Partnerships Unraveled – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Partnerships Unraveled, we welcome Anna-Maria Löweberg, Head of Partner Organization EMEA at HashiCorp. With over 20 years of experience, Anna-Maria brings a wealth of insights into building channel programs that effectively navigate the complexities of the EMEA market.

Anna-Maria shares her approach to tackling the unique challenges of a region as diverse as EMEA—where factors like language, local regulations, and cultural nuances demand a tailored strategy. We discuss the power of leveraging local partners who understand these intricacies and the importance of balancing centralized and localized approaches to drive growth effectively.

She also highlights the value of creating partner advisory councils, listening deeply to partners, and building trust by acting on feedback. In Anna-Maria’s view, a successful channel is more than a network—it’s a collaborative ecosystem where mutual understanding and shared values drive success.

Join us as we explore practical strategies for building strong partner relationships and driving channel success across complex, international markets.

Connect  with Anna-Maria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aloweberg/

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#channelmarketing #channelpartners

In this episode of Partnerships Unraveled, we chat with Kathy Mazza, Head of Channel Sales at Ooma, as she shares her insights from nearly 30 years in the tech industry. Kathy dives into the unique challenges and strategies of building a channel program within a company traditionally focused on direct sales.

She explains how Ooma has navigated the delicate balance between direct and channel sales, emphasizing the importance of trust and long-term relationships with partners. Kathy also discusses the evolving role of the trusted advisor and why, in today’s crowded market, customers are increasingly turning to these advisors rather than direct sales reps.

Kathy highlights the value of marketing in driving partnerships, sharing success stories from Ooma’s campaigns and how they empower partners to unlock growth. Additionally, she offers practical advice on leveraging proactive communication and partner engagement to maintain high partner satisfaction and drive consistent results.

Join us for this episode as we explore the power of building trust, the art of channel marketing, and the importance of the trusted advisor in modern partnerships.

Connect with with Kathy Mazza on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathy-mazza-698a32/

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Gaidar Magdanurov, President of Acronis, shares the innovative approach Acronis has taken to evolve from a backup company into a leader in cyber protection. Gaidar shares the essential steps Acronis is taking to empower their partners, including robust technical and sales training, enabling them to effectively communicate the value of holistic security solutions to their customers.

We also tackle the critical components for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to thrive, from customer acquisition to upselling strategies and the importance of a solid backup and recovery policy. Gaidar discusses the power of value-based marketing, showcasing how MSPs can frame their services in terms of customer value rather than technical jargon. 

Connect with Gaidar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaidar/

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#channelmarketing #channelpartners

Are you fully disti-enabled, looking to scale through distribution, or still on the fence? 

In episode 8 of Partnerships Unraveled we look into the dos and don'ts to make distribution work for your channel. 

We look at how distribution evolved from warehouses to SaaS and the roles each part of the channel plays. Bust 4 of the most common myths surrounding distribution. *Spoiler, you don't lose all control over your partners. 

Not sure what kind of distributor will fit your channel program? We look into the different forms of disti as well as what's in store for the future. 

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We love to pretend everything is sunny in partnership land, but the reality is, sometimes things go wrong. Partnerships can sour, leaving business stagnated and end-users unhappy. 

In episode 7 of Partnerships Unraveled we discuss why partnerships fail. We identify 4 common problems and how to fix them – or even better make sure they never occur in the first place!

• Entering with the wrong intentions

Successful partnerships means doing your homework, identify your Ideal Partner Profile. Be clear what you're giving and set up success plans together. 

• The misalignment problem

The best way to keep your partnerships golden? Listen! Set mutual goals with short-term successes along the way. And make sure you share quality data so that you can track it all. 

• The Partner Engagement Gap

1 in 4 partners will drop their vendor after just a few months if sales expectations aren't met. So go for those sales together. Make sure your partners are engaged and enabled from the get-go. 

• Trust issues

So your partner cheated on you with another vendor? So what! It's a free market. Just make sure to keep those communication channels open – both ways. 

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#channelmarketing #channelpartners

Where are you going?

How are you getting there?

By when will you get there?

These are the 3 key questions you need to ask when making data-informed decisions in channel. 

In this week's episode of Partnerships Unraveled we discuss how to make those data-informed decisions. 

• How to shift your company into a data-informed mindset
• The biggest challenges in channel surrounding data
• What types of metrics you should be measuring

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#channelmarketing #channelpartners

Over the past few episodes we focused on building and optimizing a channel from an enterprise perspective. This week we're looking at how to start a channel from scratch. 

We'll discuss 3 key focus areas to help you on your way to a successful channel:

• Define your Ideal Partner Profile (IPP)

Would you date a random stranger, or are there some basic requirements your future partner must meet? Well, it's no different in channel. Start by defining your ideal end user, then match that to an IPP. Now you have a filter to search by. 

• How to structure your channel team geographically?

Channel is THE best way to scale into new territories, but how do you know which countries to hit first? Should you immediately go all-in or test the waters? We're advocating to start small, because channel isn't a sprint, it's a marathon!

• How to recruit your first partners? 

Once you've defined your IPP and where to start scaling your channel, it's time for the actual recruitment process. Great relationships are often born from introductions, so get yourself one! Once you've reeled em in, don't be afraid to give give give. Because an enabled partner is an engaged partner. 

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#channelmarketing #channelpartners

You want to generate demand through marketing with your partners. 
But less than 15% actively participates in your campaigns. 

In this episode of Partnerships Unraveled we identify the 4 key challenges that channel marketers face today – and discuss how to solve them 

Resources: If you can prove impact and ROI through marketing then it should be a priority for both vendors and partners. 

Language: We know that localized language content performs better so why are we still not all translating our campaigns?

Data: How do you know which content is performing well, are you getting insights into who your partners' end-users are?

Revenue: Revenue attribution is 100% broken in channel, what are you measuring to calculate your ROI and how could you improve? 

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#channelmarketing #channelpartners

This week in the Partnerships Unraveled podcast, we're looking at the new kid on the block in partner land: Tech partnerships.

Many of these tech customers are coming from referrals, but what does that actually mean for the channel? Should you own your referral channels, and how do you go about that? 

We recently talked about breaking the silos. But some segmentation within channel is unavoidable. But how do you keep segmentation while avoiding silos? 

And what is the ultimate effect of tech partnerships, how will their network effect influence the channel? 

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#channelmarketing #channelpartners

Friction is everywhere, from recruitment to sales and everywhere in between. 

In episode 2 of Partnerships Unraveled we talk about removing that friction: from the recruitment process, onboarding, training, marketing and sales.  

Want to go smooth sailing on your channel? Check out this episode and learn how. 

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#channelmarketing #channelpartners