Great companies, like great athletes, constantly evolve to deal with new challenges from an ever-changing competitive landscape. In order to deliver stellar results, or to navigate a complete turnaround, a savvy competitor relies on precisely the right partners to make it happen.
Let’s take a look at the playbook of one of my most admired sports figures and illustrate how those same strategies can be executed in a business setting. As I write this article, I am riveted and inspired by Tiger Woods throughout the Masters Golf Tournament. While he did not win, it's evident that he has demonstrated what it takes to be successful for the long-term. Despite crushing injuries that could have forced him to end his career, his relentless commitment to get himself in a position to compete at the highest level. It shows that persistence and focus can put somebody back in the game. Tiger’s struggle was not a solo effort; the support of his team of doctors, trainers and physical therapists were foundational to his comeback.
Why do I mention this? Because the foundation of a global technology company for sustained relevance is all about the channel. As a seasoned sales professional, I understand the importance of putting a team of people in place who are committed and focused on providing the best products, solutions, and service to our partner community and their customers. In 2021, my company experienced a turnaround in earnings as we brought 5G enterprise solutions to market. The importance of the channel can’t be understated. We expect 2022 to be a breakout year because of our laser focus on the channel.
The channel ecosystem has gone through major shifts over the last decade. Change has accelerated as the world was forced to adjust to a new normal after surviving a global pandemic and an unpredictable supply chain. Over the next several years, the channel industry will continue to evolve through the adoption of new business models, innovative technologies.
My over 30 years in the network and telecommunications field, all of which have involved the channel, has given me perspective. I have learned that there are two tenets that have held true for VARs (Value Added Resellers), SIs (Systems Integrators), MSPs (Managed Service Providers) in order to remain successful:
- A relentless focus on delivering value to their customers and their ability to adapt quickly to change.
- This new reality requires a consultative rather than transactional approach to deliver new enterprise solutions.
For a 5G solutions provider like my company (a relatively new entrant to the channel) having great products that meet the needs of the customers and the markets those channels serve are table stakes. But that is not enough. Our success will be determined by our ability to first win trust, mindshare, then market share.
Despite 25 years as a company, we began formulating a strategy with an emphasis on shaping the organization to support our channel partners only a little less than two years ago. Our approach is to take a co-creation mindset to crack vertically-tailored 5G solutions for enterprises and to deliver a superior channel experience than our competitors.
Let’s take a look at our top strategies for achieving success with 5G enterprise channel sales. First, we began studying market trends and spent time educating ourselves on 5G and 4G partners in the enterprise networking solutions space for insight into their specific needs and pain points. Next, we listened and collaborated with leadership from our partner community for insight into what they deemed to be most important in their partner program. Information gathering, education, and collaboration are the keys to set yourself apart from the competition.
Once that knowledge base and data are in place, it is time to craft an informed and relevant plan. Seek out the most high value VAR and distribution partnerships, staff it with the best channel sales and channel marketing experts, and provide best-in-class channel portal housing enablement tools and resources. Next, learn the language of the channel and shape and train your teams to align with how today’s customers make purchasing decisions. It is critical because customers are well-versed. Credibility and transparency are the deciding factors in getting new business or not. Customers want to speak directly with the technology partners that will be part of the “ecosystem” of solutions they are evaluating. This is not analogous to direct sales. It means that customers want a relationship with all parties in the value chain because they are interdependent. The channel provides the crucial element of bringing the right technology partners in to deliver the customer’s outcomes, precisely when they need it. In most cases, the channel owns the relationship with the customer, providing support and services key to a successful deployment and realization of the ROI the customer is expecting.
The role of a solutions provider is multifaceted. It must provide highly qualified channel sales resources to work directly with customers to keep them educated about the latest solutions through sales and technical training. Channel Sales Managers are at the heart of building successful partner relationships because the relationship is always front and center rather than sales quotas. Not to be overlooked is investing in robust partner portal sales and marketing enablement tools. They are important for ongoing support and education for the channel community to easily access products and solutions that suit their specific needs.
The hard work to build the right channel program and bring new products to a global market shows that focus and persistence pay off. Our recent fiscal results confirm that the strategy is working; our channel momentum is robust with a 79% increase in new channel partners, with nearly 50% coming from international regions. Just like Tiger Woods, our ability to navigate change and challenges, is directly related to our strong partnerships.
