Through industry surveys, partner communities, and channel advisory boards, channel partners are telling IT vendors exactly what they want in an ideal partner program. How do your channel partners feel about your partner program? Are you listening? Here are 5 of their top requirements. Whether you already have an established distribution channel like Microsoft, HP, IBM, Cisco, Intel, or Oracle, or are just beginning to think about indirect channel management, you need to know what your channel partners really need to be successful.

1. The 5 Things Your
Your Partner Program
Channel Partners Want From

2. 1. Have a real relationship with
them as business partners.
Don’t just dump your program
on them and walk away.

3. Continuously communicate new
info, provide counsel, keep your
word and work with them to
build mutual trust.

4. 2. Simplify your partner
program. Complicated
programs take time to manage
and are really a pain.

5. Make it easy to execute
programs, request funds and
put in a claim. Then, send them
your payment within a month.

6. 3. Stay off their turf. Never get in
between your channel partner
and the relationship they have
with their customers.

7. They know how to best
communicate with their
customers. Create materials they
can customize.

8. 4. Implement an automated
system so they can manage
their program participation.

9. Tracking, reporting, payment
processing, approvals and
claims should be able to be
done quickly and easily online.

10. 5. Cash is king (and queen)
when it comes to sales contests,
SPIFs and co-op marketing
campaigns.

11. Skip the account credit and
junky prizes and pay them in
cash.

12. Excerpt from TECHmarc Labs post:
MDF and Co-op Marketing funds: An IT Vendor’s
Guide to Sales Growth
www.TECHmarcLabs.com
Music: Josh Woodward,
I will not let you let me down, The Wake