5 Intriguing Quotes from AireSpring Tech Services Distributor Panel

"On the provider side, where we've seen private equity's influence become somewhat of a threat is around contract negotiations. I think the organizations that are private equity-backed have put the TSDs in a much more difficult position to negotiate agreements that are more protected for us and our partners. So that's been a threat on the supplier side," Sandler Partners chief revenue officer Justin Marano said.

Sandler Partners' Justin Marano

While Sandler Partners has often styled itself as the anti-private equity company, Marano didn't cast any aspersions on fellow TSDs that have accepted a PE investment.

"We've only seen private equity involved in our business on the partner and TSD side going back for three or four years," said Marano, who encouraged partners to ask their TSDs about how cultures are shifting under the influence of private equity.

Marano did note however, the challenge in negotiating contract with PE-backed vendors. And partners have reported to Channel Futures saying that acquirers often want to sign a new agreement, which may come with fewer protections for agents. TSDs and TAs are paid a monthly commission by suppliers on deals sold, so ensuring "evergreen" protection on those commission for the life of the contract is crucial.

"Ultimately it's the partners' responsibility [to generate leads]. If you're going to get paid, you've got to find the customer. But if our nature is, 'Wherever we can help, we want to help,' that's something we still think about because that's one of the greatest asks from an advisor," Telarus CEO Adam Edwards said.

Brooker asked panelists which party in the channel's three-legged stool (vendor, distributor/brokerage, or advisor/agent) bears responsibility for bringing sales leads to the table. Edwards pointed to the advisors. He said that Telarus in its early days brought inbound leads to channel partners and split revenue, but that struggled due to Google's search algorithm changing. The company also established a call center that it used to put partners in contact with potential customers. Edwards said Telarus isn't conducting those mechanisms but is "open" to finding ways to help partners in that area.

Telarus' Adam Edwards

"If our nature is, 'Wherever we can help, we want to help,' that's something we still think about because that's one of the greatest asks from an advisor," he said.

Partners in Channel Futures' quarterly survey regularly list lead generation as the top resource their vendor partners can provide to them. While some suppliers do provide leads, Edwards said suppliers are careful about where they place those and don't want partners to "twist their arm."

"Applying that new technology of large language model AI can really help drive efficiency and how our partners find the right solutions for for their end customers," said Paul Constantine, Intelisys senior vice president of supplier services.

Intelisys' Paul Constantine

Constantine revealed that Intelisys is internally piloting LLM-based AI tools that would help sales partners vet vendors and identify cross-sell opportunities. The cross-sell motion in particular is an area where Constantine said AI can make a big difference.

"If they sell one technology, that's OK. If they sell two technologies, that gets a little bit better. But when they hit that third technology, whether it's adding contact center, security or an AI solution, that relationship with that customer explodes. So we are doing a lot of work internally about how we continue to help learners cross-sell," he said.

"We're very clear in our direction. We will not be establishing our own agent subsidiary. We will not compete against our partners," said AppDirect chief operating officer Renée Bergeron.

When all of the panelists were asked to weigh in on ScanSource's "NewCo" agency business, Bergeron gave a concrete example.

AppDirect last year bought network operations center (NOC) provider and channel partner ADCom. The goal of the acquisition at the time was to create a white-label NOC offering that AppDirect's technology advisor partners could use at their own. But that still left the question of what AppDirect would do with ADCom's agency business.

Bergeron shared that in January AppDirect spun off that direct sales organization. It now technically is registered as VersatilIT, but continues to go by the moniker ADcom. The owners of the ADcom business AppDirect acquired now own VersatilIT, Bergeron said.

"I think it is the responsibility of the TSD to broaden the knowledge of the CIO, CTOs, decision makers around the world on the movement of the trusted advisor, which ultimately does lead to lead generation," Avant president Drew Lydecker said.

Avant's Drew Lydecker

While Lydecker agreed with Edwards and other leaders that the trusted advisor is the main party tasked with obtaining leads, he said TSDs have an indirect role to play in that process. Namely, that is making the market more visible. Lydecker said Avant exhibited at the Enterprise Connect conference to evangelize the advisor model to end users.

Lydecker said Avant advisors have penetrated almost 21% of the top 34,000 business accounts in the world.

"I think it is the responsibility of the TSD to broaden the knowledge of the CIO, CTOs, decision makers around the world on the movement of the trusted advisor, which ultimately does lead to lead generation," Avant president Drew Lydecker said.

Avant's Drew Lydecker

While Lydecker agreed with Edwards and other leaders that the trusted advisor is the main party tasked with obtaining leads, he said TSDs have an indirect role to play in that process. Namely, that is making the market more visible. Lydecker said Avant exhibited at the Enterprise Connect conference to evangelize the advisor model to end users.

Lydecker said Avant advisors have penetrated almost 21% of the top 34,000 business accounts in the world.