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Welcome to The PlaceWare Online Seminar Series Seminar: "Creating a Go-to-market Channel Strategy: the mission, the myths, and the misfires" |
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Seminar Overview Reaching customers and markets beyond the coverage of a direct sales force has become a strategic imperative for company leadership. Sales and marketing managers have been tasked with generating incremental revenue through partners. And front-line partner managers and sales professionals are asked to embrace these third parties and "drive" these partnerships to that end. Why have very few companies successfully created an effective partner strategy to market and sell their technology products? IBM, Cisco and Microsoft are known for the effectiveness of their channels. However, most startup and smaller companies, and larger companies without the brand and financial resources, find it challenging and costly to generate business through indirect channels. Join Harper Thorpe from the Channel Management Group, who will shed new light on what it takes to build truly value-added partnerships. His approach, the mission, the myths and the misfires, will expose what's counter-intuitive about this topic, which can lead companies down the wrong path. Seminar Synopsis In this session, your understanding of partnering will be expanded beyond products, programs and policies:
About H. Harper Thorpe Mr. Thorpe is a recognized leader in bringing technology-based business solutions to market. He currently is co-owner and a principal consultant at the Channel Management Group, Inc. (CMG). CMG is a consulting and training company, with a specific focus on helping technology companies develop and manage high performance sales channels and alliances. Currently, Mr. Thorpe's practice includes advising companies who aspire to significantly expand their market coverage and revenue opportunity through partnerships. The appropriate partner relationships may be based on technology sharing, co-marketing initiatives or reselling arrangements. Client engagements have included hardware, software and service companies ranging from early stage ventures to the Fortune 50. In particular, Mr. Thorpe has been lauded for his leadership in building win-win relationships and sustainable business propositions by making sure the philosophical "connection" is real, the contractual underpinning is solid, and the personal relationships are nurtured. CMG has built its reputation by giving balanced attention to both the business and relationship challenges of partnering. Before joining CMG, Mr. Thorpe was VP of Marketing and Sales Operations at Rhythms NetConnections, a telecommunications company. He managed the company's transition from a direct-only selling motion to a channel-centric strategy and led the coordination of this effort across all functional departments. Prior to that, Mr. Thorpe spent 22 years at Hewlett-Packard Company where, as the North American Channel Sales and Marketing Manager, he laid the foundation for a value-based program for solution providers, which became the "standard" in the computer industry. Under his direction, system sales through distributors and VARs grew from $15M to over $1.5 billion in six years. Mr. Thorpe has degrees in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from the University of California at Davis. About Channel Management Group Channel Management Group, Inc. (CMG) is a consulting and training company with a specific focus on helping technology companies develop and manage high performance channels and alliances. CMG gives balanced attention to the business and relationship challenges of partnering allowing companies who are building or refining their "go-to-market" strategies and programs to achieve breakthrough objectives.CMG brings together a team of operationally experienced professionals with a combined total of over 60 years of alliance and channel sales, marketing and training experience. All of the principals have held senior management positions in industry leading high technology companies including Hewlett-Packard Company, Digital Equipment Corporation and Avnet, Inc. They have each helped build at least one start-up company. The CMG team can be a strategic partner, as well as guide the tactical execution of strategic initiatives. For additional information, see www.channelmg.com. |
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