Twists & Turns of Transformation

When I was a young girl and my brother was an even younger boy, he showed me his awesome new Transformer toys — you know, the cars and trucks that became robots. Then they were just the product-promoting stuff of Saturday morning cartoons and, today, of blockbuster special effects films.

While my brother could take them from one state to another with a few flicks of his wrist, I would labor over every twist and turn. Only when he showed me step by step could I transform the action figure from an ordinary vehicle to a laser-wielding, sentient hero.

My frustrating experiences with a jointed plastic nemesis are not unlike transforming a channel partner organization from one model to the next, from transaction-based to solutions-based. Even knowing the final incarnation (the uber-wise AutoBot leader Optimus Prime), finding a successful path from the origin point (an 18-wheeler) is not always apparent.

Channel Partners hopes to offer some instruction — and without the eye-rolling that accompanied my brother’s assistance. Yes, we have been covering this issue in these pages, online and at our events for many years. But the emergence of the cloud has pushed the issue to the forefront. So, we are embarking on a special project — an ongoing series of content, beginning with our cover story this month, profiling channel partners that have traded (or begun trading) their transactional origins for a consultative, service-based model. Their stories will be shared in subsequent issues, culminating in a Special Issue on Transformation in December.  You also will be able to check out their comments in the Transformation Blog online.

Several of these channel partners also will be guest speakers at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, where we will present several sessions on transformation topics, such as:

• Trading in the Transactional Model
• VAR Workshop: Shoring Up a Services Model
• Choosing a Cloud Business Model

I hope that you will take the time to read to their stories, listen to their presentations and ask them the hard questions.

One of those is whether you need to transform beyond transactional sales at all. We asked some industry experts to give us their opinions. You might be surprised by what you read.

I hope that you will find our “transformation project" valuable to your business planning and development — even if you ultimately decide to keep all 18 wheels hugging the same road.