By Chelsea Storozuk People often associate resolutions with New Year’s Day, but it’s never too late to reset your goals and give yourself fresh resolutions on being a better channel partner — for the rest of 2023 and beyond. If you’re looking for some inspiration on where to begin, consider these strategies from my own playbook that you can use to craft your resolutions. Build Trust Building trust with partners might sound obvious, but it truly is key to creating a successful channel partnership. Trust only flourishes when you create space for open dialogue. Product, marketing, the C-suite — each of these groups should engage in conversations with your channel partners and be responsive to their needs. This engagement shows your partners you value their input and are committed to their success. Mutual relevancy with your partners helps breed trust. Relevance is primarily delivered by the foundational elements of what any vendor offers: solution, pricing, margin and brand. Vendors can better set up their partners as important and relevant to their customers. In turn, vendors become more relevant to their partners. Out of this cycle, trust blooms. Foster Collaboration Trust also thrives on open communication and the ability to work together. As a channel leader, you must prioritize collaboration among your organization and partners and create a sense of community. A community is primed to work together on common goals and help support each other through the effort. And a thriving community strengthens your relationships. Solid relationships with your partners unlock ever-greater levels of success. Set shared goals between you and your partners. Offer regular training to the partners in your community, and give rewards and recognition for partner achievements. Did a partner win a new enterprise customer? Call out their success in your regular partner communications. Through your support, you can solidify partner relationships and reward everyone’s collaborative effort. Continuous Feedback & Constantly Measure Of course, any good relationship relies on two-way communication. Encourage your channel partners to give feedback on every aspect of the partner program and your relationship. You can collect feedback with regular partner surveys or by setting Strategies for being a better channel manager in 2023 CHANNEL MANAGEMENT RELATIONSHIP RESOLUTIONS 68 CHANNELV ISION | MARCH - APRIL 2023
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