Paul Bird 00:05

This is Partner Relationship Management: The Ultimate Channel Sales Podcast.

Hello everyone and welcome to The Ultimate Channel Sales Podcast! I’ll be your host, Paul Bird.

This is just a short introductory episode to familiarize you with what you can expect from this podcast, learn about my expertise on the subject matter and you can get acquainted with me as your host!

Paul Bird 00:33

So, let’s start with a little bit about myself. I’ve been working in this industry for over 24 years, representing companies ranging from application service providers, circa 1997, to today's norm-breaking SaaS companies. I’ve spanned everything from the data center right to virtual desktops. 

My sales background has been equally split between channel development, sales, and marketing for global digital messaging providers, and leading sales teams for Microsoft Gold Partners. 

Today, I’m the sales manager and chief portal wizard at Magentrix, a web portal provider. Magentrix creates both PRM portals for partner relationship management, as well as portals for customer success. 

Every day is a wonderful challenge as I get to help clients by leveraging both my passion for Salesforce as well as my experience at both ends of the channel. I can really appreciate the business relationships and the impacts on both sides. 

I’ve spent a lot of time building channel where I got to establish these partnerships and get them to sell at scale. But I’ve also spent a lot of time working in the channel and I’ve had those vendors that are trying to get me to carry their product or service and add it to our portfolio. 

I truly enjoy crafting match-made solutions that keep pace with today's rapidly evolving technology landscape.

As the head of sales at a company that strives to give channel chiefs the tools they need to succeed, I’ve been privy to hearing about the various challenges of these chiefs and been able to resolve their issues and help them meet their channel management needs with Magentrix’s platform. 

For example, helping out a software company in the UK about 18 months ago. It was great to see a press release where they had record sales in the first two quarters of this year. 

Or having companies that have shared with us the challenge that their partners are simply not self-sufficient. By using Magentrix’s learning management system, they were able to get them trained and certified so they would better understand their product or service. 

We have another organization that, last year, adopted our rewards and gamification module. They were really trying to drive behaviour of new deal registrations because they knew the value of what that prospect meant to them. After implementing the rewards program and targeting a $5 gift card for a new deal registration, they found that, within 90 days, they doubled the amount of deals that were registered. 

So, a lot of interesting challenges that are brought to us and obviously a lot of success stories! 

Paul Bird 03:25

Let’s get into the podcast overview. In each episode I’ll be engaging in deep discussion with a variety of channel chiefs whose backgrounds range across many industries. We'll share stories, valuable insights and explore various topics that surround channel management. This will include, how to select the right channel sales partners, how to best equip those partners so they have what they need in order to make the sale, how to identify the weak areas of your channel strategy and then optimize them. Looking at industry best practices and insider secrets to success, and really much more!

Paul Bird 04:04

Now more than ever, channel sales partners are the pathway to higher sales. 

So if you want to transform your partner relationships and seize control of your channel sales, this podcast is for you! Subscribe now!

For more information, visit us at channelsalespodcast.com.