
CRM for Everyone… Even Me
Having worked at several enterprise companies and a 60 person start-up I’ve had plenty of experience with CRM systems.
Heather K. Margolis, a self proclaimed “recovering channel professional,” founded Channel Maven in early 2009. Heather is passionate about enabling vendors and their channel partners to drive more business through their channel programs. Having led channel programs for companies like EMC, EqualLogic and Dell, Heather helps channel organizations of all sizes build smarter channel programs, manage channel relationships to find added value, and engage their communities through social and traditional media. Heather regularly speaks to manufacturer and channel partner audiences about getting the most from social and traditional media. She also speaks to a variety of audiences about entrepreneurship, building a service business, and B2B strategy.
A proud alum of Babson’s MBA program, Heather grew up in Massachusetts and now calls beautiful Boulder, Colorado, home where she and her husband (and dog Zoe) can be found hiking, foodie-ing, or attempting to tear up the slopes.
Having worked at several enterprise companies and a 60 person start-up I’ve had plenty of experience with CRM systems.
As a channel and marketing professional I’ve worked with a bunch of different software tools for (1) marketing automation or (2) content syndication OR (3) social media monitoring. But I’ve never seen a single tool that does all three things really well. Until now. Here’s the story. I was recently introduced to Marketing Advocate. Until now, […]
As Channel Professionals we have a lot of responsibility. It seems as if the work will never been done and partners will never have everything they need. For that reason, we tend to fall into a way of doing things that can be detrimental to our channel program and more importantly, our partners. Here’s how […]
Has anyone formed a Channel Support Group yet? We all know that The Channel has always been seen as secondary to corporate activities and marketing.
I was involved in a recent survey of 200 VAR’s and systems integrators — and the results showed less than stellar usage of Social Media platforms. Under 60% use LinkedIn and approximately 38% are using Twitter. Okay, not horrible…but how many of them are using it correctly? Let’s just assume that their profiles are up-to-date, […]
Those of us who have worked for large companies know that “branding” comes with a 462 page document called The Branding Guidelines. If you read the document cover to cover you would find out how much space needs to be open around a logo in a document or presentation, how the company’s name can and cannot be written, and how each and every product needs to be referenced.
September was a whirlwind for me: several exciting client projects, bride’s maid (or matron, a term which I hate) in my friend’s wedding, moving my house, and several trips. All good things but just the same, when you’re wrapped up in what’s currently going on, you are not focused on building that pipeline or nurturing relationships or innovating around your current programs.
Sure, the Federal Reserve Chairman recently said the recession is likely over. But is the channel feeling the rebound? How has the recession impacted channel hiring? Here are some clues from Cisco Systems.
We all know the BCG matrix with Cash Cow, Dogs, Stars, and Problem Children — but how does that play out in reality? How should vendors cater their partner programs to each of these product groups?
Here’s a look…
When I first used Vista I was, well, beyond frustrated. Not being a technical person myself the only person more frustrated then me was my IT guy. “Steve, it’s doing the thing again!” “Steve I lost the file I was just working on!” “Steve why can’t I find anything?” You get the idea. The big question: Will VARs give Microsoft and Windows 7 a fresh look on August 16? Here’s the scoop.
Many of my posts have some information on how to design a program to attract a certain type of partner, but to truly differentiate your program you need to start with the end in mind.
When asked recently what’s the hottest topic in IT impacting the channel I didn’t have to think twice…the Cloud. I wrote ‘What Does Cloud Computing mean for the Channel?’ a couple of months ago — talking about the ability for just about anyone to write an application in the cloud and market it. Google, Force.com, […]
Somehow in the last few years the term “Reseller” has become an insult. It’s not enough anymore to just sell a product, now to be a true Value Added Reseller (VAR) partners must provide services. None of this is news but many partners are promoting themselves as a VAR when they may still be just a, dare I say it, Reseller.
Last week I covered channel recruitment from a vendor’s perspective. Now let’s look at it from a partner’s perspective. While the vendors are looking to recruit new partners, the partners are analyzing the cost/benefit of taking on a new vendor’s product.
When a vendor channel is in the early stages of development, their requirements for channel partners are usually only that they have a pulse. Fast forward 12 to 18 months, and a fledgling channel program involves 5% of partners who are actively engaged and 95% who sold once on a customer’s request and then disengaged. […]
A ton of partner relationship management (PRM) tools and other technologies claim they can make your life easier and bring you closer to your partners. But are the tools intuitive and do they work? I’ve spoken to several companies about their offerings, and here’s a sampling of my findings.
Last week I wrote a post about vendor activities in social media that praised the vendors who do it well and criticized those that coul
By now, you know all about the social media hype: Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.
Some vendors pride themselves on the number of partners they recruit. Congratulations, are partners supposed to be excited about that? Welcome to our partner program! You now have more competition for your business then you did before you joined.
Good partnerships can make or break a relationship. New @CompTIAConnect research dives into vendor/partner fits.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
.@googlecloud hires former @nutanix CRO to lead global #cybersecurity sales. dlvr.it/SWpL9s https://t.co/XqbhNGgjI7
Our new services roundup features @ConcentricSF, @WIN_Partners, @CatoNetworks, @Nextiva, @dandh and other vendors a… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
MSP Summit, Channel Partners Leadership Summit, and Women's Leadership Summit will cover four key areas of content… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Navigating the #cloudmarketplace world isn’t so easy. @IngramCloud has a new program to help VARs, #MSPs solidify t… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
.@Veracode rolls out enhanced #partnerprogram. #cybersecurity dlvr.it/SWlCV5 https://t.co/oKywsXCfKb
.@GoTo has launched an IT helpdesk functionality within its GoTo Connect UCaaS product without passing on the cost… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Q&A with @okta's new channel chief @baynotebBill. #cybersecurity dlvr.it/SWl9Gn https://t.co/rnUWw7pY82