Phil,
Great post! Particularly regarding the face-to-face selling data. Having seen a lot of SaaS trials and tribulations with respect to both channels and sales models, my conclusion is that the misconceptions are often more a matter of roots than reality . My guess is that SAP's poor results were more determined by the company's expectations than the customer's needs. Indeed, all of the examples given have incredibly strong enterprise roots...with the exception of Microsoft, which while B2B at the core, has lot's of experience selling through channels and online with virtually no face-time.
If I were to recast your 2 misconceptions into reality, I think I would try something like this...
SaaS companies need channel partners to provide more complete solutions than their product alone and to expand their reach (think affiliates,not VARs)
SaaS channel partner margins are determined solely by their value added, which should be more about access to customers (affiliates) and getting the most out of the solution from a business standpoint (consulting) rather than tactical services for deploying it, customizing it, or figuring it out (technical services) Because, these things should be made stupid-simple and automated by the SaaS vendor in the first place.
by Joel York
at Chaotic Flow
Discussion on:
Message 6 of 1
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