Ed Chapman says most vendors and VARs fail to make the most of their channel partnerships.
According to Chapman most vendors treat their channel programs like a “bolt on,” adding VARs and training them to sell more of what they’ve already created a market for.
Most VARs, meanwhile, treat their partners like a manufacturer, simply waiting to take orders for someone else’s product.
To achieve complete success in the channel, Chapman said, both parties must create a joint venture, with co-investment.
“It has to be a situation where both parties are adding value to the solution, not just supporting each others’ sales,” Chapman said. “You have to be immersed in the process together.”
Chapman is managing partner at Vizquest Ventures, a sales consulting firm that advises and guides vendors and solution providers on the path to increased revenue.
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Vizquest employs trademark tools—Pipeline Plus and Channel Catalyst—to evaluate and guide vendors and VARs to successful partnerships.
Vizquest works mostly for vendors, but has developed a practice to work with resellers “who have found a solution to bring to the market, but need to find the right tech platform to make it a reality.”
The first step to success, according to Channel Catalyst, is choosing the proper partnerships.
Partners must have the right expertise to deliver the solution to the right market as well as the assets in time, staff and resources to make the proper investments in the solution.
Other landmarks in the process include:
Vizquest takes clients right through the first sales of a solution, ensuring both vendor and VAR are immersed in the process before releasing them on their own.
The company charges monthly fees to cover expenses during a project and makes their return based on performance, usually a commission for the first sales or the number of partnerships forged.