Solving Common Channel Management Issues
September 25 2024
Solving Common Channel Management Issues In today's complex B2B ecosystem,…
Zift Solutions Shines with Bronze Stevie® Award Win for Great Employers 2024
September 10 2024
Zift Solutions is proud to announce that it has won a Bronze Stevie® Award in the…
Creating a Repeatable MDF Program
July 24 2024
Best Practices for Consistent Partner Engagement Market Development Funds (MDF) are…
Measuring for Success
June 27 2024
How to Identify and Track the Right Metrics Your business thrives when you…
Zift Solutions at Channel Focus Virtual 2024
April 11 2024
We are proud Platinum sponsor of Channel Focus Virtual 2024, April 17-18! If you…
Investment with Market Development Funds (MDF) and Beyond for Partners
March 13 2024
Historically, vendors make investments in channel programs and partners with…
The Art of Cross-Channel Marketing
December 27 2023
Ah, cross-channel marketing – that delightful puzzle where you try to make sure…
The Reseller Channel: How and Why to Use It
November 21 2023
With all the talk about MSPs, referral partners, influencer channels, and dozens of…
The Influencer Channel: How and Why to Use It
November 7 2023
Over the past few years, business-to-business (B2B) selling has been changing. In…
10 Things Partners Want Their Channel Leaders to Know
November 2 2023
Navigating the intricate landscape of channel partnerships is not just about…
Partner Onboarding 101: Tips for Building Lasting Partnerships
October 31 2023
Effective channel partner onboarding is the cornerstone of successful partnerships.…
The 4 Channel Ops Best Practices Every Channel Leader Should Know
October 26 2023
Launching or expanding domestic or global partner programs is no small undertaking.…
7 Tips for a Successful Partner Ecosystem Strategy
October 24 2023
Partner ecosystems are growing in popularity, with almost a third of total global…
5 Key Metrics for Effective Channel Partner Engagement
October 19 2023
When it comes to channel business partnerships, success hinges on more than just…
The Alliance Channel: How and Why to Use It
October 17 2023
Channel-driven organizations have traditionally focused on nurturing sales…
The Retention Channel: How and Why to Use It
October 12 2023
Customer experience (CX) is king. We've come to accept this oft-repeated mantra as…
RevOps, Explained
October 10 2023
Revenue Operations (RevOps) is a relatively new approach to doing business, but…
Let’s Conquer the World: Tips on Going Global with Your Channel
September 28 2023
The world is smaller than ever, and opportunities to expand into global markets are…
5 Keys for Building Materials Manufacturers to Build Partnerships and Maximize Sales
September 1 2023
Maximizing Sales Through Distributors In order to be successful in the building…
Personalizing Dealer Portals for Building Material Manufacturers
July 11 2023
Your building materials partners’ sales people are, in a very real sense, the face…
Supercharge Your MSP Business: How a Channel Management Platform Drives Profitability and Market Domination
July 6 2023
In today’s dynamic landscape, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) must embrace a…
Boost Channel Sales and Growth with Channel Management Software
June 7 2023
Channel Management Software – also known as Partner Relationship Management, or PRM…
How Do You Recruit Channel Sales Partners?
February 8 2023
There’s not one right way – or even a prevailing method– to recruit channel…
Which Came First? The Question or The Answer?
March 29 2022
Ever hear the one about the ice salesman who walked into the igloo, said hello to…
The Questions to Ask for Channel Partner Success in 2022
December 7 2021
Time now for partying, presents, and planning. Holiday season, yes, but also the…
10 Steps to Achieve Channel Marketing and Sales Alignment for Your B2B Company
July 8 2021
Sales and marketing alignment increases the power of marketing’s…
Built for Success: Sales and Marketing Alignment Best Practices from Channel Leaders
June 28 2021
Sales and marketing alignment is a challenging but worthwhile pursuit…
Mergers, Not Acquisitions: 5 Marketing and Sales Alignment Strategies
June 1 2021
Honing marketing and sales alignment strategies can better serve Chief Revenue…
Lead by Example: How to Help Your Partners Achieve Sales and Marketing Alignment
May 24 2021
If you aren’t asking it yet, there’s a crucial question to begin raising with your…
Channel Partner Enablement: 5 Strategies to Swipe from Direct Sales
April 21 2021
Sometimes it seems there is much confusion as to the definition of exactly what…
Proving Your Channel’s Value in 2021 – Your Questions Answered
December 17 2020
On December 10th, Zift teamed up with the experts at Vistex & AchieveUnite to…
What Happens When You Focus on the Last Word in “Channel Account Manager”
December 11 2020
It’s easy to get your channel partners to exile your channel account managers (CAM)…
10 Channel Strategies to Drive Higher Sales & Marketing ROI
November 20 2020
There really is no precedent one can draw an analogy from to describe the level of…
Full Sales Funnel Management: Dancing Backward — And in Heels
May 20 2020
I suppose it goes with the turf, but I have been doing a lot of thinking about…
Healthy Pipeline, Healthy You
April 15 2020
Right now, in this COVID-19 era, protecting and preserving health is a community…
Toll Takers & the Channel: Are You Seeing the Full CX Picture?
January 13 2020
In July, The New York Times published an article, The Last Toll Collector, that…
Enterprise Channel Management and Learning to Skydive
September 12 2019
For my 21st birthday a few decades ago, all I wanted to do was skydive. I had never…
What’s Your Flavor? Sales Excellence: eLearning for Channel Sales Success
August 22 2019
Sales Excellence, one of our Zift Zone Strategic Alliance partners, has been…
AchieveUnite, Channel Acceleration & the Lifetime Value of Partners
August 5 2019
Our Zift Zone Strategic Alliance Program has some standout channel leaders in its…
Welcome To The 2019 Channel Partner Draft
July 8 2019
Welcome to the 2019 Channel Partner Draft! Following the 2019 NBA Draft and in the…
Acronym Mayhem: The Fine Line Between Expertise and Jargonese
June 20 2019
You’ve seen them. We all have. You’ve listened to presentations full of…
Necessary Risks? Skydiving for Channel Technology
June 18 2019
Skydiving. It’s something people love or hate. You can imagine the expression of a…
Kick Procrastination to the Curb: Practical Tips to Stay on Task
May 23 2019
We all do it. So I looked to the Internet for an answer. “Why do we procrastinate?”…
Customer Experience & the Channel: On Being a Customer Experience Advocate
May 3 2019
After years of leadership as a product manager and product marketing in software…
Rule Your Channel Kingdom with ECM
April 18 2019
Imagine, if you will, you’re the ruler of a kingdom -- or seven kingdoms, even.…
Passing the Torch: The Changing Channel Workforce
April 11 2019
Channel folks, let’s talk. The channel is changing, though that’s a given. It…
Welcome to the Future. Welcome to ZiftONE.
April 9 2019
Last week, we officially launched ZiftONE. ZiftONE embodies years of channel…
Measure the Health of Your Channel with Assessments
April 4 2019
When something isn't right, whether it's your car, your pet or yourself, you're…
Inside Zift: Margaret Clair & Channel Engagement
February 22 2019
Margaret Clair has been a Zifter since 2010 and has seen her fair share of change…
Easy Listening: Can’t-Miss Tracks from Essential Channel Visions
February 8 2019
Alright, I admit it: I’m a millennial. An avocado-on-toast, phone-toting,…
The Inside Scoop: What’s Up & What’s Next for Zift Solutions
January 23 2019
2018 was a huge year for Zift Solutions. Industry analysts, insiders, and channel…
Top 10 Channel Chatters of 2018
January 3 2019
We were chatterboxes this past year -- and for good reason. We had a lot to share.…
Don’t Just Take Our Word for It
November 8 2018
It’s one thing to claim you are a market and industry leader. It’s quite another to…
One Voice
October 19 2018
Scroll up, scroll down, scroll all around this blog and it’s obvious we love to…
Cheers to Our Channel Leaders & A Pint of Partner Engagement
October 15 2018
You know me. I’m the Southern guy, who loves pimento cheese, soccer and channel…
From Content to Conversion – Moving your Buyer through Every Stage of the Sales Funnel
October 12 2017
Following my last blog post on KPIs, I think the topic of conversions and…
Why Channel Technology Must Integrate or Face Extinction
August 9 2017
As our regular readers know, Zift has been focused on the vision of…
Changing the Channel: Zift is Merging with Relayware
July 12 2017
We’ve got some big news: Zift Solutions has just announced our intent to…
The Deal on Leads
June 26 2017
Lead management and deal registration, two critical components of channel sales and…
SiriusDecisions Summit 2017: Must See Channel Sessions
May 16 2017
We just touched down in Vegas and are ready to roll at SiriusDecisions Summit 2017.…
Love, Trust & Leads – A Manufacturer’s Channel Story
April 21 2017
Trust. The cornerstone of any good relationship. And as we found in a recent study…
Three Mantras for Channel Sales Managers
December 22 2016
Channel sales leaders face a unique set of challenges on a daily basis. Managing…
The Shrinking Sales Cycle: How to Win the Online Content Game
December 8 2016
The beloved sales cycle -- the time it takes someone to move from the Awareness…
Content Marketing & The Buyer’s Journey
December 1 2016
What if you could target each of your partners' customers -- not just based on…
3 Steps to Start Driving Channel Sales
November 2 2016
Did you know that indirect channels make up nearly 70% of all technology sales,…
Why Channel Sales Leaders Should Care About Channel Marketing Automation
September 27 2016
For the past several years as a research analyst, I had a front-row seat watching…
Zifters Go Back to Class
September 2 2016
Summer vacation is over, and school is back in session. As the kids (and some of…
5 Most Memorable Social Media Campaigns of All Time
July 12 2016
Every once in awhile, a social media campaign turns into something truly…
When and How Should You Contact Your Sales Leads?
March 30 2016
There’s a fine line between helpful and creepy. A colleague knowing that you were…
Channel Marketing Success Cornerstone #4: CMA Platform Operating Model (part 4 of 4)
March 10 2016
Zift’s latest eBook uncovers The 4 Cornerstones of Channel Marketing Success. In…
4 Ways to Align your Sales and Marketing Teams
February 26 2016
Does your organization suffer from a tenuous relationship between your sales and…
Closing the Sales Enablement Gap
August 20 2015
As Zift has grown within the channel marketing automation space, becoming a leader…
Channel Visions: Zift Sits Down With Sal Patalano
July 30 2015
As part of our exclusive Channel Visions video series, I recently had the…
A Blueprint for Channel Success: Resellers (Part 2)
June 23 2015
Building a successful channel program is a lot like building a house. This blog…
5 Ways to Take the Guesswork Out of Your Sales Process
June 11 2015
Zift welcomes guest blogger, Amanda Kahlow, CEO and founder of 6Sense. On July 8…
Making the Connection (New Video)
May 6 2015
Channel success really comes down to partner engagement and connections. Without…
How Automation Can Transform Channel Partner Sales
May 1 2015
Gil Cargill (Principal of Cargill Consulting Group) authored a Channel Pro magazine…
Focusing on the Future of the Channel
April 24 2015
I’ve been here in Miami this week representing Zift Solutions at Channel Focus…
How Many Tactics Does it Take to Secure a Deal?
December 15 2014
I’ll admit it. I’m a 1970s kid. If you are as well, then you likely remember that…
7 Secrets of Lead Nurturing Success
December 3 2014
Bob Lamkin recently joined Zift Solutions as part of the Marketing Advocate…
A New Era for Channel Sales and Marketing
October 30 2014
Our industry is experiencing a new era – and so is Zift Solutions. We recognize…
Not So Fast! Build a Foundation Before Leads Hit the Funnel
October 16 2014
Our customers and their partners continually tell us that they want more leads. Who…
Generating & Nurturing Leads Through to Close
September 16 2014
We’re excited to welcome guest blogger Chris White, AVP of Marketing for Orasi…
Putting an End to the Leaky Pipe Syndrome
August 19 2014
Lead generation can be expensive. by Ken Romley
Turning Leads Into Opportunities With Zift
July 10 2014
Join us in welcoming guest blogger, Brent Clouse, VP of Marketing for…
3 Reasons Why B2B Companies Should Use PPC to Grow Sales [VIDEO]
June 5 2014
Is Pay-Per-Click (PPC) a part of your marketing mix? Hopefully you're nodding. If…
Why Lead Nurturing is Essential to Channel Partner Success (Part 3 of 4)
February 19 2014
This blog post is the third part in our series which aims to help suppliers…
How to Introduce and Optimize Automated Lead Distribution (Part 2 of 4)
February 13 2014
This blog post is the second part in our series which aims to help suppliers…
Times Have Changed: The Sales Environment Evolution (Part 1 of 4)
October 17 2013
Dramatic shifts in today’s sales environment are driving big changes in channel…
3 Ways to Optimize Partner Sales
June 10 2013
As so many of today’s businesses rely on channel partners to drive product sales,…
3 Effective Ways To Increase Leads & Conversion Rates
November 20 2012
You have just seconds to convince someone that your web page is worth reading.…
The Truth About Content Syndication and SEO
January 10 2012
Occationally questions come up around the effect of content syndication on SEO. We…