Seven Secrets to Channel Partner Success

February 2009 - Issue 7.2

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The Challenge of the Channel

Seven steps to find and motivate channel partners

by James A. Alexander, Ed.D.

No business can do it all alone. In many situations, all of our organizations must look to channel partners to help us accomplish our objectives. Yet, this is one of the most difficult aspects of running any services business.

Our research, The State of Professional Services II: An Industry Comes of Age, reveals that the biggest issue for professional services organizations (PSOs) is dealing with channel challenges.

Flipping through channels ... Inflamed sales star ... Customer math ...

Jack Scharff

How do you work with channel partners? Are you dealing with channel disagreements, conflicting goals or channels that don't know how to sell your services? Jim Alexander provides seven steps to address the challenge of the channel.

This issue sees the debut of a new column, Rain Today. Its articles contain advice for B2B service challenges. The first one explores how to get the fees you know you deserve. We know you deserve them, too!

Last issue, a reader wrote about the problem with a salesperson who does great with clients and prospects, but fails with his colleagues. See suggestions for how to deal with the situation of having a super star who neglects the home crowd. How do you study your numbers when it comes to customers and revenue? Or do you rely on your gut? Please share your experience.

Your feedback is valuable. Keep up the good work. We read every single message, which helps us improve this newsletter and make it more beneficial to you. Of course, when you write us, we'll enter your name into a drawing for a chance to win a pair of Garmin Rino 100 MP3 GPS.

Thanks for reading -- Jack

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Webinars & White Papers ...

What Trusted Advisors Do that Others Don't
March 20, 2009

Trusted advisors are golden ... the huge value they deliver to their customers drives loyalty, brings in new, profitable business and creates competitive advantage. This Webinar explains what they do differently from the rest of the pack and shares insights so that more of your people can attain this lofty status with their customers.

Best Practices for Calculating Billable Utilization

To run a successful professional services business, managers must understand how to effectively account for their consulting staff's productivity.

Download the Calculating Utilization research report to discover expert recommendations for the most effective way to accomplish this goal.

Click Here to Download the Research Report

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Just Released From SPI!

Benchmark Report for PSO's

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January 7, 2009

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December 3, 2008

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Five Steps To Getting The Fees You Know You Deserve

Learn and articulate your value

by John Doerr

One of the most common laments I hear from service business executives goes like this:

"Our services are becoming a commodity. Everyone is out there saying they can do the same thing we do, pushing fees further and further down. Prospects are just buying on price."

Last Issue's Dilemma:

My sales star has lost his luster

Our top salesperson has great sales numbers. But his conduct leaves a lot to be desired. He's notorious for cherry-picking customers, and he refuses to do the administrative part of his job because he's "too busy selling." Needless to say, no one in the company likes him.

Should I let him go, despite the potential loss of revenue? Or is there some way I can make him a star in every area of his job?

-- Michael T., President

Read what others had to say.

This Issue's Dilemma:

Have you done the customer math?

I'd like to ask how many readers have taken action to figure out which of their customers bring in the most revenue, which of their customers are advocates (or provide referrals) and whether those groups consist of the same people.

They might think they know "in their gut," but I wonder if they've gone a step further to examine this important question in an empirical manner. For planning and marketing purposes, do readers have advice on how to best track these numbers, or do they just stick with their guts?

-- Julie, President

Can You Help?
Share your experience. You could win a digital camera.

Maintaining Your Clients through Tough Economic Times
Five recommendations to listen to customers and keep them
by Dr. Katherine Jones - PSVillage

The New "You"
Building personal relationships with clients and prospects
by Karen Gedney - ClickZ

Managing in Yucky Times
Take employees from comfeartable to courageous
from MovingAhead

Overcoming Setbacks
Three-minute interview with Richard Branson
from Open Forum

Six Ways to Manage Leadership Stress
Prevent stress from turning toxic
by John R. Ryan - BusinessWeek

Don't Take the Lead, Share the Lead
High performing companies practice shared leadership
by Craig L. Pearce - Leader's Edge

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