When a comes to building and accelerating channel partner programs, a range of boutique companies and partner experts are eager to lend a hand. Among the latest teams to know: FocusedChannels, which is backed by two well-known channel veterans -- Kurt Higgins and Brett Martin.
According to the company's launch messaging: "Our methodology is simple – we determine your channel requirements, profile and match channel partners, then determine and execute the sales and marketing approach required to meet your business goals."
FocusedChannels: Getting Started
FocusedChannels's services include:
- Program Evaluation and Assessment
- Program Design
- Partner Profiling
- Partner Recruiting
- Onboarding and Nurturing
- Partner Sales Engagement and Management
- Lead Engagement and Closure
- Channel Marketing strategy, support and execution
Those efforts include inside and outside sales and support teams. Plus, the company says it's equipped to hire, train and manage a FocusedChannels team to bolster clienteles' existing sales efforts.
Higgins and Martin are partners in the FocusedChannels venture. Higgins has nearly three decades experience in the consumer electronics, telecom and technology industries. Martin, meanwhile has a deep and broad range of VAR, vendor and distributor experience.
Channel Renaissance?
The continued rise of boutique channel consulting firms is somewhat ironic. Some pundits expected cloud computing and everything-as-a-service to pressure channel-centric vendors. And in some cases, that has certainly been the outcome -- especially as traditional software sales and server hardware sales floated off toward the cloud and IaaS services.
Still, many companies are discovering they need external expertise to build out their channel programs and indirect sales. Key consulting firms in the market include ChannelMaven Consulting, GetChanneled, KLA Group, Managed Sales Pros, Marketopia and The 2112 Group, among others. And just yesterday, Temprano Techvestors (led by AVG Technologies veteran Luke Walling) launched to help European technology companies expand into North American markets. Services and expertise vary from company to company, and in many cases they should not be considered head-on rivals with one another.
Moreover, the consulting firms should not be confused with partner relationship platforms and channel app software providers -- where names like ChannelEyes and ImPartner, among others, are well-known.
Meanwhile, we plan to check in with FocusedChannels later this month to see how the new venture is performing.
