Reseller Channel

Telecom companies drive massive sales through agents with their referral commission model. Now they’re looking at Managed Service Providers (MSPs) for growth as their offerings move up market from commodity voice to complex data services.

For cloud-first software businesses, channel programs drive scalability and growth. However, for a cloud-first software business, this option might be neglected in spite of being a great growth driver.

History is known to repeat itself unless we learn from the lessons that history offers. That’s exactly the approach Taylor Macdonald, SVP Channel Sales at Sage Intacct, took when he was hired to build a cloud channel strategy for this SaaS vendor.

Adding a partner program or partner focus to an organizational sales model is by this point table stakes. These critical allies can help vendors break into a new geography, strengthen offerings within a particular vertical, increase brand recognition and diversify and grow revenue.

What are the secrets to driving breakthrough channel performance? That was the topic of my Channel Journeys podcast with Josh Lewis, Vice President of Global Channel Sales at Alteryx, a rapidly growing provider of a data science and analytics platform.

Mike Kelly doesn’t shy away from a challenge. He climbed Mount Elbrus, the highest summit in Europe at 18,510’. He conquered the Jungfrau Marathon with 6,000’ of elevation gain. But now he has an ever more audacious mission; turning the channel into a profession.

This seasoned software executive is getting his text-to-order startup off the ground by being smart about bootstrapping, pricing, and beta customers.

Software companies need a better way to select the right channel partners at the beginning — partners that have the best potential to drive revenue growth.

Indirect sales drives 75 percent of world trade across all 27 Industries. It's the biggest industry in terms of getting things to market. And yet somehow, we in the channel have this red-headed step-child complex.

When BlueStar invited me to join them at their ISV Connect Summits in 2019, I jumped at the chance to help steer education sessions. Why? Because I know many software companies want to have successful partner programs, but they struggle to execute when it comes to selling their software through indirect channels.

Building a vertical SaaS company presents many unique advantages but is certainly not without challenges. This article will discuss why and how to build a vertical SaaS product, and common roadblocks to watch out for in doing so.

As infrastructure and infrastructure services become commoditized by cloud technology, partners are learning that the serious money is in specialization and adding true business value to their customers. In response, new channels are emerging and existing partner business models are changing to meet customers’ needs.

You don’t buy your shampoo, your jeans, or even your car directly from the manufacturer. That’s just how consumer sales work. Unfortunately, with SaaS, leveraging a distribution network isn’t quite so easy.

Perhaps it’s fair to say that ISVs can find themselves at a crossroads when it comes to how and where to market their software products. A reseller channel can have pros and cons .

When launching a channel, you should think of it as starting a remote office, but all too often, SaaS companies make the mistake of creating an “us” vs. “them” mindset instead.