Course Electives – Channel Training for Retail, Alliances, SaaS & Direct
Each of the three MAIN courses (Channel Management, Channel Sales and Channel Marketing) includes one FREE elective course (channel training for retail, alliances, SaaS or Direct Sales). Each elective requires at least one of these main course to be completed as a pre-requisition since they each contain foundational concepts (terminology, roles of the teams, channel overview, etc.) that are expected to be understood by the time you start the electives.
The electives are unique to Chanimal University and concentrate on areas specific to your current role–critical when you consider how different channel management is from online to retail to enterprise. The main curriculum cross-trains and exposes you to some of the other disciplines, but the electives help you get much deeper and more tactical in the areas that are most relevant to your day-to-day job. The tactical execution is also one of the areas where channel managers need the most help–they often know what needs to be done, but not how to do it.
Purchasing Additional Electives
You can also purchase additional electives (simultaneous or later) to prepare for future roles (if you change positions, companies or get promoted) or if your company wants to expand into additional channels. Plus, if you are a director to VP level channel professional in many of the large companies (like GE, Motorola, Microsoft, etc.) you may have to learn all channel types to cover all your applicable markets.
The electives are comparable to getting a marketing degree with an emphasis in advertising, or a doctors degree with an emphasis in pediatrics–you get the general channel baseline within your main course, plus DETAILED day-to-day tactics within the electives that are specific to your exact role.
You will have the opportunity to select your included elective when you purchase each of the MAIN courses.
Course Topics
Elective groups cover the four areas
SaaS & Affiliate / Referral
Alliances & OEM
Retail & Online
Direct Sales & Pro Services
Click the tabs below to see more details about each elective. Click HERE to view a PDF showing how they compare to each other.
Course Electives
Focus on the DETAILS
Certification Course Electives
Click the tab below for a brief overview of each elective course (Channel Training for Retail, Alliances, SaaS or Direct Sales). You’ll have an option to add your elective at the time you enroll in a main course, or click the orange button now to enroll in a specific add-on elective.
SaaS & Affiliate / Referral
About This Elective Course
You’ll learn the specific differences for a SaaS product in the channel, including:
SaaS Specific
Define your model. You’ll review traditional vs SaaS models, including the difference between affiliates, referrals, levels and even OEM. Plus, which elements of a partner program apply and which do not.
Distributors. Why you don’t need a traditional distributor, but you may want to consider a SaaS specific distributor and market place. Plus, how they add value and what to look for.
Pricing & Margins. SaaS products use a different pricing model. You’ll learn how to set your SaaS pricing, but also how to determine your SaaS margin including how much to pay, over what period to pay, who collects and who pays who and how quick to pay. You’ll see multiple examples and models making it easy to determine exactly where to set your margin.
Recruiting. Learn how to find the right partners, how to contact and recruit them. You’ll also learn what they like and don’t like to see and elements that are critical to a SaaS partner.
Affiliate/Referral Programs
Affiliate Setup. If you refer only, you don’t need all the elements of a typical partner program. But you will need to consider form-based, vs affiliate software-based. Plus, select the right affiliate software, get it setup, getting connected to your shopping cart or referral page and more.
Configure Program. You’ll review levels, payouts, policies, margins (and how to determine), the agreement, plus unique content (depending on product type and price point. You’ll create referral text, testimonials (tips), banner ads (or not), videos, sample landing pages (SEO), and applicable collateral.
Affiliate Recruiting. How to identify the top market segments, associations, blogs, trade pubs, forums, plus the trick to get on the top of the major 50 directories, email campaigns and recruiting waves.
Enablement. Which affiliates to avoid, how to get links, landing pages, videos and banners setup. Plus, creating special webinars and events for affiliates to announce, newsletters, affiliate recognition and more.
The course is very hands on and we’ll enter systems, view samples and screens. The online version will contain videos of PowerPoint, but also tactical setup in other systems.
You’ll learn the strategy, but also the tactical details about how to set up profitable alliances and OEM’s, including:
Alliances
Why & How to Create Them. We’ll define alliances, show how they are the FASTEST way to recruit resellers, give success alliance examples, and describe when who and how to set up them up. We’ll go through the role of the alliance manager and objectives, how to get needed bandwidth, and whether alliances should be formal or informal.
Setup & Definition. We’ll review the alliance master plan of action, discover the acid test, and go through the complete alliance kit (including process, policies, and templates). We’ll create an alliance worksheet and work through categories, the business case for each type, identify complementary companies per category, and compile contacts.
Recruiting. We’ll discuss why you must NOT engage until you have done “this,” determine which groups to contact and who to talk with. What the first meeting agenda looks like, the initial call, and how to pitch and engage.
Leverage Alliance. We’ll review what you want out of it (hint – recruit their channel), the four legs of a stable alliance, the initial strategic meeting, and the three tactical meetings you must have. We’ll review the agendas and tactics, plus we’ll review the alliance pick list (by department), then cover project management, resources, templates, and worksheets. Essentially, how to make alliances pay off (including the example of recruiting over 1,000 partners from an alliance in 90 days).
OEM / White Label
Definition. We’ll define the difference between an alliance, OEM, and white label and which to use. We’ll review numerous creative examples and discuss how OEM can become a channel.
OEMLicense Agreement. Much of an OEM is determined by the unique license agreement. We’ll review what to look for, what to avoid and what you want out of it.
Recruiting. How to identify the best targets, how to engage, present, and solidify.
Enablement. We’ll discuss the downfalls of OEMs and how to avoid them, how to be successful by helping your OEMs (instead of neglect), what they need, how to “franchise” a successful model, and how to keep your OEM or white labels growing.
Retail is a shrinking market for tech, but it is a growing market for online. Regardless, some products will always be in retail (so long as a customer wants to try or see before they buy, or want it instantly), and you need to know how to make it succeed if that’s your channel.
In retail, there is no deal registration, no lead forms or policies, no techy white papers, no fancy configurators, etc. So all your “other” channel experience doesn’t apply. You need to pick up a new skill set.
In addition, there’s more to an online channel that just putting your product on your website–including online etailers, market places and platforms. This course provides the DETAILED tactics to succeed in both, including:
Retail
Retail Differences. You’ll learn how the roles of channel marketing and channel sales are VERY different in retail (sales engages much sooner). The terminology is different (POP, ROP, Plan-o-gram, EndCaps), the margin is different, most retailers use wholesales distributors, plus more.
Setup & Definition. You’ll learn how to set up your retail kit, including best-selling packaging, an intro letters, sell sheet, product slick, sell-in PowerPoint, promo flyer, and the NFR employee special.
Pricing. You’ll better understand pricing objectives, strategies, structure and levels. You’ll create your rate cards for sales, exception policies, alliance pricing, NFR pricing, volume discount schedule, bundle pricing, plus create your price savings build-up.
Wholesale Distribution. You’ll learn which type you may need, who to select, contract “gotcha’s,” differences by country, the margins, how they make money, how they help with logistics and reverse logistics, how they can help with recruiting, what works/doesn’t work, how many to sign-up (hint: too many you don’t get attention, too few they gouge your resellers), when to use aggregators, and more.
Sell-In Strategy. Use a rep firm (and who, terms, pros/cons), or sell direct? Why you should get your run-rates with locals and regionals–before contacting the nationals. How to leverage MDF, what promotions work, how buyers make their quotas, tactics to get your product in, how to negotiate shelf placement, how to increase initial sell-in (and why it’s critical), how long does it take?
Demand Generation. Retail fulfills demand, but they can create it with run-of-press, promotions. Most of the time the vendor creates demand–what works, which to do first, how to leverage PR/awards, SEO, ads, social media, and events.
Sell-Through–Retail Enablement. In retail, a sale is not a sale–until it’s past the return period. It’s also no fun to have a semi-truck pull up with “returns,” because you didn’t know how to get your product OFF the shelf. You’ll learn how to run SPIFFs (to the retail reps–not to increase store profits), how to increase the almighty “Reseller Recommendation Rate,” and why it is the MOST critical retail metric, how to merchandise (through the reps), how to train (resellers sell what they know–they know what they use), and you’ll learn what works and what does NOT work.
Online Website, Retail, Marketplaces
Online website sales. How to drive traffic, convert the traffic, and not lose the sale within the shopping cart. Includes landing pages, website plan-o-gram, price or no price decisions, webinars, web-push notifications, pop-ups–key elements to SELL on your OWN website.
Retail Online and eTailers. Most retailers have an online store. Learn how to get good placement, ensure up-to-date info for their comparison grids, capture, and manage online reviews. Some are strictly online–how to sell-in, negotiate terms, and influence online sales.
Marketplaces & Platforms. Learn how to sell-in and set up your product on popular marketplaces and platforms like Amazon, eBay, Google Shopping, NewEgg, Shop.com, iTunes Store, Best Buy, and more. Know how to set up your listings to optimize sales, how to track and beat competitors, proper market-place SEO, proper mapping of products (especially if you have hundreds of online products–since each market place has different rules (you may need software to optimize)), learn critical out-of-stock rules, and how to increase and manage online reviews.
This is a direct sales course for products and professional services–since direct sales is also a channel of distribution. Any good Channel Sales Manager also has to know how to sell first–or how they can help other salespeople with model calls, coaching calls, and sales training.
The Channel Sales Manager course contains similar content–but much of it is aimed at selling through a reseller. This course is about selling 100% direct. It also has more direct sales content, more closing, more details to overcome objections, etc. This course also includes selling both products and professional services. It covers both soft selling skills, and hard closing skills.
This is the sales material used to train thousands of direct sales reps, presented by a master that had some of the highest sales ratios in the industry (97.3% approach to presentation (company avg was 27%), 47.7% close (company avg was 24%), cancellation rate .01% (avg was 3%)).
The course training includes:
Direct Sales
Steps of the Sale. Includes pre-approach, the approach, setup, presentation, and close.
Pre-Approach. The information you need before calling on a prospect. Makes a big difference in your approach ratios.
Approach. Why most salespeople don’t have an approach, what are the best elements, and how this one concept can double your ratios.
Setting Appointments & The Setup. How to create a buying (vs selling) atmosphere and why it changes the entire perspective.
Presentation Skills & Personalized Demos. Learn the persuasive format, pacing, and tips learned from 80,000 presentations a week.
Demo Mechanics. Many seem obvious, yet are not followed. Learn voice pacing, the 3-second rule, how to be funny–make money, visual selling.
Group Presentations. The importance of seating, temperature, group dynamics, and visual distance.
Proper Dress. Yes, it always matters. How to avoid flaming attire, hellfire pants, and floating shoes, and what is the LOOK that makes the biggest difference.
3rd Person Selling. Why you need it, when to use it, how to get it.
Price Savings Build-up. How to sell your price, what we learn from cheesy ads–that works, and how to sell value, not just initial price.
Closing Techniques. Learn the ABCs, Why close, Trial close, how many yes’s secures a sale, “the” close question, roller-coaster closing, first to talk takes the goods, and when to provide one more reason to buy.
Keep It Closed. Back to the Buyers Atmosphere, what you should leave behind, what must happen to succeed
More Closes. Closing with questions, my mother told me, assuming the close, the physical action close, best deal close, secondary question close, close with tie-downs, and more.
Overcoming Objections. Learn the famous Feel, Felt Found, why you should agree, how to treat objections as questions, how to overcome objections in advance.
Sales Resources. Websites, templates, worksheets – helping you sell by the numbers. Includes a 43-page editable sales manual and associated PowerPoints to build your own in-house sales team.
Sales Management
Situational Leadership. How to manage according to where they are–and how to get them to the next level. A “safe” management style for growing teams.
The Game of Work. Learn which metrics matter, how to leverage, how to improve, and how to self-motivate. Includes worksheets.
One Minute Manager – Revived. Timeless concepts from the original series applied directly to setting expectations, setting up a PAR, creating a PIP, and how to create a self-correcting team. Combined concepts from OMM, Putting the OMM to Work, Leadership, and the OMM, The OMSalesM.
Coaching & Model Calls. How to become the coach, including pre-call briefing, observations, why you NEVER save the sale, the wrap-up chat, and PIP–how to use your sales manual to teach to the standards. Plus, when and how to model.
Baseline Goal Setting. Learn the missing chapter from Stephen Covey’s 7 habits–how to set goals, why you must achieve before you raise, how the team raises the goal–and the massive increase you can expect.
Emotional Bank Accounts. Another Covey concept, explains a simple model to turn utility relationships into friendships and why it is critical with your sales team.
Motivation. Learn what motivates (hint–it’s not money), see proven examples, how to engrave carrots, contest ideas, and execution.
Professional Services
Product vs Services. How they differ, and how to setup.
How to Build a Services Team. How to setup, scale and grow.
Detailed Discovery. How to do proper discovery, either process of tools (including software systems)
Project Management. How to setup forms, systems, processes, and deadlines.
Perfect Delivery. Aligning your team for perfect execution. Up-front training, field quality control, reporting.
Change Request. How to manage changes in your requirements, how to plan in advance, charging the difference.
Confirmed Satisfaction. Ensuring everything was delivered, all expectations met, leverage success internally, refer new clients.
Yes. Chanimal University offers the following group discounts for courses enrolled from the same company at the same time (percentage discount off the group total):
3 – 5 people. 20% discount.
6 – 10 people. 25% discount.
11 – 25 people. 30% discount.
26 and above. 35% discount.
Please Contact Us for additional questions and to get the group purchase coupon code–or we can process it internally since each person requires their own access code, login, and certificate credential details.
The easiest way to justify the cost for training is to role the numbers:
Assuming after just one course, you are able to hire or re-activate just ONE new reseller because of what you learn
They sell just one new customer every quarter = 4 customers per year
You have a SaaS application & the avg deal size is $100/month – that’s $1,200 per year x avg 2.5 years per customer = $3,000 revenue per sale
So the single reseller is worth 4 sales, or $12,000 per year
If the avg reseller stays onboard for five years = then you make $60,000 lifetime revenue for every reseller
If your cost for the initial Certification course is $2,000 – then you get a 30x return!
If you are able to hire 100 new resellers (many trained channel manages go on to recruit hundreds if not thousands of new partners), instead of just one, with what you’ve learned? That 60k x 100 – $6 million in revenue for a $2k investment. That is a 300 x return!
For comparison, in a software company, with a 20% gross margin–you need a 5x return on your marketing promotions to get your money back and break even. If we compare your channel return to a display ad, we realize that many ads only generate a 2.3x return. Even a good ad will typically only generate a 13x return (so 300 x return is one of the highest ROI you will ever get).
The return for channel programs overall is the highest ROI of any marketing activity–so any investment in training typically gets incredible returns. You may want to use this example when trying to convince your management to invest in your training.
What if I don’t pass the test? Can I re-take it.
Yes. Once you pay for the course you have access to the system and materials for 12 months (access to the course resources for life). You can re-take the test as many times as needed until you know the material well enough to pass the test.
Please contact us if there are unusual circumstances and you need more time.
How do I get a refund if I’m not happy?
100% Money-Back Guarantee – No Risk
Any course from Chanimal University includes a rock solid 30-day money back satisfaction guarantee as long as you have not completed more than 50% of the course. You must request a refund within 30 days from the day you enrolled. Your refund will be returned in the same manner as your original payment (typically PayPal, VISA, etc.).
Contact Us if you are not completely satisfied for any reason for a full no-hassle refund.
How does Chanimal University compare to other channel courses?
There are only a few groups that do training—although one is a light add-on to their direct sales training, and four of them white label their channel training through Chanimal—the keeper of industry best-practices for over 20 years.
How Does It Compare?
A relatively recent company is the Channel Institute by Michael Kelly. His classes are for “those new to channel management, or those moving into a channel management role for the first time.” He is a nice guy, has well-produced videos with some nice graphics, and his courses are mainly online and non-interactive.
His class description specifically states, “Our focus is on entry-leveltraining for channel management and channel marketing.” It says it dovetails into more advanced training and consulting.
Chanimal University is the most advanced channel training. It covers introductory to ADVANCED channel management, channel sales, and channel marketing. It would be equivalent to a bachelor’s, masters, and finally a PHD in channel management–with the certification, the pro, and the instructor levels (plus electives to drill-down into vertical tactics). It is MUCH more in-depth and includes both the strategy and hands-on tactics. It also cross-trains your team across multiple channel types (since many companies cover from retail to SaaS to Enterprise).
One highly experienced and industry-reknown channel manager, having seen multiple courses commented while taking the course, “This far surpasses what CompTIA, CRN, AchieveUnite, Trailhead and others have – by an order of magnitude.”
After he finished the course, he wrote, “This was a fantastic course. An absolute mountain of information and orders of magnitude more depth and breadth than I have seen in the market.”
Trained over Ten Thousand Channel Managers
In addition, Chanimal University has trained over ten thousand channel managers (versus a few hundred)–often up to 150 at a time in 3-day workshops (including training some of the most senior channel leadership in the industry) live on-site and remotely worldwide over the last two decades.
Chanimal University training has been used to create, define, recruit and build some of the most successful channel programs from some of the largest brands in the world in almost every market and channel segment (Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, Citrix, Sony, Intel, Epson, Motorola, GE, Netscape, Big commerce, AOL, Survey Monkey, IBM, Disney, Red Storm, Corel, Aldus, AMF, NEC, Canon, Novel, Toshiba, Lotus, and hundreds more).
Similar Cost
The cost is similar, but Chanimal University is the world’s first, #1 Best-Selling certification training, is MUCH more “been there, done that,” as the industry gold standard, accredited by the Channel Advisory Council, and is taught by one of the most seasoned and successful channel professionals in the entire industry (aka, “Chanimal” short for channel animal), and now… it is available online.
