Best of LinkedIn: Channel Marketing CW 45/46

00:00:00: This episode is provided by Thomas Allgeier and Frennis, based on the most relevant LinkedIn posts about channel marketing in calendar weeks forty-five and forty-six.

00:00:09: Frennis is a B to B market research partner helping enterprises translate market, customer, and competitive insights into actionable strategies that drive growth and success across their channel and partner ecosystems.

00:00:21: Welcome to the deep dive.

00:00:23: This week we are taking a massive run at channel marketing.

00:00:27: We

00:00:27: really are.

00:00:28: And if you feel like your partner strategy is constantly just, you know, trying to catch up to the market, you are definitely not alone.

00:00:34: That's absolutely right.

00:00:35: Our sources, and these are all curated from the top-lengthing discussions over the last couple of weeks, they all point to this.

00:00:41: This seismic shift.

00:00:43: A seismic shift.

00:00:44: I like that.

00:00:44: Yeah.

00:00:45: I think it was John Nooney who observed.

00:00:46: the channel marketing has moved on for good.

00:00:48: It's not about simple linear transactions anymore.

00:00:51: No.

00:00:51: It's all about complex interdependent ecosystems.

00:00:55: And the old playbook is, well, it's just failing.

00:00:57: So our mission today is to really cut through that tactical noise and give you the top strategic shifts you need to be thinking about.

00:01:04: Right.

00:01:04: We're going deep on ecosystem growth, on discipline co-sell, the non-negotiable role of cloud marketplaces, and of course, the impact of AI.

00:01:15: We've broken it all down into three core themes.

00:01:17: First, the foundational strategy.

00:01:20: Okay.

00:01:20: Then, tactical execution, which is going to include some crucial Q-for plays you can use right now.

00:01:25: And finally, the operations and metrics.

00:01:28: the backbone you need to make it all work.

00:01:31: Right.

00:01:31: Let's get straight into it.

00:01:32: Let's

00:01:33: do

00:01:33: it.

00:01:33: So the whole conversation really starts with defining this new go-to-market reality.

00:01:37: I saw Dan Keddy call the shift to ecosystem-led growth the new GTM imperative.

00:01:42: Imperative.

00:01:43: It's not optional.

00:01:44: Not at all.

00:01:44: It's existential now.

00:01:45: But

00:01:45: what's really fascinating here is that the failures, they often start at the leadership level, not with the partners.

00:01:52: Sean Thompson made this great point that channels fail when leaders haven't clearly defined the strategic why.

00:01:58: Why does this channel even exist?

00:01:59: Is it to reduce CAC?

00:02:01: Is it for global reach?

00:02:02: Exactly.

00:02:03: Is it to drive adoption of sticky services?

00:02:06: If that rationale isn't crystal clear at the top, the whole program just falls out of alignment.

00:02:10: And that immediately flips the entire incentive structure upside down.

00:02:14: It has to.

00:02:15: Because if the goal isn't just revenue, but value creation, you have to build backward from the customer.

00:02:21: Greg Portnoy highlighted this perfectly.

00:02:23: He called out the dead wrong traditional formula.

00:02:26: Right, the one that put revenue first.

00:02:28: Yeah.

00:02:28: The old way was revenue leads to referrals, which gets you partners.

00:02:33: And Portnoy argues you have to reverse that formula completely.

00:02:37: The right formula starts with customers.

00:02:39: Customers then value then the ecosystem.

00:02:41: And then only then do you get to partners, referrals, and finally

00:02:45: revenue.

00:02:46: The implication there is just it's profound.

00:02:49: It means if your internal sales teams are still just compensated on simple quota, they are actively sabotaging the whole model.

00:02:57: They're working against the ecosystem, not with it.

00:02:59: The customer's complex need has to define the partnership, not your internal sales cycle.

00:03:04: And that complexity means the old, you know, linear vendor to reseller chain is just, it's dead.

00:03:10: It is.

00:03:10: Pablo Hanano says vendors must adopt what he calls ecosystem grade operations.

00:03:15: ecosystem grade.

00:03:17: What does that mean in practice?

00:03:18: It means your systems, your processes, they have to be designed not for one partner type, but for orchestrating value across multiple partners at the same time.

00:03:28: So that rigor has to change how you even define success.

00:03:32: I saw Matt Moore advising people to just stop signing partners, stop counting logos.

00:03:37: Yes,

00:03:38: start ruthlessly measuring activation and influence revenue.

00:03:41: The goal is to build a high performing ecosystem, not just a, you know, a massive passive directory.

00:03:47: So how do you focus your resources then?

00:03:49: How do you pick the winners?

00:03:51: Well, Brian Williams suggests assessing partners on three dimensions.

00:03:54: First is capacity.

00:03:55: So do they have the bandwidth to even engage with you?

00:03:58: Right.

00:03:59: Then commitment, are they genuinely invested?

00:04:01: And third, capability.

00:04:03: Do they actually have the skills and systems to co-sell?

00:04:06: Because

00:04:06: spreading your resources evenly across partners who only tick one of those boxes.

00:04:10: It's the fastest way to kill your momentum.

00:04:12: You waste all your time on partners who just can't move the needle.

00:04:15: Exactly.

00:04:16: And even once you've found the right partners, you can't just throw enablement at them.

00:04:21: Leela Koopal raised a crucial point here.

00:04:23: Oh, this is a good one.

00:04:24: She said, if a partner can't explain what you do in thirty seconds, you don't have an enablement problem.

00:04:29: You have a packaging problem.

00:04:31: That's sharp.

00:04:32: Your offers have to be so clear and repeatable that they practically sell themselves.

00:04:36: Okay, so let's shift to execution, specifically co-selling.

00:04:40: Right.

00:04:41: Trunel B reminds us all that co-sell is... Well, it's messy.

00:04:46: It's nuanced.

00:04:47: It's misunderstood.

00:04:48: Well, especially

00:04:48: for startups, right?

00:04:49: Trying to do everything at once is just a recipe for burnout.

00:04:52: Total

00:04:52: exhaustion.

00:04:53: Yeah.

00:04:53: Which is why I loved Rob Moyer's tactical fix for those early-stage partner orgs.

00:04:57: The twenty account list.

00:04:58: Yes.

00:04:59: Stop running five half-hearted motions.

00:05:02: Run one partner-sourced outbound motion into a tight, ruthless twenty account list.

00:05:07: And that intense focus is key.

00:05:09: But how do you stop that list from just, you know, gathering dust?

00:05:13: Moyer suggests creating a weekly pod.

00:05:15: It's made up of the account executive, the partner manager, and the partner CSM.

00:05:19: And they meet every week just to drive those twenty accounts.

00:05:22: Exactly.

00:05:23: It creates accountability and alignment on very specific outcomes.

00:05:26: I do wonder how hard that is to maintain in a big company, though.

00:05:30: AEs can be resistant to handing over control of their accounts.

00:05:34: It definitely requires leadership discipline.

00:05:37: But John Yu emphasizes that you have to view co-selling as an engine.

00:05:43: not just paperwork.

00:05:44: That

00:05:44: was not a transaction.

00:05:45: No.

00:05:46: It requires continuous effort to build trust, to stay top of mind, and this is critical to enable the field in the flow of their work, not with static slide decks.

00:05:56: That focus on data and flow, it takes us right to the cloud marketplace.

00:06:00: Which is no longer optional.

00:06:01: It's the digital storefront.

00:06:02: Right.

00:06:03: And Reese Berry points out a massive change here.

00:06:06: AI is increasingly selecting partners based on data, not just on old relationships.

00:06:11: This is so critical.

00:06:12: Your partner center profile, your certifications, your wins, your entire digital footprint has to be treated like a product.

00:06:19: If your data is stale, you're invisible.

00:06:21: You're invisible to the AI that sellers and buyers are using to vet and choose partners.

00:06:25: It's that simple.

00:06:26: And unlocking the full value means you have to know the platform specifics.

00:06:30: On the Microsoft side, Merit Slim highlighted a super common co-sell error.

00:06:36: An easily avoidable one, too.

00:06:37: Yeah.

00:06:38: Failing to select the need help from Microsoft flag when you're creating a co-sell opportunity?

00:06:42: That one little checkbox.

00:06:44: It's non-negotiable for getting visibility, for faster processing, and ultimately, for funding.

00:06:51: And specific to Azure, Michael Altenburger explained that private offers are a major strategic lever now.

00:06:57: These are basically customized agreements between the customer and the ISV, the software vendor.

00:07:01: And the benefits are huge.

00:07:03: For the customer, it counts toward their MACC, their Microsoft Azure consumption commitment.

00:07:07: Which

00:07:08: is incredibly valuable.

00:07:09: And for the ISV, they still get all the COSEL incentives.

00:07:12: It's the sophisticated way to close those big complex deals.

00:07:16: Meanwhile, over at AWS, they're making their own big moves.

00:07:19: Dave Gilman pointed out that they just expanded their SaaS Co-Sell benefits to all ISV Accelerate partners.

00:07:25: And that used to be invite only.

00:07:27: Exactly.

00:07:27: So opening it up has created this unprecedented demand for talent who actually understand how these marketplaces work.

00:07:35: OK, so with the end of the year coming up fast, we need tactics that work now.

00:07:39: Richard Ellis offered three high leverage plays for the Q-Force scramble.

00:07:43: The first one is simple triage.

00:07:46: Triage their pipeline.

00:07:47: Just sit down with your top partners and do a line by line deal review.

00:07:51: You'd be amazed how many stalled deals you can unstick just by aligning on next steps.

00:07:56: Second, implement a rep level accelerator.

00:07:59: Forget margin for a second.

00:08:00: Yeah, launch a simple spiff, cash, a prize, an experience, something for the individual partner reps.

00:08:06: It creates that personal urgency that cuts right through the quarter-end noise.

00:08:10: And the third, which is often the fastest path to Q-for revenue.

00:08:13: Customer-based expansion.

00:08:14: Give your partners prepackaged upsell or cross-sell offers tailored specifically for their existing customers.

00:08:20: Because the trust is already there.

00:08:22: Those deals can close in weeks, not months.

00:08:25: Okay, let's shift to the internal machinery that makes all this work.

00:08:28: operations.

00:08:29: Right, because complexity requires clarity.

00:08:32: Lincoln Axon is a big promoter of using the RACI matrix.

00:08:36: For anyone not familiar, RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed.

00:08:41: It's really just an alignment architecture.

00:08:43: Make sure everyone knows their exact role in a deal or a decision.

00:08:47: It's how you get velocity when you're managing multiple alliances.

00:08:50: That kind of governance is non-negotiable.

00:08:53: Arthur Fedorenko's playbook details this out clear roles, incentives, pipeline hygiene.

00:08:59: But

00:08:59: speaking of pipeline, Sugata Sanyal gives a really vital warning here.

00:09:03: What's that?

00:09:04: That focusing only on pipeline volume.

00:09:07: can actually destroy your partner programs.

00:09:09: Because volume is meaningless if the quality is low or the partnership just falls apart after the sale.

00:09:14: Precisely.

00:09:14: Cineal argues we have to shift the entire metric stack.

00:09:17: We need to focus on partner-sourced services revenue, co-sell win rates,

00:09:21: and ecosystem retention, which he calls

00:09:23: Co-Key.

00:09:24: I love that term Co-Key.

00:09:25: It's key.

00:09:26: Because if partners own delivery and retention, their incentives are naturally aligned with long-term customer success.

00:09:32: You're measuring durable, high-quality revenue, not just the.

00:09:37: But getting there requires huge internal changes.

00:09:41: Kyle E argues the single biggest threat to ecosystem success is what he calls the plumbing.

00:09:46: The internal systems.

00:09:47: Yeah.

00:09:48: Misaligned attribution models and comp plans that still treat partners like competition.

00:09:53: Right.

00:09:53: If your strategy deck says ecosystem first, but your systems still scream direct sales only, your program is going to fail.

00:10:01: It will always be shallow and conflicted.

00:10:04: Which brings us to AI.

00:10:05: NRAW made a great point here.

00:10:07: AI doesn't replace trust.

00:10:09: No, but it supercharges partnerships.

00:10:12: It lets you place that trust more effectively and much faster.

00:10:15: And the most exciting development is how Sudarshan Koda framed it.

00:10:19: Gen AI as a catalyst for co-innovation.

00:10:21: Think about that.

00:10:22: What used to take eighteen months for partners to co-develop a solution.

00:10:26: Prototyping, iterating, testing

00:10:28: can now happen in weeks.

00:10:29: They can share risk and immediately expand their market reach by launching joint solutions faster than ever before.

00:10:35: That's an exponential shift in value creation.

00:10:38: And scaling with that kind of speed, as Teresa Carragall explains, demands a shift from being reactive to being Predictive.

00:10:46: We need predictive partner models, driven by better data, better measurement focused on targeting the right accounts and executing these predictive plays based on market signals.

00:10:56: It all comes back to the data.

00:10:58: It does.

00:10:59: And finally, Cody Sunkel offers a crucial point of clarity about where the value actually lives.

00:11:04: Okay.

00:11:04: He says product teams monetize integrations, they drive stickiness and retention, but partnerships teams monetize relationships.

00:11:12: They

00:11:12: drive the commercial value, co-marketing, co-selling,

00:11:15: referrals.

00:11:16: Exactly.

00:11:16: And both are necessary.

00:11:18: Both teams have to be supported and recognized for their unique contributions to make this all work.

00:11:23: That's a great distinction.

00:11:24: So let's bring this all back into focus.

00:11:26: The takeaway here is clear.

00:11:27: Channel strategy has fundamentally evolved.

00:11:29: It really has.

00:11:30: It demands strategic customer first thinking, highly disciplined execution, especially in the technical stuff like cloud marketplaces, and a vital shift to predictive long term metrics, things like Co-Keep.

00:11:42: Yeah, the age of this simplistic channel playbook is officially over.

00:11:46: Which raises a final, maybe a provocative thought for you, the listener, considering this irreversible shift toward AI-driven partner matchmaking that Raceberry talked about, and the incredible speed of Gen AI co-innovation that Sudarshan Kota highlighted.

00:12:01: Are you, right now, investing more resources into updating your data and your technology roadmap for partners than you are in your traditional, often subjective, relationship-only building?

00:12:13: Because the future of channel success seems to depend on adapting your systems, not just your lunch

00:12:19: calendar.

00:12:19: That's the question to ponder.

00:12:21: If you enjoyed this deep dive, new episodes drop every two weeks.

00:12:25: Also, check out our other editions on account-based marketing, field marketing, AI in B to B marketing, MarTech, go-to-market, and social selling.

00:12:32: Thank you for diving deep with us.

00:12:34: Be

00:12:34: sure to subscribe so you don't miss our next deep dive.