Investment with Market Development Funds (MDF) and Beyond for Partners

Historically, vendors make investments in channel programs and partners with…


The Art of Cross-Channel Marketing

Ah, cross-channel marketing – that delightful puzzle where you try to make sure…


The Reseller Channel: How and Why to Use It

With all the talk about MSPs, referral partners, influencer channels, and dozens of…


The Influencer Channel: How and Why to Use It

Over the past few years, business-to-business (B2B) selling has been changing. In…


10 Things Partners Want Their Channel Leaders to Know

Navigating the intricate landscape of channel partnerships is not just about…


Partner Onboarding 101: Tips for Building Lasting Partnerships

Effective channel partner onboarding is the cornerstone of successful partnerships.…


The 4 Channel Ops Best Practices Every Channel Leader Should Know

Launching or expanding domestic or global partner programs is no small undertaking.…


7 Tips for a Successful Partner Ecosystem Strategy

Partner ecosystems are growing in popularity, with almost a third of total global…


5 Key Metrics for Effective Channel Partner Engagement

When it comes to channel business partnerships, success hinges on more than just…


The Alliance Channel: How and Why to Use It

Channel-driven organizations have traditionally focused on nurturing sales…


The Retention Channel: How and Why to Use It

Customer experience (CX) is king. We've come to accept this oft-repeated mantra as…


RevOps, Explained

Revenue Operations (RevOps) is a relatively new approach to doing business, but…


Let’s Conquer the World: Tips on Going Global with Your Channel

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

Maximizing Sales Through Distributors In order to be successful in the building…


Personalizing Dealer Portals

Personalizing Dealer Portals for Building Material Manufacturers

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

In today’s dynamic landscape, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) must embrace a…


Boost Channel Sales and Growth with Channel Management Software

Channel Management Software – also known as Partner Relationship Management, or PRM…


How Do You Recruit Channel Sales Partners?

There’s not one right way – or even a prevailing method– to recruit channel…


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Which Came First? The Question or The Answer?

Ever hear the one about the ice salesman who walked into the igloo, said hello to…


2021 wooden blocks

The Questions to Ask for Channel Partner Success in 2022

Time now for partying, presents, and planning. Holiday season, yes, but also the…


10 Steps to Achieve Channel Marketing and Sales Alignment

10 Steps to Achieve Channel Marketing and Sales Alignment for Your B2B Company

Sales and marketing alignment increases the power of marketing’s…


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Built for Success: Sales and Marketing Alignment Best Practices from Channel Leaders

Sales and marketing alignment is a challenging but worthwhile pursuit…


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Mergers, Not Acquisitions: 5 Marketing and Sales Alignment Strategies

Honing marketing and sales alignment strategies can better serve Chief Revenue…


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Lead by Example: How to Help Your Partners Achieve Sales and Marketing Alignment

If you aren’t asking it yet, there’s a crucial question to begin raising with your…


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Channel Partner Enablement: 5 Strategies to Swipe from Direct Sales

Sometimes it seems there is much confusion as to the definition of exactly what…


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Proving Your Channel’s Value in 2021 – Your Questions Answered

On December 10th, Zift teamed up with the experts at Vistex & AchieveUnite to…


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What Happens When You Focus on the Last Word in “Channel Account Manager”

It’s easy to get your channel partners to exile your channel account managers (CAM)…


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10 Channel Strategies to Drive Higher Sales & Marketing ROI

There really is no precedent one can draw an analogy from to describe the level of…


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Full Sales Funnel Management: Dancing Backward — And in Heels

I suppose it goes with the turf, but I have been doing a lot of thinking about…


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Healthy Pipeline, Healthy You

Right now, in this COVID-19 era, protecting and preserving health is a community…


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Toll Takers & the Channel: Are You Seeing the Full CX Picture?

In July, The New York Times published an article, The Last Toll Collector, that…


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Enterprise Channel Management and Learning to Skydive

For my 21st birthday a few decades ago, all I wanted to do was skydive. I had never…


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What’s Your Flavor? Sales Excellence: eLearning for Channel Sales Success

Sales Excellence, one of our Zift Zone Strategic Alliance partners, has been…


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AchieveUnite, Channel Acceleration & the Lifetime Value of Partners

Our Zift Zone Strategic Alliance Program has some standout channel leaders in its…


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Welcome To The 2019 Channel Partner Draft

Welcome to the 2019 Channel Partner Draft! Following the 2019 NBA Draft and in the…


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Acronym Mayhem: The Fine Line Between Expertise and Jargonese

You’ve seen them. We all have. You’ve listened to presentations full of…


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Necessary Risks? Skydiving for Channel Technology

Skydiving. It’s something people love or hate. You can imagine the expression of a…


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Kick Procrastination to the Curb: Practical Tips to Stay on Task

We all do it. So I looked to the Internet for an answer. “Why do we procrastinate?”…


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Customer Experience & the Channel: On Being a Customer Experience Advocate

After years of leadership as a product manager and product marketing in software…


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Rule Your Channel Kingdom with ECM

Imagine, if you will, you’re the ruler of a kingdom -- or seven kingdoms, even.…


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Passing the Torch: The Changing Channel Workforce

Channel folks, let’s talk. The channel is changing, though that’s a given. It…


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Welcome to the Future. Welcome to ZiftONE.

Last week, we officially launched ZiftONE.  ZiftONE embodies years of channel…


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Measure the Health of Your Channel with Assessments

When something isn't right, whether it's your car, your pet or yourself, you're…


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Inside Zift: Margaret Clair & Channel Engagement

Margaret Clair has been a Zifter since 2010 and has seen her fair share of change…


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Easy Listening: Can’t-Miss Tracks from Essential Channel Visions

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

2018 was a huge year for Zift Solutions. Industry analysts, insiders, and channel…


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Top 10 Channel Chatters of 2018

We were chatterboxes this past year -- and for good reason. We had a lot to share.…


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Don’t Just Take Our Word for It

It’s one thing to claim you are a market and industry leader. It’s quite another to…


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One Voice

Scroll up, scroll down, scroll all around this blog and it’s obvious we love to…


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Cheers to Our Channel Leaders & A Pint of Partner Engagement

You know me. I’m the Southern guy, who loves pimento cheese, soccer and channel…


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From Content to Conversion – Moving your Buyer through Every Stage of the Sales Funnel

Following my last blog post on KPIs, I think the topic of conversions and…


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Why Channel Technology Must Integrate or Face Extinction

  As our regular readers know, Zift has been focused on the vision of…


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Changing the Channel: Zift is Merging with Relayware

  We’ve got some big news: Zift Solutions has just announced our intent to…


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The Deal on Leads

Lead management and deal registration, two critical components of channel sales and…


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SiriusDecisions Summit 2017: Must See Channel Sessions

We just touched down in Vegas and are ready to roll at SiriusDecisions Summit 2017.…


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Love, Trust & Leads – A Manufacturer’s Channel Story

Trust.  The cornerstone of any good relationship. And as we found in a recent study…


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Three Mantras for Channel Sales Managers

Channel sales leaders face a unique set of challenges on a daily basis.  Managing…


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The Shrinking Sales Cycle: How to Win the Online Content Game

The beloved sales cycle -- the time it takes someone to move from the Awareness…


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Content Marketing & The Buyer’s Journey

What if you could target each of your partners' customers -- not just based on…


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3 Steps to Start Driving Channel Sales

Did you know that indirect channels make up nearly 70% of all technology sales,…


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Why Channel Sales Leaders Should Care About Channel Marketing Automation

For the past several years as a research analyst, I had a front-row seat watching…


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Zifters Go Back to Class

Summer vacation is over, and school is back in session.  As the kids (and some of…


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5 Most Memorable Social Media Campaigns of All Time

Every once in awhile, a social media campaign turns into something truly…


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When and How Should You Contact Your Sales Leads?

There’s a fine line between helpful and creepy. A colleague knowing that you were…


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Channel Marketing Success Cornerstone #4: CMA Platform Operating Model (part 4 of 4)

Zift’s latest eBook uncovers The 4 Cornerstones of Channel Marketing Success. In…


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4 Ways to Align your Sales and Marketing Teams

Does your organization suffer from a tenuous relationship between your sales and…


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Closing the Sales Enablement Gap

As Zift has grown within the channel marketing automation space, becoming a leader…


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Channel Visions: Zift Sits Down With Sal Patalano

As part of our exclusive Channel Visions video series, I recently had the…


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A Blueprint for Channel Success: Resellers (Part 2)

Building a successful channel program is a lot like building a house. This blog…


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5 Ways to Take the Guesswork Out of Your Sales Process

Zift welcomes guest blogger, Amanda Kahlow, CEO and founder of 6Sense. On July 8…


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Making the Connection (New Video)

Channel success really comes down to partner engagement and connections. Without…


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How Automation Can Transform Channel Partner Sales

Gil Cargill (Principal of Cargill Consulting Group) authored a Channel Pro magazine…


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Focusing on the Future of the Channel

I’ve been here in Miami this week representing Zift Solutions at Channel Focus…


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How Many Tactics Does it Take to Secure a Deal?

I’ll admit it. I’m a 1970s kid. If you are as well, then you likely remember that…


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7 Secrets of Lead Nurturing Success

Bob Lamkin recently joined Zift Solutions as part of the Marketing Advocate…


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Planning for 2015? Focus on Partner and Supplier Sales Activity

While some are still wrapping up their quarterly reports for Q3, savvy channel…


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A New Era for Channel Sales and Marketing

Our industry is experiencing a new era – and so is Zift Solutions. We recognize…


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Not So Fast! Build a Foundation Before Leads Hit the Funnel

Our customers and their partners continually tell us that they want more leads. Who…


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Stretching Content Out: The Benefits of Repurposing

Stretch Armstrong! We all know the buying process has changed and research shows…


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Generating & Nurturing Leads Through to Close

We’re excited to welcome guest blogger Chris White, AVP of Marketing for Orasi…


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3 Proven First Steps For Increasing Lead Generation in the Channel

We are excited to have guest blogger, Heather Margolis, Founder and President at…


Yellow and gray pipes against gray wall

Putting an End to the Leaky Pipe Syndrome

Lead generation can be expensive. According to Hubspot, the average cost per lead…


Four people looking at data on phones and tablets

Turning Leads Into Opportunities With Zift

Join us in welcoming guest blogger, Brent Clouse, VP of Marketing for…


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3 Reasons Why B2B Companies Should Use PPC to Grow Sales [VIDEO]

Is Pay-Per-Click (PPC) a part of your marketing mix? Hopefully you're nodding. If…


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Why Lead Nurturing is Essential to Channel Partner Success (Part 3 of 4)

This blog post is the third part in our series which aims to help suppliers…


Green fields and mountains

How to Introduce and Optimize Automated Lead Distribution (Part 2 of 4)

This blog post is the second part in our series which aims to help suppliers…


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Rethinking Lead Distribution to Transform Opportunities into Real Revenue (Part 1 of 4)

It’s time to rethink lead distribution and the importance of partner pipeline…


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Times Have Changed: The Sales Environment Evolution (Part 1 of 4)

Dramatic shifts in today’s sales environment are driving big changes in channel…


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3 Ways to Optimize Partner Sales

As so many of today’s businesses rely on channel partners to drive product sales,…


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3 Effective Ways To Increase Leads & Conversion Rates

You have just seconds to convince someone that your web page is worth reading.…


New York Times Square

Branding & Profits Through Ad Retargeting

Bringing Back Interested Prospects When I talk to people about their marketing…


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Listen To Your Customers To Boost Channel Sales

A Basic Worth Repeating: The Importance of Listening When it comes to B2B channel…


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Review of IDC Paper: Data.com: The Fuel for High-Performance B2B Marketing and Sales Engines

Letting You Know The SkyIs Blue Overall: 2/5 stars – marketing 101 information…


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The Truth About Content Syndication and SEO

Occationally questions come up around the effect of content syndication on SEO. We…