Channel Incentive Programs

Why Channel Marketing Is NOT A Field of Dreams

July 29, 2014 by Travis Smith

Kevin Costner has headlined some of my favorite sports movies of all time, including Tin Cup and Bull Durham. But perhaps his most loved and best-known sports film is “Field of Dreams,” famous for the line, “If you build it, he will come.” The story involves a down-on-his-luck farmer in the Midwest who suddenly hears a mysterious voice encouraging him to build a baseball diamond where his cornfield currently stands. Taking a leap of faith, the farmer decides to build the diamond, and the move eventually pays off as 1000s of visitors eventually line up to come see the “Field of Dreams.”

I’m someone who loves to see people make bold moves and follow their heart, but in Channel Marketing you can’t just “build it” and leave it up to fate. Many companies with the best intentions go and build “Fields of Dreams” in the form of partner portals, marketing resources, learning management systems, partner relationship management solutions. They “build it” with the assumption that their channel partners will magically “come” and use these valuable resources, resulting in more sales and a stronger, more committed channel. An even bigger myth is that these “Fields of Dreams” will attract a new crop of partner prospects. However, unless your channel is exclusive to your products, the results and returns on these dreams always disappoint.

All too often I see companies building channel marketing plans, investing time and money into various systems without a clear path for achieving returns. They simply feel that if they “build it,” the partner “will come” and engage by embracing their new systems. But the good news is your investment in these valuable channel resources and tools don’t need to be like taking a leap of faith. A well-designed channel incentive program that shines a light on, rewards for, and recognizes key selling behaviors (including frequenting the systems “built,” such as your partner portals, marketing solutions, learning systems, etc.) can help build a strong channel partnership, one that offers a clear path to profitability. By highlighting these behaviors and introducing compelling rewards, you can help your partners understand WIIFM while laying out a blueprint for successfully selling your products. Ultimately, this will make for an easier, more clear-cut choice when they are deciding whether to do business with you or your competitors.

So remember: When it comes to Channel Marketing Programs, just because you build it, doesn’t mean they will come.

How do you design the right channel incentive program?

What is the right reward and reward investment for your partner demographic?

As always please reach out with questions or comments!

Move the Channel,
Travis

Filed Under: Channel Chief, Channel Incentive Programs, Channel Marketing Guide, Engagement Portal, Investing in Your Channel, Key Performance Indicators, Return on Investment, Trackable Marketing Initiatives

Lady Gaga, Channel Marketing, and the Importance of Analytics

July 15, 2014 by Travis Smith

Recently, I was reading the blog of one of my favorite influencers, Bernard Marr. In his post, “What Lady Gaga Can Teach You About Analytics,” I learned some really interesting—and surprising—things about Lady Gaga and how she leverages analytics to benefit her brand.

For years Lady Gaga has been a leader and trendsetter in the social media arena. Back in 2008, she was one of the first entertainers to take advantage of the vast potential of platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Today, she has an astounding 42 million followers on Twitter and over 66 million “Likes” on Facebook; however, along the way Gaga has realized that despite her incredible following, she doesn’t own these databases and can’t fully leverage their power in the distinctively creative ways that she is famous for.

So what did she do? She decided to simply point direct her followers to her own personal website, LittleMonsters.com. This is where the real magic of analytics is manifested. On this site that she controls, she’s able to capture her fans’ information and use the resulting data in innovative ways, such as tailoring her concert set lists to the preferences of fans in particular regions. She also has boosted her merchandise sales by 30% by using fan artwork that’s been uploaded to her site on t-shirts and other clothing. Once again, Gaga is leading the way in harnessing the impressive power of analytics, big data, and social media.

“But it’s not just the music industry that can use big data to its advantage,” says Marr. “Any company—or indeed anyone—can, and should use data to make better decisions. And companies who don’t do that will be left behind.”

Mr. Marr, I couldn’t agree more!

So, what can the channel marketing community learn from Lady Gaga?

1.) Social Media is NOT the source of knowing your Channel Partners and Market Ambassadors. It’s simply a way to build awareness of and drive traffic to your own space/website.

2.) What’s the BEST way to create your OWN website and space that will engage and appeal to your channel partner’s and partner’s sales people? Without question a channel incentive program packs the biggest draw of this audience.

3.) Capturing Partner and Partner Sales People Insight: Once you have designed a convincing Channel Rewards Program, your channel will start to surrender more information than you could hope for. This is more than just finding out who is selling your products—it’s who they are selling to, what complimenting vendors are part of their solution, what % of their sales are yours, what incentives motivate them, and what kind of dream awards are on their “wish list.”

4.) With this new channel insight, the opportunities to improve partner communication, marketing, training—and, well, “partnering”—are endless. In fact, this information may open up a whole new world that you never even knew existed.

Most of us are aware that well designed Channel Incentive Programs can always yield terrific gains when it comes to grabbing channel mind and market share. These results speak for themselves. But it’s also true that the #1 reason that leading companies implement and invest in channel incentive programs is for partner, partner sales people, and end-user information and insight. Why? Because when you know your partners and partners’ sales people, you know how to talk with them, how to sell with them.

So far, we have only scratched the surface regarding the powerful potential of data collection during the early parts of channel incentive programs. But think about the sales and training data that can be tracked and harnessed after years 1,2,3, and beyond! What will that data yield as far as insight into how to improve your business and your channel? How valuable will that information be as you make key decisions about the direction of your company? At HMI-MMI, we’ve developed R-Cube, a software-as-a-system (SaaS) that is a lethal combination of technology, process, and research expertise. In a way, companies that invest in this level of data management can become just a bit like Lady Gaga: always on the cutting edge of channel analytics.

Are you using Channel Incentive Programs to capture elusive data? Are you analyzing that data to make better decisions going forward…. to Move the Channel?

As always, please reach out with questions or comment!

Move the Channel,
Travis

Filed Under: Channel Incentive Leadership Forum, Channel Incentive Programs, Channel Marketing Guide, Customer Insight, Engagement Portal, Point of Influence, Return on Investment

Channel Partner Incentives: The Ultimate Reward for your Channel Partner

July 1, 2014 by Travis Smith

As many of you know, I have been in the business of recommending, designing, implementing, and managing channel incentive strategies for my clients for a long time now. Over the years, this experience has enabled me to recognize some of the most critical components of a successful channel incentive program, including identifying the behaviors you want to drive, developing the right rule structure, targeting the right “player” in the channel, and executing a sticky and engaging communications. However, I’ve also noticed that one component that can sometimes get lost amidst all of these program nuances is the actual incentive reward you choose to offer in order to MOVE YOUR CHANNEL. Hiding in plain sight, the most obvious and central element of your channel incentive program—the incentive itself—can become secondary in importance if you’re not vigilant about it. Take it from me, your program can have the best rules structure, the snazziest incentive portal, and all of the right engagement bells and whistles, but if you don’t have a reward that truly motivates the participant, it will all be for naught.

In my experience, there are two important factors to consider when providing a great incentive reward:

1.) The value, or the “perceived value” of the reward. Is the reward enough to engage and change behavior? Making sure that the actions you are requesting are worthwhile for the program participants is obviously vital to the success of achievement of those actions. When the participant asks “What’s in it for me?” (WIIFM)….. the answer needs to be something exciting, desirable, & clear.

2.) The type of reward. This is often the main driver of significant gains in these channel incentive programs. Depending on the demographics of your program audience, there are many appealing rewards options. Most of the programs I recommend and manage allow the channel partner to choose what reward motivates them the most. By promoting this sense of autonomy, I’ve found that partners assume an added sense of ownership over their programs, which ultimately drives performance. They earn program currency (points) by achieving their goals or increasing certain sales driven activates (Steps-to-the-Sale). This award system is very effective and gives the participant the choice of endless merchandise, real-time travel options, online event tickets, a plethora of experience awards, and a personalized concierge service.

So what’s the best type of reward? Is there a “best?” Without question, I’ve found that the undisputed champion of Channel Partner Rewards or Incentive is Group Travel Incentives. If your channel incentive program rewards its top-performing sales and channel partners with an incentive program then you know there is no greater form of recognition than achieving “President’s Club” status and taking a once-in-a-lifetime trip to an exotic destination. Typically, these trips are more than just your average vacation; to be sure, they afford unique opportunities for fun, relaxation, and adventure, however they also provide the perfect networking opportunities in which to mingle with other high-achieving coworkers, peers, partners, and executive management. The memories and personal connections that these types of programs offer can very often lead to a lifetime of loyalty and lasting friendships.

Does your Channel Marketing Program Include and Group Travel Incentive Component?

Move the Channel,

Travis

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Filed Under: Channel Incentive Programs, Group Incentive Travel, Return on Experience, Steps-to-the-Sales STTS, Trackable Marketing Initiatives

Global Channel Incentive Programs: Plan Global, Execute Local.

June 24, 2014 by Travis Smith

USA images

There are a handful of channel incentive companies that think they have the resources in place to run a global incentive program, but only a few who have actually executed these types of programs successfully. The reality is global incentive programs are hard. God knows I have a ton of scar tissue from years of trying to iron out the many wrinkles that my programs have had to adjust to.

This past week I was in meetings with some of the brightest, most experienced and accomplished global channel incentive thought leaders in the country. These people are the brains behind 4 of the 6 leading global incentive programs in operation today. While I definitely learned a lot from these meetings, there was one concept in particular that stood out: “Plan global, execute local.” I love this motto. Not many years ago, the main factors for global programs—as opposed to regional independent programs—were that manufacturers wanted “the 3 C’s”: consistency in quality, controls (single pane of glass reports & audits), and continuity in best practices. So, back then we would roll out a centralized program that scaled across the globe with local delivery and customer service. This was a success!

In the short term, we achieved the 3 C’s. However, over time we realized that our solution was not flawless. For example, the various regions and countries didn’t want to be told how to engage and motivate their local partners. “The Americans don’t know my partners,” they would say—and they were right. We don’t always know what participants in one country want versus another. So how do we still share the technology investment and best practices without force-feeding a one-size-fits-all strategy into APAC solutions? One thing you can do provide them with local program management resources that can allow them to design and communicate their own programs that are unique to their regions, their partners, and their business objectives. HMI-MMI is built for this type of support and program management.

True, this model comes with an increased cost; but the incremental mindshare and market share gains make this “plan global, execute local” strategy a no-brainer!

Is your global channel incentive program giving localized flexibility to multinational sales teams? Are you considering extending your program across the globe?

As always, reach out to me with idea, questions, and comments.

Move the Channel,

Travis

email me

Filed Under: Channel Chief, Channel Incentive Leadership Forum, Channel Incentive Programs, Channel Marketing Guide, Communication Strategy, Global Channel Incentive Programs

Channel Marketing: Is there really such a thing as a “good” problem?

June 10, 2014 by Travis Smith

Last week I was talking to a Channel Chief about her business, and she offered the following: “We are very excited that we met on our quota of new partner recruits last quarter. But now we’re struggling to give them the attention and training they need. I guess it’s a good problem.”

Here’s the rub. Most of the time, these “good problems” have to do with an increase in new business or new channel partners. However, I personally don’t believe there is such a thing as a good problem. You are either managing your business properly by anticipating the challenges that accompany success, or you’re not. If you’re a channel organization, one of your goals is to bring new partners into the fold who can help drive new business. But, if you aren’t able to support those new partners, then it’s liable to be bad for business, and anything that is bad for business can’t be good. I think that in order to be successful, you need to expect success. You need to be prepared for growth that might put a strain on your business, for new partners who will need your help closing and delivering on your solutions. When you anticipate these challenges, you can develop the tools that are required to solve them, such as a channel sales support team, a channel training team, and a scalable channel program that makes it easier for your partner to become more self-sufficient.

The thing about a “good problem” is that it sounds, well, good. I call it what it is, a “bad problem”, because bad is something you want to avoid.

We all have talked about our “good problems”. Next time you catch yourself saying those words, let it be an alarm for you to assess your business. Let’s be honest and call them what they are, BAD Problems. If we aren’t honest, we will always be OK with “Good” problems. When we admit there are no good problems, we can avoid bad problems in the future and start focusing on good opportunities to grow the business.

Move the Channel,

Travis

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Filed Under: Channel Conduit of the Week, Channel Incentive Programs, Communication Strategy, Uncategorized

Mobile Up! The Top 5 Reasons why it’s time for Channel Marketing Mobile Apps

June 3, 2014 by Travis Smith

#1: Everyone has a smartphone today. Almost all of your channel partners, channel partner sales, and their sales engineers—basically EVERYONE you want to engage—have a smartphone. This morning, the Pew Internet & American Life Project released new survey data (n=2,252 US adults) on smartphone adoption. The organization says that 56 percent of all US adults now have smartphones. However, among the population of mobile phone owners (91 percent of US adults), the smartphone penetration number is now 61 percent, up from 35% three years ago. What’s more, when we segment high-earning professionals like our channel partner’s sales and sales engineers, that number goes even higher.

If the #1 on the list isn’t enough reason alone, read on…

#2: Access to your Audience: Much of our audience is in the field—right where we want them to be. Because of this, Mobile allows us unprecedented access to our partners. In fact, most don’t even need to come back to the office to check their emails anymore. That probably also means they aren’t going back to the office to browse what’s new on your partner portal, either.

#3: Communication: Your partner program lives where your audience lives, and nowadays that life is mobile, on their smartphone. Your channel marketing logo (http://movethechannel.com/?p=292) can now sit next door to their Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn apps, like one big happy community. Making your channel program mobile enables your audience to quickly access key information that can help them sell more, determine what to sell, and close more frequently. In addition to giving them access to these tools, we can also push communications and text messages to them, which comes in handy with promotions and channel reward programs.

#4: Motivate and Engage: We’re all familiar with the maxim “out of site, is out of mind.” With a channel program app, we’re never out of sight. Talk about mindshare! Also, a mobile app means we don’t have to wait for the participant to come to us; now we can come to them. For example, we can now push notifications about incentive promotions for certain products, offer leaderboard updates, let participants know their percent to goal, and send them an alert when they have enough points to redeem for that family vacation on their program Wish List!

#5: Capture Key Insight: With mobile apps you can also capture key data that is critical to your business. One challenge of a channel go-to-market strategy is that you lose a little bit of direct access to the end-user. But now, you can reward your channel partners for uploading pictures of the solution or the competitive product that needs replaced. Do people still talk about conversions as a KPI? You can also have a claims process on the app so helps ensure you are giving credit to the right sales person or SE at the right partner.

The biggest question in terms of going mobile: Where do I get started? I don’t encourage you to start from scratch. Make sure you are working with a platform that already supports mobile technology. If you are working on a partner platform it is a much smaller investment for Mobile Apps features. For example HMI Performance Incentives will soon be offering a “Starter App” for our client’s channel incentive reward program that starts at around $10,000.

Looking for some mobile ideas? Shoot me an email with any questions.

Do you have a Mobile App for your Channel Marketing & Channel Incentive Program?

Move the Channel,

Travis

Filed Under: Channel Incentive Programs, Global Channel Incentive Programs

Your Channel Marketing Program: If you can’t explain it simply,….

May 27, 2014 by Travis Smith

…you don’t understand it well enough. And your channel partners understand your programs even less than you. I have seen Channel Program Brochures that are 10 pages long, and presentation Channel Program overviews that are more than 40 slides.

We often get so involved in delivering MORE resources and MORE benefits, that we get trapped into thinking MORE is always better. It can be—to a point. Usually more resources and more benefits are a positive, but if your program needs a map and compass just to navigate through it, chances are you’ve overdone it.

Move the Channel has developed a Channel Marketing Guide & R.I.M.E.S chart. Don’t be trapped into thinking that you need to employ every one of the bullet points in your channel marketing program. Rather, consider the few that would be most impactful for your business and the relationship you have with your channel partners.

Download your MTC Channel Marketing Guide and RIMES Chart here:

Enter your name and email address to download Move the Channel Guide and RIMES Chart

Name: Email:

Move the Channel,

Travis

Filed Under: Channel Chief, Channel Conduit of the Week, Channel Incentive Programs, Channel Marketing Guide, RIMES Chart, Smart Channel

The Worst thing you can do for your Channel Partners

May 20, 2014 by Travis Smith

Your Channel Distribution Partners have always been an important part of your business. Today we know more than ever we have understanding and insights into our distribution that enable to be a better partner. However, the more we understand the channel network, the more we realize how complex the channel ecosystem really is. It is easy to get lost and lose significance in such a complex ecosystem. However, we also know that with complexity comes great opportunity.

This points to a deeper question: Are you a positive influence on your channel ecosystem, causing it to thrive or are you passively watching the ecosystem fluctuate? If your channel marketing engagement and incentive programs look the same or similar as they did 5 or even 2 years ago, YOU are watching…. Not influencing.

I see it time and time again: A manufacturer feels like they have reached their initial channel marketing goals, and decides that they no longer want or need to push the envelope to get the most out of their channel. What begins as a goal-oriented strategy that’s based on growth and progress eventually seems to plateau into what is comfortable, familiar, and relatively risk-averse.

But make no mistake: I believe this is the WORST thing you can do for your channel partners, which is to say keep doing what you’re doing.

“But we are recognized by CRN as having a five star program—why should we change?”

“We have worked hard to offer our channel a partner portal, marketing resources, field resources, as well as some of the best benefits in the industry—why should we rock the boat?”

An effective channel marketing program should be a journey, not a destination. The moment you decide that your program has “made it” is the moment it starts to become stale.

Are you bringing new talent into your channel organization that includes fresh ideas and a unique perspective? Are you working with new (or at least new to you) leading vendors who bring upgraded best practices and ways to engage the channel?

As always, send me a note with ideas or to discuss further.

Move the Channel,

Travis

Filed Under: Channel Chief, Channel Incentive Programs, Engagement Portal, Global Channel Incentive Programs, Investing in Your Channel

What is a Channel Engagement Portal?

April 30, 2014 by Travis Smith

What is a Channel Engagement Portal? Before I explain what it is, maybe first I should start by telling you what it is NOT.

It’s NOT a robust LMS, or a heavy training, certification, and accreditation solution.
It’s NOT a robust marketing center where partners can co-brand and customize messaging and campaigns on demand.
It’s NOT a rebate or co-op management and distribution solution.
It’s NOT a robust CRM system, nor a social networking site.
It is NOT a Channel Rewards or cash spiff program.

E Portal Log In

Now, with that being said, here’s what an engagement portal IS:

It IS the perfect platform for new products readiness & competitive positioning readiness training. And it can totally integrate with those necessary LMS systems to track and reward important accomplishments.
It IS ideal for serving up the latest and most relevant content to help your partners sell and stay informed.
It IS an effective tool for creating awareness and excitement for the principal, while also serving up their % to goals and partner level tiers.
It IS a great way to reward and motivate the partner’s salespeople for KPIs that are being tracked and measured in your CRM.
It IS a platform that can be used to incentivize social behavior related to a partner’s business.
It IS an essential part of rewarding your channel stakeholders. It’s what ties all of their good selling behaviors together. While you reward for training, sales, KPIs, social sharing, etc., they can redeem for merchandise, travel, event tickets, or anything else that engages people.

If you can only see Engagement Portals for what they can’t do, then you’re probably ignoring the inherent value that they can bring to any partner program. Maybe it IS time you kicked that glass-half-empty vision and started taking advantage of these platforms’ full potential.

If you want to hear or see more about the power of Engagement Portals shoot me a note here: Contact Us

Move the Channel,
Travis

Filed Under: Channel Incentive Programs, Channel Marketing Guide, Communication Strategy, Engagement Portal Tagged With: Engagement Portal

Channel Marketing: In With The Old, and The New (Part 1)

April 28, 2014 by Travis Smith

The old model of channel marketing features three main components: partner benefits, sales resources and training, and quarterly goal setting.

On the other hand, the new model of channel marketing focuses on channel community/collaboration, educating (not just product training), and motivating the POI (Point of Influence).

Well guess what? The old model is still the foundation for a successful channel. The new way simply AMPLIFIES the old way.

As much as the channel has evolved in recent years, there are still many aspects of it that remain the same. For instance, you still need benefits that offer profitability to the partner at the firm-level. You still need serious ease of selling resources to move the partner’s sales and sales management. You still need clear goals to make sure everyone’s objectives are aligned.

Although these continue to be pillars of a channel partner program, we now find ourselves strengthening and enhancing these areas in new ways.

Program benefits now includes being part of a channel community where ideas are shared, experiences become best practices, and solutions to the end-user are delivered collaboratively.

Time-honored sales resources and training now also tend to include industry knowledge-sharing and value-creation training that is elastic and able to be delivered in timely, relevant “lessons.” The process of “Educating” is developed by the training department but in conjunction with the channel marketing and sales teams that are in the field selling.

Finally, the Partner Firm-level is still typically the target of many incentives and communications; but now we have also extended our engagement and messaging to target the POI (Point of Influence), which is mainly the partner’s sales or sales engineers that interface directly with the end-user customer. Before, it used to be the touch to the POI was with Cash Spiffs. Today, a true engagement and incentive program enables you to reward the partner’s sales people for behaviors that lead to sales or Steps-to-the-Sale (STTS)!

Sometimes the more things change the more they stay the same. Are you embracing the New, or is your channel program just getting Old? Maybe it should be a bit of both. . .

Move the Channel,

Travis

Filed Under: Channel Incentive Programs, Channel Marketing Guide, Communication Strategy, Investing in Your Channel, Point of Influence, Steps-to-the-Sales STTS

Channel Partner Programs don’t matter unless you target your Partner’s Sales People

April 15, 2014 by Travis Smith

I know many of us in the Move the Channel community tend to focus on Channel Partner Programs that deal in Partner-level or firm-level benefits. Now don’t get me wrong, these can certainly act as critical foundations for the formal partnership between you and your supply chain partners. BUT these types of programs don’t always differentiate you from your competitors, and they often don’t move the channel or grow market share as well as you might like. The exception here would be if your Channel Partners are made up of small companies, where the principal also happens to be the salesperson. You see this with many companies that sell through small contractors, dealers, or consultants. In these cases, the firm-level benefits are actually targeting the firm’s salesperson, which, I will argue, is really where you can strike with your program.

What are these important but industry standard firm-level benefits?

Quarterly & Annual Rebates
Manufacture Development Programs
Pricing Discounts Schedules
Registration & Demo Programs
Training Minimums and Requirements

I know these kinds of benefits are not easy things to design, and they can certainly be a lot of work to manage and articulate. But at the end of the day,

Miguel Cabrera POI

90% of your Partner/Firm-Level Programs are actually made of the same components. Sure your discount might be more exciting or your MDF program might be appreciated, but even if your program is superior to your competitor’s, it’s probably only a month or so away from being matched by the competition.

So where do we see real impact? How do we actually MOVE THE CHANNEL? The biggest impact and most measurable movement can be realized when you effectively target, engage, and incentivize performance at the Point of Impact (POI). Also known as the Point of Influence, the POI is the person in the channel that can best influence the sale—to YOUR END USER. Believe it or not, the POI is almost always your channel partner’s salesperson or sales engineer. It is the individual who interfaces with your end customers, the person with influence who can take advangtage of THEIR relationship with YOUR end customer. Each Industry and every company has its own vernacular for this person, but we at Move the Channel have coined this strategic player the POI.

Behaviors you may want to impact at the POI

Increased Deal Registration
Training Completions
Individual Sales and Goals
Target Prospect Engagements
Customer Introductions
POC or Evaluation Placements

When you design a program and performance incentive strategy around the POI, you are engaging at the most valuable touch point in the channel—the Point of Influence. Programs that can engage and motivate at this level are much more difficult to duplicate, and thus they have a more profound impact on the sale and overall market share.

Make sure your Partner/Firm-Level benefits are top-notch, but also quickly turn your marketing genius and resource to the people in the channel that have the real influence you are looking for . . . the POI.

Move the Channel,

Travis

Filed Under: Channel Incentive Programs, Channel Marketing Guide, Communication Strategy, Customer Insight, Key Performance Indicators, Point of Influence, RIMES Chart, Steps-to-the-Sales STTS

Your Channel Partners need more Coaches, Not Discounts

March 24, 2014 by Travis Smith

This was a terrific sports weekend for the Smith house. March Madness is always a favorite time of year, but this week was especially fun. First, my wife’s alma mater, the University of Dayton, beat my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the big dance. Then they went on to upset the mighty Orangemen of Syracuse to move on to the Sweet 16 for the first time in almost 30 years. To top that off, our local high school made an amazing run in the State basketball tournament to earn Division I State Champion Runner-Up. But by far, the highlight of the weekend was witnessing my old high school basketball coach finally win a Division II State Championship.

Of all the big sports news from the weekend, why was this so important to me? Even though it has been 20 years since I graduated from high school, I still feel a great deal of loyalty, appreciation, and pride for Coach Gray. Many of the lessons he imparted to us as juniors and seniors have stayed with me to this day, and it seems a bit strange now to think that in the course of my life, one of the most important and inspiring teachers I ever had was a coach. Somehow, through his leadership, he was always able to get the most out of us, his players.

Leadership is a skill that is required in business as much as it is in sports. Take channel marketing and sales leaders, for example. Much of your efforts are spent designing, implementing, and marketing the perfect partner program. Discounts structures, rebate tiers, MDFs, CO-OPs, partner benefits, etc., are all foundations for any Channel Partner Program. In fact, Move the Channel has published its own Channel Marketing Guide and RIMES Chart to serve as a sort of “playbook” for all of these critical features.

But even if you have the best playbook in the business, it’s difficult to get the best results without an effective “coach” to implement the plays and motivate the “players.” These coaches are the people in your channel organization who interface directly and consistently with your channel partners. They are the people selling in the field whose compensation is linked to the partners they support. In many organizations, their main role is to “manage” their accounts; but if they’ve never managed (or coached) before, they might have a hard time doing this efficiently, with deals only getting done when they are heavily involved.

The people that interface with your channel partner need to have a coach’s mentality. All too often in business we have a first practice, hand out the playbook, and check back in the next quarter to review how many rebounds, assists, and points the partner and partner’s salespeople scored for our team. These partner “coaches” need to recognize the partner’s strengths and weaknesses in order to identify how that partner might best contribute to the “team.” This takes time, energy, organization, and leadership—basically a coach’s approach. In the short term, this can lead to increased mind share, market share, and sales. In the long-term, you will have a partner who is loyal and appreciative, and who takes pride in working with your championship-caliber organization. Just don’t expect them to call you “coach.”

Enjoy the rest of March Madness and make it a great week!

Move the Channel,
Travis

Filed Under: About Travis, Channel Chief, Channel Incentive Programs, Channel Marketing Guide, Investing in Your Channel, RIMES Chart, Steps-to-the-Sales STTS

The first 45 KPIs or indicators of a good Channel Partner according to… YOU.

March 11, 2014 by Travis Smith

Last week I asked you to list your Top 3 Channel KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) “here”. I asked this question throughout the various LinkedIn groups and our very own Move the Channel Community. And YOU delivered, with countless KPIs ideas. Here are the first 45.

These are only first 45. It’s interesting to pick out the unique KPIs like “employee turnover”. And to point out the most popular KPI, “training/enablement investment”. Training and Enablement is the clear winner with 17% of the first 45 KPIs mentioned.

I will be providing commentary and analysis on these submissions, but wanted to provide the initial feedback ASAP.

Click here to participate in the discussion. HERE

Enjoy!

Move the Channel,
Travis

Here are the first 45 in YOUR own words.

Money they spent (out of their own pocket) in promoting my portfolio to their customers
Deal registrations and corresponding conversion rate
Enablement investments (time, money) for their sales and sales engineering teams.
Pipeline growth and velocity
Strategic opportunities. For instance, I may have a partner with a small volume of opportunities, yet they are all sourced from a key vertical or market segment we are trying to penetrate.
Unique IP jointly developed by our respective organizations
Certifications in product or technical support
Customer complaints or redos (how often do they get it right the first time)
Employee turnover
Share of wallet
Certification investment
Portfolio breadth
Tenure
Transaction frequency
Sales skills,
Market knowledge,
Loyalty
Number of dedicated Head counts.
A clear business plan
Integration with its other line of business
Marketing Know-how – simple branding, or social media or in-person events.
Take interest in talking 1X p/month about the business, their needs and future direction
Proactively prepare for all discussions and include the right members of their team
Solicit vendor input on their business ideas, offerings and go to market strategies
Accept constructive feedback and feel empowered to deliver it
Utilize the training, marketing and sales tools we’re providing
Number of specialists / engineers that have been “trained”
QoQ or YoY pipeline growth from those people
Number of new sales appointments set (IMPORTANT)
Learning investment with our products / solutions.
Exclusivity (Are we their sole product for the application?)
Partners who willingly participate in quarterly business planning sessions with the Vendor and jointly establish measurable goals and activities to achieve same
Partners that are committed to real growth as opposed to just maintaining their current profit levels, pre-retirement
Partners that view hardware and technology as enablement platforms for longer-term, solutions-based selling, rather than a sales goal in and of itself
Have the ability to market/attract new customers
Have knowledge of your product and where it’s a fit
Have knowledge of the industry
The reps get “enough” (simpler than alternatives, more margin, etc.) benefit from selling your product
Present our products FIRST on their line card
Engage us in training, strategy and ramping to market
Stay engaged in active prospecting and business planning.
Which partners are actively executing programs?
What topics are driving customer interest?
Which partners are leading customer engagement?
Which media channels are delivering results?
competitive affinity (how closely is the partner aligned to my competitors)
social/external behavior in response to a specific program
Quarterly Growth (People/Revenue) of the partner

Filed Under: Channel Incentive Programs, Channel Marketing Guide, Global Channel Incentive Programs, Investing in Your Channel, Key Performance Indicators, Return on Investment, Steps-to-the-Sales STTS

Channel Conduit: Culture eats strategy for Breakfast

February 18, 2014 by Travis Smith

Over the last couple of weeks we have spent time discussing and debating the importance of developing a strategy and sharing the playbook with your channel partners. In this same vein, it’s also imperative for your organization to focus its sights internally in order to evaluate the special dynamics of its culture. Is your company culture a differentiator for you in the market? If so, it could be one of your biggest assets when it comes to creating a loyal partner network and Champions of your brand.

Just as many companies fail to include their partners in their channel strategies, so do they also neglect to share their organization’s principles & values with their channel. Invite your channel partners’ executive management to a usually internal team building event or a remote brainstorming sessions. Make sure to spend time not just on X’s & O’s but philosophy and various viewpoints. ROE (Return on Experience) is often achieved when you host your top performing channel partners to a group incentive trip to a desirable destination.

While your competition can adjust their strategy, pricing, and partner programs to look like yours, what they cannot so easily emulate is the unique culture of your organization. If your company has a winning culture, it is critical for you promote it, export it, and include your channel partners in the process. All else being equal, the right company culture can often make the difference between a reseller of product and a true champion of your brand.

Please shoot me a note with ideas and questions. I always enjoy the channel community’s feedback and thoughts!

Move the Channel,
Travis

Filed Under: Channel Chief, Channel Conduit of the Week, Channel Incentive Leadership Forum, Channel Incentive Programs, Group Incentive Travel, Return on Experience, Soft Benefits

When it comes Channel Incentive Programs, Global “Capabilities” are not enough

February 10, 2014 by Travis Smith

I love the Olympics! Especially when the host City is a place that I have never personally experienced. Although the World in many respects is getting smaller, when we see how distant and how foreign cultures can be we are reminded that Earth is wonderfully gigantic.

Most channel performance vendors these days say they have “Global Capabilities & Resources”. But be careful, when it comes to delivering an Engagement program globally, capabilities and resources are not enough.

When the agency I work for first started delivering channel incentive programs worldwide almost 10 years ago, we thought we knew everything there was to know about the global arena. But admittedly, even when we felt like we had all of our global resources and “capabilities” soundly in place, it wasn’t until we actually started executing these rewards programs that we were informed by the experience necessary to deliver world-class solutions. For example, translations can be tricky when expanding your program into foreign regions. This seems like a no-brainer. But also not to be overlooked is the challenge of providing awards that are culturally appropriate and/or appealing. If you don’t realize that cricket in India is actually a more engaging sport than soccer, or that some cultures prefer to emphasize team components over individual ones, you might be missing out on the complete potential of your program. Whether it’s the culturally appropriate award or the custom report for a region’s unique sales structure, often times these are the nuances that only experience can teach us.

Despite the inevitable wounds born from these types of challenging experiences, what I’ve found ultimately develops is a sort of thick scar tissue that makes our global business smarter and stronger. Instead of having to deal with the subtleties of such complex solutions on the fly, now we are better able to anticipate and manage them before they arise.

So guess what…the landscape, the technology, the laws, the strategies and KPIs, all of it will continue to change and evolve, often unpredictably. And while none of us have the answers for what’s to come in 2014, I have to say previous experience sure comes in handy.

Make sure your vendor partners have more than just Global Capabilities, but true international program experience. It’s the difference between a failed initiative and a Gold Medal Award-winning program.

As always, shoot me an email to let me know your global engagement program challenges or ideas.

Move the Channel,
Travis

Filed Under: Channel Incentive Programs, Communication Strategy, Global Channel Incentive Programs, Team Incentive

Super Bowl Edition: Share your playbook with your channel

February 3, 2014 by Travis Smith

I started my Super Sunday evening the same way I start every Sunday evening. I read my good friend Anthony Iannarino’s weekly Newsletter. Beyond being a good friend, Anthony is an author, professional speaker/trainer, and writes daily at The Sales Blog. If you want your sales organization to have an edge and become a “Level 4 Value Creator”, you need make Anthony apart of your Sunday too.

Anthony starts today’s newsletter reminding us when a team acquires a new player, that player is given a playbook. Inside that playbook is every play the team runs and the player is expected to memorize the book and its plays, cover-to-cover. He or she is expected to know how to execute his/her role so that the play—and team—succeeds.

A good playbook integrates all of their product knowledge, their sales process, their buyer’s roles, the necessary sales dialogues, and competitive information in some format the salesperson can actually use. Anthony goes on to point out the challenges facing sales organization who do not have a playbook or are not fully utilizing their current playbook. He presses further on the importance of the playbook issue by sharing ideas for developing a playbook.

But WE go-to-market through a Channel. Our channel partners are the ones that execute the plays in the field. This is where most channel organizations fall short. If you don’t share your playbook with your channel partners you will not make it to, let alone win the Super Bowl. Share with them the playbook that got you to be a leader in the industry. In a meeting, share the goals for the entire channel ecosystem, and why their role is so critical to the channel’s overall success. The companies that are able to do this well tend to have the best and most loyal channels.

A great way to share the playbook with the channel through a Channel Incentive Program that rewards for Steps-to-the-Sale behavior. Reward for knowing the playbook and executing plays that win new business.

Similar to a new NFL player and coach, do you share your playbook when you acquire a new partner?

Let’s make it a great week moving the channel!

Move the Channel,

Travis

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Filed Under: Channel Incentive Programs, Key Performance Indicators, Steps-to-the-Sales STTS

Channel Conduit: Why the most innovative, brightest companies rely on 3rd parties for Incentive Marketing Programs

January 30, 2014 by Travis Smith

The agency I work with is lucky enough to work with many of the world’s biggest and most innovative companies in the world. Why on earth would they need a 3^rd party to do anything? Well, they are very smart. Although they have more knowledge of their channel and how to engage them, they don’t have the experience of actually running award-winning channel performance incentive programs. Also like in their own industries, things move quickly. If you are not living and breathing channel performance incentive marketing, you are delivering a stale program.

It’s not that your team isn’t bright and capable. In fact they are probably superstars! Let them work with a 3^rd Party with experience and watch an amazing solution and results happen.

What channel marketing efforts are you trying to manage internally? Are you saving money or missing opportunity?

Move the Channel,
Travis

Filed Under: Channel Chief, Channel Conduit of the Week, Channel Incentive Programs, Communication Strategy, Global Channel Incentive Programs, Investing in Your Channel, Return on Investment, Smart Channel, Trackable Marketing Initiatives

Your channel engagement program is only as strong as your weakest link

January 27, 2014 by Travis Smith

weakest link gameshow First to be clear, when I refer to the “weakest link” I am not talking about channel stakeholder but the communication to or engagement of that channel participant.

I recently had a great conversation in the DMR – Channel Professional Network group in LinkedIn regarding my “Several Shades of Grey” post I made last month. It was a friendly, healthy exchange between two people that have extremely different views on what elements are needed and not needed to deliver the most effective engagement in a channel marketing program.

This conversation occurred over a number of weeks, and although I disagreed with much of what my challenger was expounding, I will admit that he did have some great points along the way. In fact, one point in particular even inspired me to write about it.

The individual argued that if “you missed one ‘link’ in the chain of a program, the entire program could fail.”

It always amazes me how many programs fail to recognize the importance of each “link,” or tier, in their channel when designing performance improvement programs. Almost all of the programs I work on attempt to engage their channel at the various POIs (Point of Influence). I coined the term POI as a way to identify the people in the channel who wield the greatest influence over a sale. They usually are the VAR or Dealer’s Sales Person or Sales Engineer. Indeed, this is where 70% of the effort, design, and investment of channel incentives should be focused.

Although the Points of Influence are the primary target, they are also traditionally the group that the manufacture or distributor are least connected to. So it is important to strengthen the links (secondary targets) that connect you to this group of individuals. For example, below I have listed some potential POIs and secondary targets within the channel, and proposed some different ways to strengthen your “link” to them:

Your Regional Manager (secondary) Giving them a rollup up and dashboard reporting of their teams’ performances
Your Salespeople & SEs (Secondary) Providing leaderboards and other gaming elements, and overriding the initial and after-market sales
Distributor (secondary or primary) Discounting for access to detailed POS data
Distributor Sales (secondary or primary) Overriding of Sales
VAR/ISV (primary) Reward for Sales, KPI, Training, and other behaviors that lead to sales STTP
VAR Salespeople and SEs (primary) Reward for Sales, KPI, Training, and other behaviors that lead to sales STTP

Notice: In order to engage the primary target, it doesn’t necessarily mean allocating a percentage of your incentive budget to the secondary targets. For example, you can get many of these tiers engaged through reporting, leaderboards, and other unique “gamification” elements.

What are some other creative ways to engage these secondary audiences?

As always, give me a ring or shoot me a note in LinkedIn to discuss!

Move the Channel,
Travis

Filed Under: Channel Incentive Programs, Communication Strategy, Investing in Your Channel, Key Performance Indicators, Point of Influence, Steps-to-the-Sales STTS, Uncategorized

4 things your distribution channel partners will expect in 2014

January 20, 2014 by Travis Smith

I am fresh back from a terrific family vacation in Southern California. I have a huge wonderful family in Pasadena and many friends from our years living in Dana Point. In addition to my many client visits throughout the year, I try to bring the family once a year to hang with grandparents, aunts and uncles, and the many cousins. This trip was filled with non-stop activities like the Rose Bowl, the Rose Parade, Disneyland, LEGOLAND, the BCS National Championship Game, and even surf lessons for my 6-year-old. Oh my! It’s definitely been a blast, but let’s just say I’m ready to get back to my “normal” schedule again. Now, down to business!

Let’s talk about what your Channel will expect from you in 2014.

1.) Simplicity — Your Channel Partners don’t want a partner program that looks like a Smith or Griswold family vacation (reference above or National Lampoon’s Vacation). They want a program that clearly states what is expected from them and what resources will be available to help them deliver solution to the market. Design an engagement and reward portal that gives them easy access to the handful of the most important components and tools available.

Here is great guide to make sure you aren’t over complicating things:

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2.) Clear Expectations — Yes, they Channel Partners need to know what your expectations are so they can build those expectations into their company goals for 2014. By integrating benefits like soft benefits into your channel incentive program you can deliver a personal touch that leads to deeper, stronger relationships with your partners.

3.) More Efficient Communication — Notice I did not say “MORE” communication. This year you should try to be more deliberate and concise with your message and how you deliver it. The channel has more “noise” than ever before, and how you communicate with your partners will help determine your success this year.

4.) Be A Part Of Something Great — Your channel partners don’t want to be chess piece in your overall company strategy—they want to feel as important as the first chair in a world-class symphony. Share with them in a meeting what the goals will be for the entire channel ecosystem, and why their role is so critical to the channel’s overall success. There is a reason why Martin Luther King said “I have a Dream”, and not “I have a Plan”. This is where most organizations tend to fall short. The companies that are able to do this well tend to have the best and most loyal channels.
It sure is great to be back. As always, send me an email or give me a ring with some of your ideas and questions. I couldn’t be more excited about moving the channel in 2014!

Hope you are enjoying Martin Luther King Day!

Move the Channel,
Travis

Filed Under: Channel Incentive Leadership Forum, Channel Incentive Programs, Channel Marketing Guide, Communication Strategy, RIMES Chart, Soft Benefits

Channel Conduit: What 28 Million People Learned About Giving Gifts from this Video

December 17, 2013 by Travis Smith

I love Westjet. We have a couple of clients and developers based in Toronto, and Westjet is always our favorite carrier that flies there. Why? Take a look at this must-watch holiday video about gift-giving that Westjet put together, and maybe you’ll understand:

When Santa asked people what they wanted for Christmas, what did they say? Big-screen TVs, cameras, toys, etc.

Why didn’t they say cash? Because when Santa asks, it’s magic, and if there is magic involved, why not ask for something you normally couldn’t afford or wouldn’t splurge on? You’re not spending your own family’s money—apparently this is goodwill currency & equity you’ve built up all year from being “good”. You and your family have earned it. Live it up!

Gift Giving

Can you imagine Santa giving out cash? Where is the joy, the fun in that? What type of experience would the receiver of the cash have had while everyone else was opening their gifts?

Happy Holidays, Channel-Movers! When rewarding your channel partners for being “good” all year, make sure you don’t flop by giving them cash. Give them something that builds loyalty and goodwill toward your brand.

Move the Channel,

Travis

PS Thanks for sharing this video with me Anthony

Filed Under: Channel Conduit of the Week, Channel Incentive Programs, Communication Strategy, Investing in Your Channel, Return on Experience, Return on Investment, Steps-to-the-Sales STTS

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