Author Archives: Melanie Stout

How to Increase Deal Registration

Deal registrations are the key to channel visibility and, therefore, to accurate channel sales projections. The first key to getting partners to register their deals is to acknowledge this value proposition for yourself. Obviously, the better you can see what’s … Continue reading

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The Channel as Search Engine Optimizer

Five Steps for Dominating SEO Using Your Channel Lets face it: The reason you build a reseller channel is to accelerate your company’s sales ten times faster than you could by building a direct sales force. Historically, Partner Relationship Management … Continue reading

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More MPG: Three Things You Can Do to Make Your Channel Program More Efficient

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that launching an indirect channel sales program is a significant undertaking requiring a major investment of time and budget. How do you make sure you’re maximizing your chances this … Continue reading

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The Truth about the Magic Hockey Stick

It looks so nice on the channel partner revenue graph — a line inclines gradually for a year or so, and then makes a sharp upward turn, the shape of a hockey stick. Everyone thinks their indirect sales program is … Continue reading

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How Do Your Partners Rate?

Let’s say you’re a VP of Sales and Marketing, and your CEO has asked you to come up with a list of your company’s top go-to-market partners within your indirect sales channel. How would you go about it? You can … Continue reading

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Joint Business Planning: A Myth or Necessity?

I bet you’re hoping I’m going to say “myth.” No one likes planning, right? But we might as well face facts: joint planning with partners is a critical best practice, and vendors that make the effort are much better positioned … Continue reading

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FAQs About Partner Relationship Management (PRM)

Launching an indirect channel sales program is exciting, but I can tell by the questions I get from customers that this is an area that’s regularly underestimated in terms of planning and resources required. Here are some of the most … Continue reading

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How to Minimize Indirect Sales Channel Conflict

Notice the title isn’t “How to Prevent Indirect Sales Channel Conflict.”  That’s because, unfortunately, conflict within a partner program is pretty much unavoidable. But accepting that on the front end makes it a lot easier to mitigate the negative effects. … Continue reading

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The Beauty of the “Ready, Aim, Fire” Approach to Building Your Channel

This bounces off the post we wrote last week, where we explained the three things to consider before shopping for a channel solution. Not getting ready before moving to the “aim” and “fire” phases may be the most common reason … Continue reading

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Three Things to Consider Before Shopping for a Channel Management Solution

Partner relationship management software can’t build your indirect sales channel by itself. It is, however, a very powerful tool to include in your detailed and thorough plan. So before you go looking for a channel solution, make sure you’re investing … Continue reading

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