The Vendor-Partner Disconnect

Misunderstandings about partners can hamper channel program performance. Here’s what vendors need to know.
By Larry Walsh
According to the 2022 Channelnomics Channel Chief Outlook report, 85% of vendors struggle to get their partners to meet or exceed sales goals. And 71% have trouble getting partners to adopt new go-to-market models, such as service- and subscription-based offerings.
Why the discord? Simply put, many channel chiefs grapple with fundamental misconceptions about the nature of their partnerships with solution providers.
In dozens of interviews with Channelnomics, solution provider executives lament the disconnect between what vendors think and what’s really happening in the field.
For one thing, there’s ease of doing business (EODB). Vendors create channel programs with the expectation that partners will populate them aplenty and meet vendors’ established goals for perform...