A Step-By-Step Guide to Setting Up a Successful Channel Strategy with Bruce Stuart

Do you have a channel strategy in place? You may have channel partners as part of your Go To Market Strategy, but do you have a strategy that includes how you will support your partners’ success? 

I’ve worked with many companies who sell through the channel and complain that their channel partners aren’t selling enough. 

In order for channel sales to be successful, your team has to understand how the potential partners are going to make money with the product or service you want them to sell. It’s not up to the partners to figure it out, it’s up to you.

My guest today is Bruce Stuart, a partner at CHANNELCORP and a 30+ year veteran helping companies develop profitable channel strategies. 

In this episode, Bruce will take us through each step in the process of setting up a channel strategy. You will learn tactics on how to identify potential partners. He explains how to build a financial model that will attract the right partners, including understanding their investment and time to pay back. Another key takeaway is the program package. Think franchise, and you are on the right track to understanding the investment that you need to make in preparing the materials and process for a successful channel strategy.

Highlights

3:46 How to decide if your product or service is suitable for channel sales

6:29 The relationship that your channel partners have with their customers is the biggest asset that they will ever have

10:24 I tell my clients to “Think franchise” that’s how complete your offer has to be

10:58 The most cost effective way to find channel partners

13:50 Your channel marketing people need to know how to count

15:20 You are investing in an asset that will be treated as an expense

17:14 Checkout this 250 page instruction manual, you don’t have to make it up

22:48 The worst thing you can have is an incompetent channel partner making a succesfull sale

26:50 The three options for channel structure

29:24 Channel manager as trusted business advisor

33:15 When do you have to revisit your channel strategy

About Our Guest

Bruce R. Stuart, CMC, founding partner of Channelcorp Management Consultants Inc. (Channelcorp) where he provides growth-focused executive education and channel consulting to senior executives in the IT industry. He has authored more published articles on the topics of channel partner profitability, channel development, channel management, and strategic partnerships and alliances then anyone in the industry.

About Channelcorp

Channelcorp is the leading, and most experienced, independent IT channel consultancy in the world specializing in vendor and partner business model transformation. Channelcorp has completed Management Consulting and Executive Education assignments in 25 countries around the world. The firm’s clients include many of the top hardware/software/telecommunications companies selling into most of the product and service categories in the worldwide IT market.

Show Links

Resource Link:
https://channelcorp-management-consultants-inc.myshopify.com/products/channels-handbook-third-edition?variant=35201383891095

Connect with Bruce Stuart in the links below:

Website: http://www.channelcorp.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-r-stuart-22b911122/

You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below.

Website: https://AliceHeiman.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/