Orientation: Lesson 7 – Final Exam

Execute With a Vengence – Final Exam

All of this information has got to have your head swimming. Fortunately, it will internalize as you start to execute and put it all together. This is where you start to earn your pay. This is the end of the orientation process.

The following are the typical next steps of execution for a new program or review and modifications of an existing program.

1. Review your own company reseller partner program and portal site—whatever is done so far (if at all). Read EVERY document and make a long list of questions. Be prepared to be tested on your reseller agreement, levels, lead policy, NFR copies, MDF/Co-op policies, promotions, support capabilities, your presentations, etc. If you don’t have any or all of this–then there is little to review–so you get to put it together. Fun!
2. Review the competitive matrix spreadsheet (the one we used to define the program).  Go from left to right and mark each item with a “0” for NO (doesn’t apply–like “evals” are only for hardware), X for completed and TODO for items left to complete.  Then compile the items left to do, prioritize them and uses the samples within the sample reseller portal to recreate your own.
3. Get your portal created. Review and edit the sample portal copy and pass it over to your webmaster, along with the link to the varportal.chanimal.com sample site.  Most sites are generic to start with, then you can add the databases, unique password info, etc. once you have over 50 partners (that’s when it usually gets too complex to manage it manually).  You may then consider a PRM (like Channeltivity or others) when it gets more complex.
4. Review the outstanding deliverables (for the portal site (if any) and prioritize them.  Most folks have to complete the competitive matrix and PowerPoint. You will also create the demo scripts for your product, etc.
5. Review the promotional e-mail that is sent to the resellers and the email system to send it out.
6. Update the partner follow-up spreadsheet that shows the steps to recruit and follow-up with our reseller partners.  It is within the Channel Kit.
7. Practice doing a review of our own portal—since you will need to start the orientation with the latest resellers.
8. Work with the team to get a product demo script completed.  It is not that hard—watch someone give a demo and document the items shown.  See examples within the sample reseller portal (varportal.chanimal.com).
9. Contact any of your new resellers (if you have any so far) to take them through the orientation process (whatever needs to be completed).  Also, most resellers turn over their salespeople about every 6-12 months, so you will have to set up a schedule to systematically cycle through them to re-train new team members.
10. Start the next phase of the recruiting process (send out the next batch of e-mails, follow-up via phone with those that respond, contact the good ones that don’t respond (they are often very receptive, it is just that their system may have blocked our e-mails)).
11. See the Channel plan of action for additional steps.

Final Exam for Orientation

Now it is time to see if you know your stuff. You won’t have the level of information to be a Certified Channel Manager, but by now you should have a good understanding of what needs to get done, you will know the terms and the process (and won’t embarrass yourself when talking to a reseller) and you can start to execute.  Take the test and you’re on your way!

Get Help

Even though the process and the information is documented within the Channel Manager Orientation training, you may still get confused or need help with some of the steps or the associated deliverables. You can send e-mail to Chanimal. You can also get affordable help with the Chanimal Micro Consulting (a channel pro for a modest amount per month (month-to-month)).

The Chanimal model is simple, most everything is free–unless you expect me to get off my duff and do something (then somebody is going to pay for it ;-).  Actually, whenever someone needs help getting it executed, then I can help (and the micro consulting model is extremely affordable).   Even with all the plans and information, I can usually speed up the process 5 – 10x.  My record: Setup the program, defined all agreements policies and re-purpose the portal to start recruiting–in ten (10) hours!  Your time varies (depending on how much of the portal content you have done (take hours to weeks)).

Please call or e-mail for more free information, or to check on availability if you need help to execute (Chanimal can work with 6-16 companies at a time, so sometimes you have to get on the list for openings). Check out the Micro Consulting program here.

Open Mic – LIVE help every Thursday

There is a live session where you can ask any questions or get any type of help every Thursday from 2-3 pm CST (Austin, TX) – holidays excluded. Sometimes it is filled with visitors, other times it is empty (so you get individual help). If nobody shows up after 15 minutes, then it is closed–otherwise, it is LIVE for the entire hour.  Go to www.GoToMeet.me/TedFinch (no password is needed–give it a minute if it has not started yet (I’m often coming off consulting calls)).

Certified Channel Manager

Thanks for going through the Chanimal Orientation Training for a new (or even existing) Channel Manager and executives. It does not include the scope of the full Chanimal Certified Channel Manager program, and it uses existing public information (unlike the Certification training which has more detail, templates, and samples), but it contains enough information to get you jump-started and on your way.

Click HERE  (opens in own window) to view the complete list of topics that are covered within the Certified Channel Manager coursework, and the passing of which, will put you in the elite category as a Certified Channel Manager. I encourage you to consider completing the certification training if you expect this to be your ongoing profession. It is also a great addition to your resume.

Below is a shameless video plug for the full Certified Channel Manager course:

Best of luck as you take the final exam and qualify for your Channel Orientation Certificate.