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how SD-WAN is being deployed for
the customers and implemented by
the provider.
Remember: the channel man-
ager is the conduit to the company.
The channel is about relationships.
Everyone who has been in the
channel more than five years un-
derstands that. It is about relation-
ships because telecom is messy
and trust is hard to establish.
This doesn’t preclude the need to
tell a compelling story.
Telecom is a me-too business.
Thousands of hosted VoIP and
UCaaS providers have a problem
with both differentiation and posi-
tioning (where they fit best in the
marketplace). Competition in the UC
space from Microsoft and Cisco is
strengthened by their strong brand
and their certified ambassadors
making the purchasing decision.
In addition, the softswitch vendors
– Metaswitch, GenBand Broad-
soft – are now selling direct on top
of white-label options that are just
adding to the muddy waters. How
do you break through that noise?
Leverage the advantages that
you have. These include your cur-
rent relationship with the partner,
the deployment process that the
partner is already experienced with
and the uniqueness of your compa-
ny. Listening to customers will give
you content to discuss. Why did
the customer pick you? What was
the pain point or hot button? Was it
mobility, portal, user management,
analytics or something else that was
the tipping point? This is what the
presentation should contain.
If your UCaaS is based on Broad-
soft, how are you different than the
other 300-plus? You better make that
crystal clear – or we go to a price war.
Think about how you buy a
smartphone, a business tool that you
will look at 2,000 times per day for
two years. The look and feel of the
device is as much a part of the story
as the choice of operating system is.
Can you see how relevant that pro-
cess might be to your services?
If you can’t tell a story that will
resonate with the partner, you bet-
Most Effective B2B Sales Content Types
(Top 3 for each group)
Group Reporting
Type of Content
Buyers
Sales
Marketing
Product info/features/functions
35%
31%
24%
Demos
31%
23%
18%
Best practices
20%
18%
13%
Case studies
19%
24%
27%
Expert opinions
18%
19%
18%
Product ratings/reviews
16%
23%
18%
Source: LinkedIn, February 2016
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CHANNEL
VISION
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July - August 2016