https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Master Agents
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • MSSP Insider
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Apply Now
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Channel Educational Series
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
    • Channel Convergence
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Content Resources
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Master Agents
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • MSSP Insider
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Apply Now
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Channel Educational Series
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
    • Channel Convergence
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Content Resources
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Telephony/UC/Collaboration


Shark Stage at CPE 2019

4 Vendors Are Shark Bait at Channel Partners Evolution

  • Written by Edward Gately
  • September 13, 2019
Not having a two-tier partner program was a big turnoff to the sharks.

(Pictured above, left to right: Ring Logix’s Dante White, XaaS1’s Rick Beckers, TBI’s Adam Knudsen, Tech Data’s Heather Murray, MicroCorp’s Karin Fields, Ingram Micro’s Eric Kohl, Telarus’s Richard Murray, Erick Simpson of ErickSimpson.com and JS Group’s Janet Schijns on the Shark Stage.)

CHANNEL PARTNERS EVOLUTION — The sharks were circling when four vendors faced a lineup of distributors and master agents at Thursday’s Shark Stage at Channel Partners Evolution.

Facing the sharks were:

  • Dante White, channel sales director for Ring Logix, a white label VoIP platform for resellers.
  • Irwin van der Vlist, co-founder of Speakap, which provides a branded employee communications platform.
  • George Leith, chief revenue officer of Vendasta, a white label platform for selling digital solutions.
  • Amy Luby, vice president of channel for Sensorium, a company that helps partners build an IoT practice.

Janet Schijns, CEO of JS Group, served as pitchmaster of ceremonies, and told the vendors they were fortunate to receive free advice from a group representing “millions of dollars of salary.”

The sharks were: Rick Beckers, CEO of XaaS1; Adam Knudsen, TBI‘s vice president of sales operations; Heather Murray, Tech Data‘s vice president of security solutions and new vendor acquisition; Karin Fields, CEO/COO of MicroCorp; Eric Kohl, vice president of Ingram Micro‘s security business unit; Richard Murray, Telarus‘ COO; and Erick Simpson, founder and chief strategist at ErickSimpson.com.

Not having a two-tier partner program was a big turnoff to the sharks, as learned by Ring Logix, which had the toughest time finding takers. Vendasta, on the other hand, gained 100 percent interest from the sharks, and Speakap gained interest from a number of the sharks.

And Sensorium had all of the sharks either in or wanting to know more.

Becker said he was looking for new niche products.

“I want to know that they’re going to be able to educate my agents on how to sell their product, what to listen for, what to look for, those kinds of things,” he said. “I want to know that they’ve got financing, the ability to explain how their compensation model works and that it works for my agents, whether it’s referral or reseller. Marketing is a big thing, so we want to look at do they have joint marketing materials, do they have development funds for distributors to be able to do awareness campaigns, do they work social media, all those kinds of things. It’s a big, broad mix in the digital transformation world that we live in. This is not a break-fix world anymore, and being as it is as a digital world, a lot of the things that I’ve described are easily done and it will be easily recognized by somebody with experience whether or not they’ve thought them.”

Fields said she was looking to be wowed.

“They have to have at least an established program for the partners because it could be a great product, but if there’s no way for us to work with them, it’s very frustrating and it costs us a lot of money to be honest,” she said. “There’s too many things that we need to focus our attention on, and onboarding a new relationship that doesn’t have any type of infrastructure to support us naturally, it’s like futile, we’re the hamster on the wheel. And if we’re fighting about the status of the order, trying to get paid commissions, not having any engagement from a channel manager or our partners can go directly to that organization and get the same kind of contract that I get, those things make it a non-starter for us.”

Simpson said he was focused on the business plan, and especially the onboarding and nurturing, and support process for new partners.

“I work with a lot of vendors in the channel and one thing that I see is a big distinction between the very successful vendors that have great partner programs and raving partner fans are the onboarding process all the way through the sales enablement and sales support process and strategy for them,” he said. “That’s what I’ll be looking for: a well-rounded strategy that takes a brand-new partner all the way to a successful transacting partner.”

Tags: Agents Channel Partners Event Coverage Cloud IoT New Products & Services Telephony/UC/Collaboration

Related


  • Fusion Connect's Rick Ribas
    Channel People on the Move: 8x8, TBI, Telarus, Microsoft, IBM, More
    Now featuring big new hires and promotions in the telecom and IT channels.
  • Word innovation with power button
    Exclusive: As AWS Turns 15, Doug Yeum Predicts Even More Innovation
    The head of channel talks milestones, what’s coming, telecom agents and working with new CEO Adam Selipsky.
  • AT&T Alliance Channel Recognizes Top Partners
    The top five solution providers landed in the top tier last year.
  • Secure Web Gateway Remote Worker
    Comcast Business Enhances Security, Taps Palo Alto for SASE VNF
    Comcast expanded its ActiveCore SDN platform with a new VNF.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Talkdesk, InContact Vet to Lead Observe.AI Partners as Head of Channel
  • Watch Out Cisco, RingCentral, 8x8: Intermedia Going Public
  • RingCentral Buying Kindite for Enhanced Security Capabilities
  • Coffee with Craig and James Episode No. 91: MSP 501, SAP Channel Chief

Galleries

View all

10 Ways to Keep Customers Safe with Threat Protection by Year’s End

April 9, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

Why Every MSP Should Consider TCO When Selecting a BCDR Solution

April 9, 2021

6 Ways to Ready Your Customers for 5G Security Challenges

April 5, 2021

Endpoint Security Is Huge in the Merging New World of Work

April 2, 2021

Webinars

View all

Top 3 Intel Security Technologies To Help Against Advanced Cybercrime Attacks

April 15, 2021

What to Look For: 2021 Threat Report

April 22, 2021

Health Care and SD-WAN: A Seller’s Guide

April 27, 2021

White Papers

View all

Top Tips: How Resellers Can Leverage Rackspace to Enhance Customer’s Cyber Security Protection with Microsoft 365 Security

March 30, 2021

Top Tips: Optimize Your Microsoft 365 Investment with Rackspace Technology

March 30, 2021

The Smart Approach to Cloud Workload Placement Decisions

March 19, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

MSP Summit

November 1, 2021 - November 2, 2021

Channel Evolution Europe

November 30, 2021 - December 1, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

FASTCHAT: How Fortinet Reduces Complexity Through Networking, Security

Strong Customer Experience Needs Strong Partner Experience

December 22, 2020

Happy Holidays from Channel Partners & Channel Futures!

December 21, 2020

2021 Excellence in Digital Services Awards App Open

December 9, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

"Who could ask for more?? These guys bring an awesome energy and always highlight the need-to-know of the channel..… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 10, 2021
ChannelFutures

Anti-Asian racism, and racism and discrimination of all forms, have zero place in our society. #StopAsianHate and t… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

MSSP @inc_renaissance promotes Trish Kapos to channel chief. #cybersecurity dlvr.it/RxLQ6g https://t.co/oWCdHeRqIW

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@GetSpectrum ordered to pay @Windstream more than $19 million for deceptive mailer. #lawsuit… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@Percona says channel can help with #opensource solutions and #databases for everything from aspirational to must-… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

Our latest #Cybersecurity Roundup features @HuntressLabs on @Microsoft Exchange exploitation, @ptsecurity,… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@SemperisTech unveils first branded partner program. #cybersecurity dlvr.it/RxH4Bq https://t.co/TVjG8xhGNv

April 8, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@PerchSecurity announces its 2021 MSP Threat Report, calling on MSPs to build a mature cybersecurity practice.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 8, 2021

MSSP Insider

Business advice for MSSPs and news from the broader security channel.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X