The events of the past year and a half have shone a light on the Herculean work the channel does for its customers and its vendor partners.
Often channel partners – distributors, MSPs, and reseller – are seen merely as the conduit between the vendor and the end customer, but they provide so much more in terms of services, support and relationship-building. However, sometimes vendors don’t appreciate how much value this adds to their brand and their revenues, which can lead to them losing out on more business and falling behind in the marketplace.
In the past, many vendors found that a direct sales model was the most effective option for them, but as the industry has evolved it has become a more channel-focused marketplace. As a result, many vendors have transformed their sales model into one that relies and trusts on the power of the channel.
Tony Parish, CEO of Aura, calls these channel-savvy companies “Vendors 2.0” because they realise and believe in the value that channel partners add to their business. In today’s world a vendor is built on the strength of their channel, and not vice versa, he said, adding that a lot of vendors should be more mindful of this.
Parish has an illustrious career in the channel and has seen how “Vendors 1.0” have shot themselves in the foot by either relying too much on direct sales or treating their channel as an afterthought. He gave the examples of two leading names in the UC&C space as examples of what not to do.
One of the big names’ approach to channel has varied according to the CEO at that time. In recent years it has been “bad” due to no longer having the market share it once did and now leverages its power over its channel ecosystem.
“I used to really like [this company], but now it scrabbles around for as much gross margin as it can and it doesn’t care if that screws over partners or customers,” Parish declared.
Parish’s other example has “flip-flopped” between a direct and indirect focus which has left its channel partners uncertain of their place in the chain.
“I don’t get why vendors mess about with their channel because the partners won’t forget it,” Parish stated.
“They might not kick up a fuss initially, but when they’ve got a big deal and it could go to either Vendor 1 or Vendor 2 and Vendor 1 has been honest, and Vendor 2 has messed them about – it’s obvious which one they will choose”
How to Choose Your Vendor Partner
As businesses clamour for unified comms and collaboration (UC&C) technology, partners need to know that they have more power than they realise, Parish stated.
When selecting the right UC&C vendor, he advised partners to do their research, stating that a good vendor will be honest, supportive, and deliver on their promises, while bad vendors will make channel commitments which they then go back on.
“Sometimes there is so little honesty in our industry and people are worried because vendors have got the power and they’re reluctant to call them out,” he declared.
“So many vendors lack integrity, they don’t deliver, and they don’t believe in partners. So, talk to other partners, talk to the vendors, and do your homework.”
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