Channel veterans Ted Roller and Brian Sherman are hanging out the shingle as they launch a new consulting firm designed to act as a “virtual channel chief” (VCC) to technology vendor companies, providing deep custom assessments advice to help organizations gain success in the IT channel and indirect sales.

GetChanneled, billed as “an evolutionary ‘virtual channel chief’ consulting firm” opens its doors today.  Here are the details, straight from one of the co-founders.

“Whether a Fortune 500 company or an emerging vendor, building a successful channel program can be a challenging prospect,” said Roller, co-founder and VCC at the new company. “Our team simplifies the process, helping developers and tech organizations develop a strategy, design a go to market plan, then follow through on implementation.

Roller said that GetChanneled will identify the best options for each vendor, from sales and marketing plans to public relations and industry alliance needs.

The experience to provide that broad swath and deep reach of consulting comes from Roller and Sherman’s decades of diverse channel leadership. Roller’s experience includes years of involvement in various roles with industry organization CompTIA  as well as leadership roles with the channel organizations at several prominent companies including LogMeIn, Intronis and Perimeter eSecurity.

Brian Sherman’s experience includes time as senior director of industry alliances as professional services automation platform provider Autotask, work with industry organization CompTIA and heading up his own marketing communications firm serving technology companies. 

“The GetChanneled team has a long, successful record of meeting a wide-range of those partners’ pre-requisites and requirements,” Roller said.

GetChanneled’s process starts with a “Channel Readiness Evaluation” of each organization’s capabilities that covers sales, marketing, public relations, alliances and a host of other indirect marketing needs and activities.

“A major mistake some vendors make is assuming that an indirect go-to-market strategy is their best option, and then building a plan with little or no serious thought about their strengths and capabilities,” said Sherman, co-founder and Virtual Content Chief for GetChanneled. Sherman said GetChanneled approach looks at the whole picture first.

“Before discussing strategy or options, our team will ensure that a channel program makes sense from a financial and resource perspective,” he said “For example, some vendor offerings may be better suited for a consumer audience rather than as part of a B2B portfolio. The Channel Readiness Evaluation gives our team a unique edge ─ the ability to match an organization’s strategic goals with a subjective review of its opportunities and resources. “