The middle man’s life expectancy is much shorter than you think!  If you are still defining your business in terms of the products you sell, you may be headed for disaster…just calling yourself a consulting a company doesn’t make you one, you’ve got to start acting and modeling yourself like one to succeed in this market.

© 2010, David Stelzl

• Customer satisfaction surveys
• Deal registration
• Lead distribution
• “Protective” renewal margins
• Market development support
• Regional sales incentives
• Partner certification

Sounds like a great program. I wonder however, whether they can implement with impact across all of the elements. We often find that companies spread themselves too thin by developing programs with too many elements. I would rather see a program with one piece that makes a major impact rather than a program that spreads limited resources across the board.

3. Enhanced Profitability and Incentives – We are business partners, and that starts with having the right business model that drives revenue, profits and customer satisfaction in equal portions to build a sustainable partnership. The new Emulex Edge Partner Program helps our partners through:

– More time for selling with new and easy-to-use deal registration and Sales Promotion Incentive Fund (SPIF) tools

– Protecting VAR’s time investment and higher profits with expanded registration margins

– Obtaining rich Emulex Rewards (SPIFs) on both Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) and UCNAs for sales and engineering representatives in any program tier level

– Reaping additional benefits for quarter-over-quarter growth through incentive rebates

– Customized sales incentives that fit VARs’ business models

– Access to a whole new set of Emulex connectivity products, which bring enhanced margins to your existing server business

The company said it has trimmed its pricing model into a single, unified price list for faster development of quotes, allowing completion of application in just under two hours.

Incentives and discounts will likewise be given to partners who escalate their levels of competency and specializations, it added. Moreover, Avaya is extending its Services Expert and Small and Medium Enterprise Expert specializations globally, recognizing partners that have developed a strong services or small-mid-size enterprise practice, which were previously only available in North America.

http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/11/11/avaya-overhauls-partner-program-apac

Steve Mills, head of IBM’s software business, has made it clear that he envisions 3 growth areas: organic, acquisition, and channels. And his track record over the past few years has been exemplary; the internally developed and acquired offerings have made IBM’s software business one of its crown jewels and generates a big piece of its profit. Now, it’s on to the next step function, driving what IBM hopes will be its third wave of growth for the business: partners. And that is Sandy’s new opportunity, working with Robert LeBlanc, who’s the general manager for worldwide software sales for IBM Software Group.

In a recent conversation, Sandy shared her key goals with me, in 5 areas:

• Prove that the channel is truly incremental. Today, IBM’s direct employees do most of the work around the world. But in developing economies, IBM is experimenting with new models. Today in Asia IBM has built partner-led territories, and they’re seeing significant growth. As these pilots continue, it’s learning best practices and these will inform changes in the structure as they continue.
• Make sure partners are focused on client value.IBM wants to grow the skills of is partners, and reward them not just influencing business, but for building and supporting lasting customer relationships. Sandy points to Ascendant as a great example – it’s part of separate programs for ISVs, resellers and SIs and ready to go to providing service and support as well. This idea of moving from a transactional relationship to a business model relationship will be a key.
• Support new business models. How can IBM and its partners go to market most successfully? Programs built around industries, solutions, and emerging technology models like cloud computing are all strong. New business models for effective partnering in sync with these developments are key, as well as recruitment: new markets, new partners.
• Bring partners into smarter planet. IBM’s major theme in its messaging these days offers huge opportunities in leverage for partners savvy enough to get with the program. IBM has long offered media, event, collateral, advertising, and other programs for its partners, and the success of the Smarter Planet theme will be an enhancement for partners’ efforts to promote their own offerings.
• Finally, in typical Sandy Cater fashion, there will be a renewed focus on communications with partners. Sandy’s already using her social media skills with a LinkedIn group that generated hundreds of sign-ups even before any real promotion – demonstrating that the medium is indeed often the message. She’ll use these channels – private communities, “matchmaking” and twitter included – to find more ways to become the partner of choice. She’ll also make some organizational shifts to increase resources dedicated to keeping partners whole and happy.

They get it out there, Sandy said:

One of our partners told me, “you’ve gone from recruiting to attracting.” Many of the opportunities out there are already in the social media. Japan, for example,  is the #1 country in the world for blogging. If you’re not where the partners are, they won’t find you.”

It’s long been my conviction that the next level of growth for the mega players – and their battleground – will be the channel. I’ve spent a good deal of time on these issues in the past few years,  and that belief is unchanged. Projecting market power to developing markets is a key strategy, and IBM is demonstrating its commitment. How social media influence the tactics will be a fascinating development to watch.