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Our channel is shifting faster than ever before and it’s up to all of us to ensure we keep a finger on the pulse of what partners, alliances, and influencers are focused on going into 2022. Our SVP, Global Channel Chief, Steven Kellam, SVP of TMT Practice, Claudio Ayub and 360insights new SVP of Marketing, Heather K. Margolis join together in a Channel Edge special episode to review the key themes of the Channel Focus North America 2021 event. Watch this episode to understand the emerging themes that will help shape the landscape of the channel in 2022, such as: Engaging Influencers The emergence and dominance of the 'Marketplace' Partner assisted sales, marketing, and attribution

Channel Partners need to get better at marketing and demand generation. Regardless of the specific role designed for them to fulfill, partners need to take ownership and then execute on these critical tasks. But, how do you make that happen in today's frenzied channel environments? How do you amplify partner skills and accelerate the marketing and demand gen process? Some may suggest incentives, rewards, MDF, and maybe all of them combined. Channel Incentives are a powerful part of the marketing and demand generation process and the right mix of tools should be leveraged at the right time, to the right people in the right ways. Please join me and Marc Monday, VP Global Strategic Partnerships at Sage, as we discuss building both a marketing assessment and a marketing engagement program. The good news is that Marc has done this with thousands of partners, and we break it down into 5 steps (and some are not easy). However, that is what creates a competitive advantage when done well.

While channel incentive automation and partner engagement are critical factors in achieving partner success, one of the less discussed keys for many channel partners is access to capital. Channel partners are facing many new challenges in the COVID world, from digital marketing to sales enablement, so the last thing they need is lack of capital to manage their businesses. Please join me while I talk to Kiley Kunkler, Vendor Origination Lead at Wells Fargo, and discuss how the right bank can make a big difference in helping vendors grow channel sales and deepen partner relationships.

So how do you build your channel? How do you scale channel programs? What role do incentive and MDF play? How do you prioritize? How do you successfully grow and manage your channel business as your revenue, partner community and internal headcount expand? In short, what works when you have to take channel from zero to sixty really, really fast? Seems practical and strategic at the same time and that is not always easy. Please join us as we discuss this topic with Darren Bibby, former Vice President Partner Strategy and Programs at DocuSign. Darren share not only his philosophy for success, but he also lays out the  5 key steps that made it happen for DocuSign..

Admittedly, the first time I heard the term "Ecosystem Orchestration," I wasn't sure what to think. I questioned its meaning as it relates to the channel. However, I quickly realized that "Ecosystem Orchestration" is an incredibly accurate description of the synergistic management of today’s complex ecosystems. No one can argue that channel ecosystems are becoming broader, more complex and extremely sophisticated. As the channel evolves in this way, participants in the channel are continuously questioning how do you get the most out of them. How do you take multiple partners, resellers, service providers and influencers and seamlessly manage them - all with the customer at the center? How can you orchestrate success? Please join us as we discuss this topic with James Hodgkinson, CEO of Webinfinity, a global leader in Ecosystem Orchestration. Listen in as James talks about why Ecosystem Orchestration is the key to successfully managing not just partners, alliances and applications outside of the organization, but all the parts of an organization's internal ecosystems as well.

Partners want leads, that is a given. However, what they really need is to learn how to sell in today’s remote selling world. This goes beyond incentives and cold calling, even though both are important and deep into sales enablement: knowing not just what to do, but when to do it and to whom. Based on this trend, it's no surprise that companies like BlitzMaster's are having record years. BlitzMaster's founder and CEO Andrea Sittig-Rolf says that sales enablement services have never been in greater demand. Please join us in a lively conversation with Andrea on what is working in today’s telemarketing world, where to put your incentives, what are the biggest challenges and who is winning the sales enablement game.

Forrester currently lists Channel Automaton at the top of the vendor priority list, with Incentive Automation leading the way. But how important is automation in todays Channel? Is it a real competitive advantage?  What are the challenges? Where does data play into this strategy? Why is it harder than is sounds? There are a lot of questions that need to be addressed, however one  thing is clear according to Jay McBain, Principal Analyst Channels, Partnerships and Ecosystems at Forrester. The ones who get automaton right, from Incentives to personalization, will be the winners. Please listen in as Jay and I discuss the value of not just committing to channel automation, but the upside of doing it right.

While the “Cloud” is sometimes over-hyped and even misunderstood, it's actually a necessity in today's complex and evolving incentives industry. With that said, 360insights is excited to be releasing its 360|TECHCLOUD this week, the first launch in its multi-industry Cloud strategy. More than just the right nomenclature, this "single pane of glass" incentive cloud offers partners and vendors an industry-specific Incentive Automation (IA) platform that combines multiple components that are seamlessly bound together to address a customers' needs in a way that individual components simply cannot deliver on their own. Please listen in as Claudio Ayub and I discuss what the 360|TECHCLOUD really is, why it is so important to the Tech Channel today and what future holds for the first truly dedicated IA Cloud.

Digital marketing has never been more important for awareness and demand generation in the channel. Yet, partners still struggle so much with something that can be such a key tool for their success. So, how do you leverage assets like digital marketing agencies to help to drive success? Please join as we discuss this challenge and opportunity with Cameron Avery, Founder and CEO of Elastic Digital, a leading channel digital marketing agency.

IOT has become a universally understood application in today’s business world, with benefits ranging from managing inventory and maintenance for massive construction machinery, to leveraging cameras inside of refrigerators that tell you when you are out of milk. At this juncture in IOT evolution, many manufacturers assume it is easy and seamless to create an effective connection that fully capitalizes on their IOT investment. The reality is that there are still some big obstacles to realizing maximum effectiveness. How do we make it easy for end users to connect and manage their devices? How do we incent end users to engage?  How do we ensure that connectivity providers and the manufactures are aligned on what is needed to effectively connect, report and measure success? Please join us in our latest podcast as we discuss these issues and many of the solutions with Ray Underwood, Director of Business Development at Zipit Wireless, an industry leader in bridging the IOT gap.

Planning a successful MDF or CoOp program is challenging enough without having to worry about whether or not your activities are contra vs. opex. While there are some gray areas, the reality is that determining how to classify your program is pretty straight forward - especially with the right guidance. While your program objectives are always your "North Star," it's always a good idea to get the funding right the first time. Please join us in a spirited conversation with Craig DeWolf, VP of MDF Product at 360insights as we discuss how to define, align and manage around the right funding model.  

MDF, CoOp, or BDF? What do these acronyms really mean and when do you use one over the other? Can you combine them? When are they most effective? How do you measure them for success? What my good friend Craig DeWolf, VP of MDF Product at 360insights, likes to say, “it depends”.  Your program objectives and the lens through which you view the needs of your program, are far more important than the labels used. However, there are real difference and real consequences if you don’t pay attention to the details – like funding sources. Please join us as we unpack the real world definitions of MDF, BDF and CoOp, and discuss when and where to use each effectively, as well as how to manage challenges when trying to align each of these programs to channel sales goals and success.

MDF has never been so important to partner and dealer success. ROI resulting from MDF programs is now the prerequisite KPI for keeping the investment in this essential sales tool moving forward. Post COVID, CFOs are more critical of costs and are looking for proven ROI or it's on the chopping block. This is true for MDF and marketers must be able to effectively answer the following questions: 1. Why are we spending company dollars on MDF? 2. What are we getting out of it? 3. How are we measuring success? Join us on the ChannelEdge Podcast for a spirited discussion with Craig DeWolf, VP of MDF Product at 360insights, as he talks about why MDF matters more today than ever before (think digital marketing enablement in a digital COVID world) and some of the best ways to measure MDF ROI regardless of the length of the sales cycle.

So many MDF conversations today begin with questions about ROI including, "how do I measure, how do I manage and how do I report?" However, the questions that everyone should actually be asking about MDFs are, "how do I create great engagement and measure ROI at the same time," along with, "how do I live up to the customer obsession mandate, continue to drive loyalty and still get what you need to keep the funding going?" Please join us as we begin a series of podcasts with Craig DeWolf, VP MDF Product at 360insights, on just that subject. Craig and I will discuss these questions, try to answer them and provide insight about how other channel organizations and leaders should be approaching their MDF strategy. 

Ecosystems in the channel have traditionally been ad hoc, partner driven and not particularly efficient. However, as complexity in sales increases, efficient vendor-managed ecosystems are a necessary part of delivering successful customer experiences and outcomes. But, managing those ecosystems can be a significant challenge - especially if you're still using spreadsheets. Well designed programs bring together all the right partners and influencers, enlist incentives to reward and engage those within the ecosystem, and then utilize automation to track, manage and create a frictionless experience. Please join us at Theresa Caragol, founder and CEO at Achieve Unite, as we talk about how to effectively manage your ecosystem. Whether this is a new endeavor for your team or you're an experienced pro, Theresa offers some great ideas and insights.

We are becoming more and more addicted to getting data when we want it, getting it fast and getting it anywhere. From life altering support of remote heart monitors, to everyday activities like checking how much milk is in the fridge from our mobile device while actually at the grocery store, our dependencies on IOT and data mobility is surging. So what does that mean for the channel? How can vendors like T-Mobile enable their B2B Business partners to make the most of this opportunity. Join as Paul Spencer, Director of Channel Sales at T-Mobile talks about how to drive partner success, how to remove friction for his dealers, delight his end users and incentivize his channel to capture all the market share they can.

90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual and it is perceived 60,000X faster than text. What does this tell us? Video marketing is no longer a "nice-to-have." Rather, it is a necessity for brands of all sizes to better connect with customers and partners, communicate your messages, improve brand experiences and break through the noise to capture attention. Video use cases are endless - from partner training and engagement to product introductions and sales pitches. Video can also be the key to gaining traction with a customer at the right time throughout their entire buying journey. We know video works, so why do so many companies still shy away from creating an arsenal of video marketing content?   Robert Cassard, CEO & Co-Founder of Voodoo Video chats with 360insights' Reggie Waterman about the power of video, the latest video trends, its perceived challenges and ways to use this medium to achieve mind-blowing ROI. 

Customer obsession takes patience and creativity today. The need for that customer obsession in the home appliance market is more critical than ever. The Wall Street Journal states that retail spending rose by 10% in March, with everything from mid-range refrigerators to high-end coffee systems flying off the showroom floors. It's clear that home appliances are in high demand and today's consumers are willing to spend money on them. However, the challenge is, how do you delight the customer and enhance your brand when consumer expectations, sales enablement, consumer incentives and supply chain are not all aligned? How do we get the most out of our incentives? How do you make customers feel good about waiting 12 weeks for a refrigerator? While we don't know what the supply and demand relationship will look like in six months to a year, customer obsession in this space needs to happen now. Please join us as Melina Aguilar, consistently one of the top high-end appliance sellers in all of Southern California, talks about what she sees as the challenges and the opportunity in retail today, and what vendors can do to capitalize on all the action.

Right now, Channel Enablement is a top priority for everyone that interacts with partners and/or dealers as their route to market. In fact, Sirius Decisions indicates that 62% of high-performing organizations having some sort of ongoing Partner Enablement in place for multiple partner personas for 2021. So, how do you get ahead of the curve in these particular areas? How do you maximize your time and efforts in optimizing your relationships with your partners and dealers - resulting in better business outcomes? Join us in a candid conversation about these critical topics and more with Taylor Macdonald from Sage Intacct. Hear how Taylor has solved the sales enablement challenge by giving his partners the chance to not only learn the skills they need to drive revenue, but also the opportunity to teach and learn from each other in a community environment.  According to Taylor, nothing is more effective than learning from those that face the same challenges as you do every day.

So what happens after International Women’s day? How do we extend these critical conversations beyond just one day or one month and leverage all that attention, celebration and honoring? One way is to tell stories, even if they are painful. I went into my podcast interview with Adele Hedrick, talented data scientist at 360insights, believing that this was going to a solemn 30 minutes, then I got to know Adele better. She was incredibly open and told her own personal story about success,  joy and a celebration of the moment. Through this authentic conversation, I believe I made a friend. Please join us as Adele walks us through her journey, the abuse and harassment that altered the course of her life, and how she refused, with purpose, to let it keep her from achieving everything she wanted.