Evolution Of The Channel And Its Role Today for Enterprises

Welcome to the 22nd episode of the “Dreamers and Doers Podcast,” where we sit down with industry thought leader Richard Murray, the co-owner and Chief Operating Officer of Telarus. Hosted by Craig Patterson, this episode takes you on an engaging journey into the world of networking and business partnerships.

Listen as Craig and Richard discuss the collaboration between Telarus and Aryaka, two trailblazing organizations poised for an big future. Join us as they uncover the secrets to their synergy and explore the exciting prospects for 2024.

But this episode isn’t just about the future; it’s a journey through Telarus’ rich history. Discover how the company started, how it grew to the size it is today, the journey to get there and even how it has evolved over the years.

Delving into the life and experiences of Richard, we gain unique insights into his extensive background in the industry. Learn about the challenges he’s faced, the lessons he’s learned, and the wisdom he imparts to those aspiring to make their mark in the industry.

In an ever-evolving channel landscape, the conversation takes a deep dive into the strategies and trends that are driving change. Richard and Craig shed light on the current state of the industry, offering valuable perspectives on where it’s headed and how Telarus is positioned to navigate these waters along side Aryaka.
But that’s not all; the episode also offers a tantalizing glimpse into the future, specifically what 2024 holds for both Telarus and Aryaka. These insights into their forward-looking plans and strategies promise to leave you inspired and eager to see what the future holds for these exceptional organizations.

So, join us on this podcast journey as we uncover the intriguing partnership between Telarus and Aryaka, explore Telarus’ storied history, gain valuable industry insights from Richard Murray, and peer into the crystal ball to glimpse the exciting horizons of 2024. It’s a conversation packed with wisdom, vision, and inspiration that you won’t want to miss.

Learn Exactly What To Say To Sell with Phil Jones

Dive into the persuasive world of sales with Phil M. Jones, the acclaimed author of ‘Exactly What To Say,’ in a compelling conversation with Aryaka’s Craig Patterson. This episode is a masterclass in the art of communication, tailored for those who aim to influence and inspire in the realm of business. Phil shares his profound insights into the psychology of selling, offering actionable tips and linguistic strategies that can change the trajectory of a sales discussion. He emphasizes the power of ‘magic words’ and how they can open doors to new opportunities.

Craig and Phil’s dynamic exchange is a blend of storytelling and practical advice, making complex sales tactics approachable for all. They explore the ethical dimensions of selling, advocating for building genuine connections and trust with clients. This insightful episode promises to refine your conversational skills, leaving you equipped with the knowledge to say exactly what’s needed to succeed.

Tune in for an episode that will transform your approach to sales and communication.

Prepare to Win and Make the Moment Yours

Enjoy some quality time with host Craig Patterson at the top of the podium here today as legendary ‘Miracle on Ice’ goalie, Jim Craig, joins the podcast to share his valuable insights on leadership, teamwork, and the pursuit of excellence. Jim is best known as the backbone of the 1980 Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Team, whose ‘Miracle’ win was voted by Sports Illustrated as the greatest moment in sports history of the 21st century. Jim shares the lessons learned from preparing, competing, and winning in sports at the highest level, and how he leveraged those lessons to become a successful business owner & consultant and give back to the family and society that shaped him.

Throughout today’s episode, Jim emphasizes the importance of preparing to win, distinguishing between leaders and executors, and nurturing the up-and-coming generation. He also highlights the significance of time management in leadership and the crucial distinction between preparing to win and preparing to compete. His passion for developing leaders, the impact of organized preparation, and the transformational power of mindset shifts are also explored. From his time with the Miracle Team to his consulting work in the business world, Jim applies the valuable lessons he learned from his Olympic journey, including the importance of teamwork, managing conflict, and fostering a winning culture, to help individuals and organizations achieve greatness. Listen in to this true American hero here today for some solid gold insights and wisdom that can be applied to both personal and professional growth in your own journey toward excellence and leading with purpose.

Episode Highlights:

• Jim’s professional journey
• The importance of time management
• Preparing to win vs. preparing to compete
• The power of organized preparation
• Developing leaders and building a winning culture
• Managing conflict and embracing a curious mindset
• Taking charge of your life
• Applying olympic lessons in the business world
• Giving back and philanthropy

Quotes:

“As leaders, I think your biggest chore is to develop the people that are underneath you.”

“Are you preparing to win or preparing to compete? Those are two different preparations.”

“Nobody was afraid. They weren’t afraid to compete. They learned from competing.”

“Failure isn’t fatal, but being afraid to is.”

“Conflict is great as long as it’s managed.”

“The most important thing about leadership is time management.”

“It’s really important that you understand what are the ingredients that you need this year to win under the circumstances of whatever industry you’re in. And that takes a lot of preparation and a lot of organization. And you have to develop people underneath you to be able to do that.”

“If you can change your mindset when somebody gives you an opportunity to understand that they’re the ones making the personal sacrifices… look at these as opportunities, be thankful, and take advantage of them.”

Links:

Aryaka

Aryaka Dreamers and Doers Podcast

Gold Medal Strategies

 

Empowering Women in the Channel Industry with MeiLee Langley

In the latest episode of the Dreamers and Doers podcast, host Craig Patterson speaks with MeiLee Langley, a multi award-winning channel marketing leader, about her vision for the channel community. MeiLee’s passion for empowering women and supporting their growth in the channel industry is a key theme throughout the episode as she emphasizes the need to recognize and support women who may feel stuck or unheard in their current positions. Along the way, she offers insights on her plans for an event to support women early in their careers, some effective channel marketing strategies, and advice to upcoming channel marketing leaders on building successful programs.

MeiLee then discusses the importance of pushing for equity in the workplace, particularly with regards to pay and title for women and minorities. She encourages women to research their worth and advocate for themselves and urges leaders to create plans and milestones that will allow women to advance in their careers. She also shares her personal experience of taking a step back from work to recharge and pursue her passions, emphasizing the importance of setting aside time for oneself in a busy schedule. MeiLee goes on to offer her advice for those going through mergers and acquisitions, and Craig reminds listeners of the importance of remaining positive and authentic in the face of challenges while focusing on what can be controlled. As you will hear, MeiLee Langley’s inspiring vision and advice for empowering women in the channel community, her insights on effective channel marketing strategies, and her emphasis on pushing for equity in the workplace make for yet another compelling and motivating episode of the Dreamers and Doers podcast.

Episode Highlights:

• Creating opportunities for growth and empowerment for women in the channel industry
• MeiLee’s plans for a workshop/conference for women early on in their careers
• Building successful channel marketing programs
• The state of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the workplace
• The power inequity of title for men and women in leadership roles
• The need for women to research their worth and advocate for themselves
• Taking a step back from work to pursue passions and recharge
• MeiLee’s advice for those going through mergers and acquisitions
• Remaining positive and authentic in the face of challenges
• Focusing on what can be controlled
• MeiLee’s career goal
• Pushing for equity in the workplace, and creating solutions to fix the blind spot

Quotes:

“In the channel, we’re so good about highlighting our female leaders… But we have a little bit of
a blind spot when it comes to these women earlier on in their careers or in those manager and
below positions.”

“Really take a minute and understand the audience that you are targeting.”

“Channel Marketing really is, in my opinion, the foundation and the framework of your
channel’s go-to-market strategy, which, in turn, is the lifeblood of your organization.”

“We have to be open to listening and learning and not being so defensive, and really leaning into
the fact that there is a lot of systemic change that needs to happen.”

“Taking a step back is not a bad thing.”

“I think the goal is to just kind of continue learning and growing and having adventures.”

“I’m saying if a man and a woman have equal experience, equal skill set and are equally able to
be successful in their role, they should be hired in as equals.”

“Don’t make any drastic decisions until you have an opportunity to really see if that merger
acquisition landed you in a better role or a better leader or a better scope.”

“You put good stuff into the channel and good stuff comes back…We need people pushing hard.”

“Time is finite. Use it to channel as much positivity as you can.”

Links:

Aryaka

Aryaka Dreamers and Doers Podcast

 

Getting Ghosted? Leverage JOLT to Change the Outcome

Wall Street Journal bestselling author, frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review, and Founding Partner at DCMi, Matt Dixon, joins Craig Patterson, Aryaka’s SVP Global Channels, to discuss his latest book, The JOLT Effect. A renowned sales expert, Matt shares his sales journey, including his inspiration for writing The Challenger Sale, and dives into the current state of sales, customer hesitancy, and how sales teams can leverage new research to overcome these challenges. Together, he and Craig discuss the reasons why customers choose not to move forward and explore the approaches that high-performing salespeople use to overcome customer indecision.

Matt goes on to introduce JOLT, an acronym for four behaviors that high-performing salespeople have discovered to overcome customer indecision: Judging the level of indecision, Offering a recommendation, Limiting exploration, and Taking risk off the table. Through this, salespeople can help customers make the right decision and feel confident that they are working with a trusted advisor who has their back. Dixon emphasizes the importance of understanding the root of a customer’s hesitation and guiding them to a decision, rather than overwhelming them with too many options or resorting to the ‘FOMO hammer’. He also stresses the significance of building trust by providing transparent recommendations, even if it means suggesting a lower-priced or smaller-scale product. As you will hear today, Matt’s research has shown that understanding customer indecision and building trust are essential for sales teams to succeed in the current landscape. By using The JOLT Effect and taking a customer-centric approach, salespeople can instill confidence in their customers to make the right decision and ultimately improve their close ratios.

Episode Highlights:

• Transformational moments occurring in the sales industry
• Understanding customer hesitancy and using the new research to help customers move forward
• Matt Dixon’s latest book, The JOLT Effect
• The story behind his first book, The Challenger Sale
• The JOLT acronym
• Exploring the different approaches that salespeople take when trying to re-convince customers of the benefits of the product, and why these approaches may not be effective
• Errors of commission and errors of omission
• FOMO and FOMU
• Helping customers make confident decisions
• Digging deeper to understand what is really going on
• Fear of failure
• The impact of scare tactics and endless options
• Building trust with the customer

Quotes:

“Customers are pushing off big decisions, kicking the can down the road. They’re super hesitant.”

“We needed to take a fresh look at what great salespeople do differently.”

“Anywhere between 40% and 60% of a salesperson’s qualified pipeline will ultimately be lost to customers who do nothing.”

“So, what we found was that the status quo actually isn’t the enemy of sales that we thought it was.”

“We call it the JOLT Effect, because it’s really about surprising the customer, giving them a reason to change, giving them that kick in the pants.”

“Your customers care a heck of a lot less than about the 10% discount you’re offering them right now. They care a lot more about losing their job. That is what they’re really worried about.”

“You’ve got to instill the confidence that the customer is making a great decision, they’ve done plenty of research, they’re working with a trusted advisor, and you’ve got their back. They’re going to look like a hero, not like a fool.”

“They’re not afraid of missing out. They’re afraid of messing up.”

“In a world of endless options; customers suffer from choice overload. They don’t want to choose the wrong option. So guide them to a decision.”

“We need to…break down that agency dilemma and build a bank of goodwill that we can later cash in. And the way we do that is we tell the customer specifically what they shouldn’t buy, even of the things that we sell.”

“Your job is to be a trusted advisor, and the way that you earn that trust is by being transparent and honest and telling the customer exactly what they need to know.”

“The more you can give your customer a sense of control, a sense of agency, a sense of ownership of the process, the more likely they are to make a commitment to you.”

Links:

Host: Craig Patterson, Aryaka

• Aryaka
• Aryaka Dreamers and Doers Podcast

Guest: Matt Dixon

• DCM Insights – The Customer Understanding Lab
• Challenger Live Training: Overcome Customer Indecision – The JOLT Effect Playbook
• Course: Overcoming Customer Indecision with The JOLT Effect by Winning By Design

2023 – The Year Trusted Advisors Challenge the Status Quo with Drew Lydecker

In today’s episode of the podcast, Craig kicks off the new year by sitting down with special guest Drew Lydecker, Co-founder and President of Avant, a technology decision-making platform that works to navigate ‘the relentless pace of change for Trusted Advisors and their customers’. A giant in the industry, Drew is an accomplished entrepreneur, a huge channel evangelist, a disruptor, fitness guy, and according to Craig, ‘an all-around amazing person’. In his conversation with Craig here today, he shares his personal journey from his father’s lessons in entrepreneurship, his early days in the technology sector, and how his life today has been impacted by the founder of Elite365, Jesse Itzler.

Together, Craig and Drew discuss the Trusted Advisor movement, and Drew expresses his belief that the coming year will be a defining one for this movement. He goes on to share his vision of 2023 as a “monster” year for the industry – a breakthrough year that will make Trusted Advisors household names within the enterprise world. Craig agrees, adding that the current state of the macro economy could create opportunities for companies pushing digital transformation. Despite the state of the economy, they both believe that the Trusted Advisor market will flourish in 2023. Drew also explains that he feels the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything and created a world of choice in which the Trusted Advisor movement will be critical – challenging the status quo and changing the perception of provider relationships across every vertical. Listen in to this fascinating episode and learn more about this remarkable individual and why he envisions 2023 to be the year of the Trusted Advisor movement and a top priority for every IT staff.

Episode Highlights:

• The Trusted Advisor movement and what 2023 holds for it
• Navigating the world of choice in the ‘as-a-service’ movement
• The current state of the macro economy and its impact
• The challenge for IT decision-makers to embrace change in 2023
• How Drew’s vision for Avant was born
• Avant’s main focus
• The acquisition of Planet One and its impact
• The challenges of culture integration when making acquisitions.
• Drew’s personal journey and the impact of Jesse Itzler on his life
• Utilizing each and every minute of the day
• The impact of COVID-19
• Challenging the status quo and changing the perception of provider relationships

Quotes:

“I’m dreaming about a monster 2023 for everybody in our incredible industry.”

“In this abundance of choice in the world that we live in, you’d be fired, in my opinion, if you don’t utilize the Trusted Advisor.”

“The current state of the macro economy could create opportunities for companies pushing the envelope around digital transformation.”

“If you’re not evolving, you’re dying.”

“The idea and vision of Avant was a very end customer focus with the Trusted Advisor movement.”

“Culture is king.”

“If you look back at the VAR channel in the early 90s, you could draw tons of similarities to what is taking place in the Trusted Advisor movement today.”

“We were really sitting in the center of the storm of the as-a-service movement being created.”

“The growth capital partnership has allowed us to have even more firepower to grow and succeed.”

“There’s 1440 minutes a day. Are you utilizing each and every_ minute to the best of your ability?”

“I do believe that 2023 will be the year the trusted advisors fundamentally challenge the status quo.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a world of choice, which is different from just zeros and ones.”

“The trusted advisor movement will be imperative in challenging the status quo and changing the perception of provider relationships.”