Courting the Channel

What's interesting to me is that the tough economic climate has not only prompted vendors to re-embrace allies, but also rethink how they do it. The harder the times, the more creative the means by which manufacturers recruit, train, fund and support partners seem to get. We're seeing both old-time channel favorites and channel newbies adjust their behaviors. Here's a sample of some of the interesting things I've seen.

Adobe is augmenting its traditional two-tier, volume-distribution model by adding solution providers with specific skills. In particular, Adobe is recruiting partners that sell into markets where electronic forms are used to a great extent. Think government, legal and financial services. To ensure its success, Adobe has expanded its business model, value proposition and channel programs to attract and support solution providers that can coalesce the Adobe product suite, workflow consulting, and other software and hardware technologies into a complete electronic-forms solution. That's but one of many ways in which vendors are increasing their empires.

Of course, some are going the other way. BroadVision is engaging fewer partners to sell and support its solutions. The company has culled its two lower-tier partner groups to go deep with a strategic few. The company is limiting its investments to those it knows will be successful. It's a great strategy in these trying times, a little risky, perhaps, but I love the company's chutzpah for working with fewer partners since it has fewer resources than before. Frankly, it would make me a tad nervous to turn partners away knowing they could then funnel business to my competitors. I understand that vendors with limited budgets can't spend resources on partners that aren't top performers, but I, personally, couldn't send less producing partners packing. Maybe it's a control issue, but I would want to keep even those lower-producing partners in my fold. Better with me than with my competition, I say.

Recruitment aside, I am impressed with any efforts to make life easier for partners. Intel, a client of mine, recently collapsed three VAR programs into one called the Intel Innovative Technology Provider program. The goal is to make it easier to do business with Intel, a company known for its complexity. Previously, VARs never really knew which of three programs they were in or what benefits they could receive. Frankly, many were just happy to get products in a timely manner. So, to more clearly communicate how VARs could engage the company, Intel took three programs and merged them into one with clear-cut benefits and requirements for all. Think of it as one small step for "VARkind."

Now, let's take a look at some real innovation. A large software company based in the Pacific Northwest, for example, is launching a bold experiment to measure who does what in a typical sales cycle. The goal: to track accountability. The company is looking at how to measure and reward influence with large systems integrator partners, not only at the corporate level, but all the way down to individuals in the field. After some study, the vendor has identified specific action items (27 in all) within the sales cycle. It now tracks who executes each one along the way. The actions,the specific activities required to close a large software deal,are weighted and tallied to reward a partner with a percent of the sale. (Those on the direct team are also recognized for their contributions.) This activity helps the vendor know for sure who does what to close business. Pretty cool, huh?

In addition to changing behavior and redesigning programs, vendors are embracing technology to automate partnership programs. That's good and bad. Partner relationship management (PRM), for example, is catching on. It automates program processes, manages lead distribution and helps vendors communicate better. BEA Systems, for example, is utilizing ChannelWave's PRM technology to handle some innovative functions, including managing its internal and external training resources. It can manage courseware, certifications and learning paths for individuals. That's the upside. The downside of efforts like these is many companies hope technology will solve partnership problems rooted in strategy issues, not structural ones. PRM won't fix partner programs; it will only automate what's wrong with them.

Of course, not all experiments are the work of genius. Thankfully, some are.

Diane Krakora is founder and principal of Amazon Consulting, a channel consulting group based in Mountain View, Calif. She can be reached at [email protected].