How to Transition Your Partner Business
One thing lacking from all these expo keynotes, from these industry experts and analysts, who have been chirping at the channel to transform their business for years: How to!
There are some partners who will ride out their current business model. It is a lot of effort to transform a business. Not everyone wants to. And that is where it starts - with wanting to! Without that all the rah-rah and stats are water off a duck.
During my tenure with one Hosted VoIP provider, I used to tell the inter-connects (PBX shops) and VARs (hardware resellers) that it wasn't so much a big leap as it was small steps. The pivot from a CAPEX model to a monthly recurring business model is HUGE! Businesses that cash flow off of box (hardware, PBX, or other big ticket items) sales will have a cash crunch if they go cloud all at once.
Not only is cash flow going to change, but sales compensation has to change to reflect the new business model. This may impact your sales team to the point some will leave (and some have to go).
Cloud and Premise are mindsets. Until you switch your mindset to believe that cloud services are better for your customers, don't bother with transition. You can't sell stuff to people you don't believe in. It just doesn't work. And if you think boxes are best for your customers, ride it out!
The next step is to pick which cloud service you want to add to your portfolio (or what line of business you want to launch). Hosted email (Office365 or Google), SaaS, cloud backup, IAAS, CyberSecurity, Data Management or UCaaS/Hosted VoIP are just a few of the choices. Then you have to research vendors. Last thing you want is to sell something and have that company fold. [To be fair, it is very difficult to tell which companies will make it, which will not, so spend some time on this but don't go crazy or you will never exit this step.]
Now with vendor in hand, start the training process. You (and your sales team) need to know what it is, who needs it, who buys it (buyer persona, title, etc.), and what the benefits are (business outcomes are better than benefits or features). Pick a handful of customers to pitch it to. It is okay to lean on your vendor. Your channel manager for that vendor should be your best buddy during the first 90-120 days as you on-board and launch.
You need at least one deal a month in order to make the transition over 18 months. That's right: 18 months. By the time you pick a vendor, train/learn, start selling, get it installed, then paid, it can be 6-9 months. Then you will need to build up that recurring commission. Twenty percent of $1000 per month takes time to build up into a nice line of business.
Since it takes so long, you need to start yesterday (or now). Or stick to your guns and ride out what you have. In the scheme of adoption, we aren't quite at the midway mark yet, but we are getting close. You can be a laggard but it is a long run to get the line of business revenue significant, so plan accordingly.
I'm not saying this will happen, but Avaya's BK, Shoretel's sale, Toshiba exiting the PBX business are examples of things that will force you to change without much notice. Better to plan ahead and start moving forward.