1. The Ultimate Playbook: Unleashing the Revenue Potential of the SMB Channel 1
The Ultimate Playbook:
Unleashing the Revenue
Potential of the SMB Channel
Today’s fast-changing marketplace has
presented technology vendors with many new
opportunities to both transform their existing
partner ecosystem into a competitive asset and
successfully capitalize on new business alliances,
business models and customer opportunities.
As a result, vendors are embracing a multi-tiered
channel development strategy and uncovering
the value of the small and middle-market
Channel Development &
Management Solutions
strategic thinking
relationship
building
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2. The Ultimate Playbook: Unleashing the Revenue Potential of the SMB Channel 2
Contents
Importance of the SMB Market.........................................................................................................................................................Page 3
Identifying & Recruiting the Right SMB Partners..............................................................................................................................Page 4
Qualifying New Partner Candidates.................................................................................................................................................Page 5
Changing Dynamics...........................................................................................................................................................................Page 6
Building the Fast Track........................................................................................................................................................................Page 7
The ‘Welcome’ discussion:.................................................................................................................................................................Page 8
Enablement: Accelerating Partner Training....................................................................................................................................Page 9
Fast-Tracking Marketing & Sales Success.........................................................................................................................................Page 10
Partner Program Administration, Reporting & Metrics........................................................................................................................Page 11
What Differentiates CGS?..................................................................................................................................................................Page 12
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3. The Ultimate Playbook: Unleashing the Revenue Potential of the SMB Channel 3
Cases in Point
You will learn how to:
Identify and recruit a high performance ecosystem of
small and middle market partners
Get your SMB partners on a fast track to driving and
accelerating sales
Create a framework that provides visibility into partner
productivity and performance through the use of
actionable metrics
The Importance of the
SMB Market
As revenue and margins slow or stagnate within the enterprise
client market, the SMB market represents many vendors’ best
opportunity for new growth and competitive advantage.
A strong installed base of small business customers greatly
limits the threat of traditional competitors when a powerful
enterprise jumps into a new industry.
Purchasing over $250 billion in technology products and
services annually, small and middle-market customers
understand that technology is critical to remaining
competitive and operating efficiently. But to connect with
this critical market in a cost efficient manner, vendors need
partners who make SMB their primary focus.
Think of this white paper as an essential playbook -- with
checklists, questions and processes that have been tested
and proven with channel marketing and sales leaders at
many of the world’s leading technology vendors.
This exclusive playbook provides a view into the changes
taking place within the SMB channel; offers a mix of
strategic and tactical recommendations rolled into a
scalable program; and will help you identify partners
who will make the required commitments to engage and
quickly become enabled to sell your products and services.
Identifying & Recruiting
During Facebook’s Q1 2014
earnings call, Sheryl Sandberg
revealed that she is personally interested in
conquering the SMB market for Facebook’s online
advertising platform. More precisely, she called
SMBs the “holy grail” of advertising. Facebook
purportedly serves 25 million engaged SMBs.
Microsoft recently appointed
a new CEO: Satya Nadella, a
technologist with a background in SMB software.
Nadella is the primary driver of Microsoft’s shift
toward the cloud. Microsoft has a massive SMB
installed base.
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4. The Ultimate Playbook: Unleashing the Revenue Potential of the SMB Channel 4- 4
the Right SMB Partners
Rethinking the Recruitment Process
Over the past 4-5 years, many vendors have looked to
third party organizations to launch their mid-market partner
recruitment campaigns and follow a typical low-visibility
process:
• Vendors provide the number of new partners required
to cover each geographic area as well as high-level
descriptions of the desired partners.
• The third-party provider implements the recruiting program
with a focus on achieving those recruiting targets, but often
has no way to know or measure if they have recruited the
right partners—partners who truly align with the vendors’
short and long-term business objectives and will commit
to engaging with and selling the vendors’ products and
services.
In this scenario, the success of a recruitment campaign has
been measured only by the number of new partners recruited
and not by the effectiveness of the partners.
In this playbook, we take a high-visibility, outcome-driven
approach.
We recruited over 5,000 new SMB
partners but after 1 year,
only 15% are selling our products.
• Company size
• Primary industry focus
• Years in business
• Geographic coverage
• Number of current customers
• Number of sales, technical & marketing personnel
• Specific vertical market expertise
• Primary & secondary revenue sources
• Type of solutions & services provided
• Current partner agreements w/ vendors
• Specific technical certifications
• Size of companies sold to: very small - very large
The following checklist of factors can be used
when defining recruitment criteria:

5. The Ultimate Playbook: Unleashing the Revenue Potential of the SMB Channel 5
Qualifying New Partner
Candidates
After identifying what an ideal SMB partner looks like, vendors
need to “qualify” each new candidate before moving
forward:
• Do the prospective partners really fit our profile? In the
channel, success is tied to who you hire. Vendors are often
recruiting hundreds if not thousands of partners at a time.
The only way to truly vet a potential partner is to ask a
list of very specific questions, based on the recruitment
parameters and criteria that were developed.
• Will the partners make the required commitments?
Partners must be asked about their intentions to commit to
specific vendor programs such as participation in training
courses, becoming a subject matter expert on how to
sell and support your specific products and services, and
willingness to become certified.
Through this qualification process, you will have made the
first step toward showcasing the investment you are willing
to make in the success of your partners while gaining visibility
into their current customer base.
Do the prospective
partners really
fit our profile?
Will the partners
make the required
commitments?
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6. The Ultimate Playbook: Unleashing the Revenue Potential of the SMB Channel 6
Changing Dynamics
A fast track to accelerating partner sales
The industry lacks a blueprint for creating a consistent strategy
for SMBs.
Vendors are realizing that to tap into the power of the small
and middle market, they must do more than rely on the general
strength of their brand.
Small and middle-market partners typically do not commit their
resources to one vendor unless they can achieve substantial
benefits, business growth and a higher level of support.
“What differentiates your
partner program from the
rest of the vendors?”
“Why should I invest my
resources to sell your products
and services versus vendor X?”
Today, partners expect a higher level of interaction
and support from vendors
A key strategic question:
To Outsource or NOT?
Sales and marketing executives recognize
the importance of the small and middle
market but don’t typically have the resource
and time to allocate to it. As a result, many
vendors are turning to outside sources to
cost effectively implement and manage the
partner engagement, enablement, sales
activation and support functions.
When considering whether your program
should be handled internally, consider
whether your team can provide smaller
partners with the required assistance and
touch points needed to quickly become
sales and technically enabled through a
single comprehensive program.
How can we become a
Proactive Channel Organization?
Rather than “reactive” inbound
response tools, channel marketing
efforts must become “proactive”
and focus on pre-sales partner
enablement and sales development.
The key is in cultivating relationships
that address the needs of this unique
partner ecosystem.
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7. The Ultimate Playbook: Unleashing the Revenue Potential of the SMB Channel 7
Building the Fast Track
The Go-to-Market Plan
Recruiting a new qualified ecosystem of small and middle-
market partners is the first step toward success. The very
critical next step is to kick off a go-to-market program that
quickly engages, enables, nurtures and assists partners to sell.
In this section, we will help you forecast your success as you
walk through the most critical plan deliverables and track
progress along the way. At the end, you’ll have all of the
data points needed to build a comprehensive dashboard
and deep visibility into partner performance.
Engagement: Welcome and Awareness
Upon onboarding, your highest priority is to quickly engage
the new partners and establish a valued and positive
relationship. Within 24 hours of being approved and
authorized, a dedicated Partner Resource Manager should
welcome new partners into your program.
Using the partner profile data captured during the
recruitment phase, the Partner Resource Manager should
develop call strategies and initiate discussions centered
on the partners’ market focus, current solutions/issues with
current vendors, how they go to market and strike up an
open dialogue around what they will need to begin the initial
steps toward becoming enabled on your platform.
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8. The Ultimate Playbook: Unleashing the Revenue Potential of the SMB Channel 8
Guide to the
’Welcome’ discussion:
• Benefits summary: Provide partner with a review of key
benefits of your partner program, products and services.
• Guided tour: Walk the partner through your partner portal;
identify key technical resources, including sales and
marketing tools; and assist partner with passwords and IDs
to access partner portal.
• Partner business model: Review and document partner’s
business model, how they go to market and add value,
solution description and services provided.
• Product alignment: Gain an understanding and document
which of your product(s) the partner has interest in selling.
• Issues, concerns, priorities: Document important issues/
concerns/priorities relayed by each partner.
• Partner needs: Establish and document what the partner
needs to become “enabled” on your platform.
• Partner commitment: Obtain commitment from the partner
to train their sales and technical staff on your platform.
Track Your Progress
The partner engagement phase quickly
establishes a positive relationship with new
partners and drives commitment. After the initial
call, the Partner Resource Manager should start
tracking results:
Number of partners contacted and
engaged in the welcome phase
discussion
Dates contacted with partner names.
Number of partners contacted
but unavailable to participate in
“welcome” phase discussion.
Dates contacted, partner names and
call-back schedules.
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9. The Ultimate Playbook: Unleashing the Revenue Potential of the SMB Channel 9
Enablement: Accelerating
Partner Training
Working closely with your new partners, start to identify programs
that apply to their specific training requirements.
Make training a priority - from certification and prep materials
to online courses - and assist your partners in registering for the
courses. It is essential that the new partners immediately commit
to enroll in training courses and that the Partner Resource
Manager maintains the enrollment and attendance status of
each partner.
Track Your Progress:
Report on the following:
Partners enrolled in training courses with
details on dates.
Partners not yet enrolled in training courses;
including call-back schedules.
Partners who have completed required
training courses; include description of courses
and applicable certifications achieved.
Partners actively porting/developing solutions.
Partners scheduled to port/develop solutions;
include dates.
Partners who have not provided a schedule
to port & develop solutions, include call-back
schedules.
Partners requiring additional support; define
action items.
Partners who have completed porting/
developing their solution.
Training Enrollment
Solution Status
Sales Activation: Market Readiness & Go-to-Market Tools
Small and middle-market partners typically have limited
resources available to develop collateral that highlights the
benefits of your products and services to new prospects.
To provide the compelling content and messages that partners
need to achieve higher quality interactions with their customers
and prospects, they will need help developing marketing, sales
readiness and go-to market plans.
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10. The Ultimate Playbook: Unleashing the Revenue Potential of the SMB Channel 10
Guide to Fast-Tracking
Marketing & Sales Success
Guide to capturing and keeping partner
mindshare:
Use a personal approach: Partners rebel against “boiler
plate” emails, so communications should be frequent,
direct and full of meaningful information.
Keep everyone in the loop: Create an effective
feedback loop through frequent communications to
understand the success your solution providers are
having—or not having.
Don’t stop there: Once your partners have launched their
sales campaigns, it’s time to focus on partner satisfaction
surveys and ongoing sales and technical support.
Ongoing Partner Support
Communicate! Communicate!!
Communicate!!! Even after
the on-boarding, training and
solutions development stages,
your Partner Resource Manager
must maintain a high-touch
strategy to ensure solution
providers remain fully engaged
and active in marketing and
selling your products and services.
• Partners who have developed marketing plans.
• Partners scheduled to develop a marketing plan;
include schedule.
• Partners not yet committed to developing a
marketing plan; include callback schedules.
• Partners who have developed sales collateral
and solution profiles.
• Partners scheduled to develop sales collateral
and solution profiles; include call-back schedule.
• Partners who have not yet established a
schedule for development of sales collateral and
solution profiles; includes reasons and call-back
schedule.
• Partners who have launched their marketing
plan; include dates.
• Number of qualified prospects, meetings, and
start tracking qualification stages on a weekly
basis.
• Number of wins; include reasons for winning.
• Number of losses; include reasons for losing and
any names of competitive products.
• Pipeline/forecast for 1, 3, 5 months. Limit to
prospects with minimum 85% probability to close.
Track Your Progress:
Report on the following:
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11. The Ultimate Playbook: Unleashing the Revenue Potential of the SMB Channel 11
Partner Program Administration,
Reporting & Metrics
Today, visibility is the word on every channel leader’s mind, but
it’s also top of mind for your SMB solution providers.
Vendors are not the only ones striving to obtain as much
information as possible about what is working or not working in
their partner programs. When you launch new partner initiatives
and programs, weekly reports provide real insight into key
performance indicators (KPIs).
The reports (right) are designed to meet vendor information
needs, and if necessary, enable quick decisions on the
improvement of more effective go-to-market channel strategies
and programs.
Combined, these KPIs close the loop on developing the
ultimate playbook for unleashing the revenue potential of the
SMB channel.
Key Vendor Metrics
Number of daily, weekly, monthly recruitment calls to
prospective partners
• Number of partners engaged in discussion
• Number of partners indicating interest
- Call back schedules by partner
• Number of partners too busy to discuss
- Call back schedules by partner
• Number of partners not interested
- Reasons not interested
• Basic profile description of partners recruited:
- Partner size
- No. of full time sales, tech., marketing personnel
- Partner’s industry
- Partner’s solution description
- Partner’s services provided
- Vendor’s products and services that will be sold
- Size of companies targeted: v. small, small.
med., large enterprise
- Sales/technical certifications
- Geography supported
Key Vendor & Partner Metrics
Other reports provide analysis and deeper insight into
various areas of the program, including:
• Reasons why new partner program initiatives are
performing well or underperforming.
• Recommendations for improving the program.
• Detailed feedback obtained from partners.
• Competitive analysis data obtained from new partners.
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12. The Ultimate Playbook: Unleashing the Revenue Potential of the SMB Channel 12
To Learn More About CGS’s Channel Management Solutions:
Contact us at: channels@cgsinc.com or
Visit us at: http://www.cgsinc.com/en/channel-partner-enablement
200 Vesey St - Brookfield Place - New York, NY 10281-1017
212-408-3833 channels@cgsinc.com cgsinc.com
Channel Development &
Management Solutions
What Differentiates CGS from
other Channel Development
Solutions?
Our portfolio of innovative channel development and
management services are “proven” with some of the world’s
largest technology vendors.
CGS’s channel development and management services offer
the opportunity to truly “differentiate” partner programs from
the competition with features that address the needs and
desires of today’s SMB partners and drive incremental sales.
Our executive staff has over 30 years of indirect channel
sales and channel business development experience
on a worldwide basis. You will be working with seasoned
experienced channel executives that have encountered the
same challenges you face, especially in today’s economy.
CGS will assist you in gaining a superior position in your market
as the vendor of choice with the best partner program,
delivering a complete end-to-end channel development
program cost effectively.
Global Reach – with over 5,000 employees and facilities
located in 20 countries serving North America, Europe,
Asia and Latin America, we can support your partners in 18
languages.