ASK CHANNELNOMICS: Who’s Responsible for Partner Profitability?

At Channelnomics, we field questions about best practices, partner strategies, and channel programs every day. In this series, called “Ask Channelnomics,” we answer some of the questions we receive most from vendors.
Question: Partners say that they don’t make enough money on the sale of our products and services. They’re always looking for more margin. As a vendor, we often say we care about partner profitability. How should we respond to partner requests and grievances about profitability?
Answer: We hear the same thing from partners: Even the most lucrative products could have better profit profiles. However, that’s not necessarily a margin or discount issue, and Channelnomics has a unique position on this.
First, let's get some fundamentals out of the way.

Vendor Discounts Don’t Equal Profit: Vendors often talk about providing partners with profit on product sales through their ...