Yesterday the 2013 SiriusDecisions Summit kicked off in San Diego. The event includes more than 1,500 B2B marketing and sales professionals from around the world. Here is a quick recap of some of the highlights from day one.

The event began with a series of case study presentations from various organizations including “Growing Channel Partner Revenue – Sage’s Journey to Improved Results” presented by Ken Romley, Zift Solutions CEO, and Mary Abdian, CEO and President of Macabe Associates. In addition to the key steps to improve marketing through the channel, it was great to hear Mary share her experiences leveraging the Zift Solutions platform to support her relationship with Sage. She shared how she has been able to grow her business while saving time and money using key marketing tactics including nurturing campaigns for prospects/customers, website content syndication, event promotions and ad retargeting.

Quote from Macabe Associates

The general sessions began with Richard Eldh, Co-Founder and Managing Director, SiriusDecisions. He discussed the importance of aligning sales, marketing and product in order to drive top line growth. With the majority of prospect and customer interaction happening online, the need for tighter alignment has never been greater. Consider these three to be the legs to the revenue-generating stool.

The highlight of the general session was the keynote given by four-star General Stan McChrystal. You knew from his first words that it was going to be a no-nonsense, straight to the point presentation. He told amazing stories from his years of leadership experience as former Commander of U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan. To be a successful sales and marketing leader you must:

  1. Understand the need for change and appreciate change – having understood something isn’t the same as understanding.
  2. Take advantage of collaboration – work together and communicate.
  3. Not overlook the power of relationships – they are what keep things together.

So, think about this in terms of your channel.  Do you appreciate change?  Are you equipped to truly understand their sales and marketing needs?  Are you collaborating with your partners? Are you providing them with the right solutions to make them successful?  If they are successful, then you will drive channel sales. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!