webinar will provide you with important takeaway strategies and key messages to begin to enable new channel management strategies in your office.

-CLICK THE LINK TO REGISTER NOW-

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SMART, Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Time sensitive, are the components of good KPIs (key performance indicators). Find out how your organization can make SMART decisions with their KPIs.Click here to read the full article

CHANNEL INSIGHT BLOG by Renee Real: Using KPIs to Grow Channel Business.

Want to use KPI’s even more effectively? Here’s how:

SMART, Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Time sensitive, are the components of good KPIs (key performance indicators). Find out how your organization can make SMART decisions with their KPIs. 

-CLICK THE LINK TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE-

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I read a fascinating article in The New York Times titled “Adviser Guides Obama Into the Google Age.” While I was shocked to learn that the government still partly operates its technology with floppy disks—that’s right, the old 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch floppy disks—I was not surprised to see the importance and clout of the White House’s technology ad...

BLOG: CUSTOMERS NEED PARTNERS, TO by John DeSarbo, ZS Associates.

I read a fascinating article in The New York Times titled “Adviser Guides Obama Into the Google Age.” While I was shocked to learn that the government still partly operates its technology with floppy disks—that’s right, the old 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch floppy disks—I was not surprised to see the importance and clout of the White House’s technology advisor.

The ubiquity and nonstop evolution of technology leaves many companies struggling to learn and effectively use the tools at their disposals. Sure, a government weaning itself from flimsy disks that can barely store more than a few Microsoft Office documents is an extreme example. However, there is a growing need fortechnology vendors to provide greater supportfor customers throughout the buying cycle to ensure they not only get the most out of their products and services but also to ensure they are cultivating lasting relationships. This also is true of vendors’ channel partners. In fact, the importance of the customer and channel partnership has given rise to education and support networks. For example, VMware’s Partner Network claims to offer, “A wide range of training programs that cover every aspect of virtualization and cloud computing to build your skills and enable you to become a trusted advisor to your customers.”

-CLICK THE LINK TO READ MORE-