ZINFI Technologies, Inc.

The partner portal is possibly the single most important tool for a vendor selling through channel. While channel programs, policies and people are all very important ingredients for partner relationship management , in our digital world a properly built, state-of-the-art partner portal can make the difference between a successful channel program and one that fails. However, the majority of partne...

Selling via an indirect sales channel is never easy, especially if you are trying to do it at a global level with multiple product lines catering to all kinds of verticals. The complexity of managing such a channel can be overwhelming, and that complexity can also make it really hard for partners to do business with the vendor. This is where purpose-built partner relationship management (PRM) soft...

Partner Relationship Management software provides significant business benefits by automating and streamlining channel operations. It helps companies manage partners more effectively. This leads to increased revenue and efficiency. Modern businesses often rely on a network of channel partners. These partners help sell products and services. Managing this ecosystem can be complex and time-consuming...

Companies selling to the channel need to understand some of the core principles of partner relationship management . In other articles we have discussed why partner relationship management fails, and why it is important to avoid those failure modes. It is even more important to avoid a few core mistakes that many organizations make either intentionally or unintentionally. In this article we’ll exp...

If you are selling through the channel, it is probably safe to assume that you have a partner portal. There’s nothing ground-breaking about that. However, this is 2016. Do you know when your partner portal was built and with what technologies? Why does it matter? Well, do you still use a typewriter? I doubt it—typewriters are obsolete. So why would anyone want to use a partner portal built on obso...

Based on a recent estimate, we believe about 300 or so enterprises have deployed some level of channel marketing automation , and most of these companies have quickly realized a substantial benefit from these investments. If you’re selling through an organization and do not have some level of automation in place, chances are your channel marketing processes are quite antiquated and require substan...

Lately there has been a lot of buzz about channel management automation , which comprises partner relationship management, channel marketing automation and channel sales management. However, since this is a relatively new area of business process automation, the definitions are not always clear to channel marketing professionals. In this article we will discuss briefly what channel marketing autom...

Rock and roll musicians, and the industry that has grown up around it, have always been perceived as trailblazers. Innovative ideas and expression have always been a big part of the development of popular music, and getting broader acceptance has been a challenge that has motivated musical acts and performers to come up with new ways of getting the word out. One important marketing method that gre...

Partner marketing automation platforms have been around for some time now. In this article, we will talk about how you can drive partner performance around the world by leveraging your partner marketing automation platform. Before we get started, however, let’s take a close look at the evolution of partner marketing automation platforms over the past decade or so. With the advent of the Internet a...

All telemarketers, whether they like it or not, have entered a high-stakes game. In every exchange or interaction by phone, someone is going to come out victorious. The question really comes down to who winds up controlling the energy and the conversation. A great telemarketer tends to jump on the phone and dance in front of prospects while effortlessly navigating barriers and obstacles. While thi...

Digital marketing remains an evolving discipline where no single formula guarantees consistent success, because audiences shift constantly, attention spans shrink rapidly and content saturation overwhelms even well-funded campaigns, requiring marketers to prioritize memorable personal messaging, strategic automation and disciplined content cadence over formulaic approaches. Organizations that trea...

When you look at the sales landscape and the worldwide marketplace, it is obvious that things have changed A LOT over the past 10 to 20 years, particularly when you consider the impact of the Internet and the utilization of websites, social media and technology. One role in particular, the role of the inside sales representative, has changed drastically. By definition, inside sales is professional...

Over the past decade — and particularly over the past five years — many channel marketing automation SaaS startups have entered the marketplace with the hope of garnering the interest of channel organizations looking to drive more demand through their channel. The first-generation tools rightfully focused on a missing gap — marketing resources at the channel partner organization — and addressed th...

As vendor organizations trying to sell through the channel deploy channel marketing automation platforms to enable their partners to drive demand from their prospect and customer base, vendors may become frustrated by the lack of adoption of these state-of-the-art tools. Why don’t more partners use channel marketing automation platforms to take advantage of the various tools and assets vendors pro...

Over the past decade or so, many large organizations have deployed channel marketing automation tools involving partner relationship management (PRM) and partner marketing management (PMM) . If you are currently considering whether to make such an investment, there are a few things you need to think about before you make that jump. You may have the budget, but is making an investment in channel ma...

Over the past decade or so, many companies selling to the channel have invested in some sort of marketing automation tool or platform for their channel activities. More recently, over the last five years or so, many of these vendors have come to realize that a direct marketing automation platform doesn’t work that well for a multi-tenant, channel-based marketing infrastructure. As a result of that...

If 2015 was known as “The Year of the Video”, 2016 has also delivered consistently on that promise. Virtually every social media network is pouring money into their video capabilities. In social marketing , videos are being used to create interest, raise brand awareness, generate leads and spark online engagement. Companies everywhere are flocking to video in social marketing , whether it’s on You...

It is no secret that content is still king in the world of digital marketing . There is absolutely no way to get around the need for content to boost search engine optimization (SEO) over the long haul. Everyone is trying to get attention for their products and brand by leveraging SEO strategies and tactics. The name of the game is to improve your website’s page ranking by driving visitors to your...

A well-crafted cold email template transforms outreach efforts by combining personalization, value propositions and clear calls to action that convert unfamiliar recipients into engaged prospects ready for meaningful business conversations. Organizations that master cold email template strategies consistently generate higher response rates and stronger lead pipelines across competitive markets. Em...

Over the past few years there has been a lot of excitement about partner relationship management (PRM) process development and automation. However, this segment hasn’t really grown as fast as the marketing automation platform (MAP) or customer relationship management (CRM) segments. What is holding back the growth in deployment of partner relationship management (PRM) automation? Here are some key...

Over the past couple of decades, two major channel management automation platforms have attracted widespread attention: partner relationship management (PRM) automation and partner marketing management (PMM) automation. However, the most important area in channel automation—an area that has been neglected and remains a major opportunity—is partner sales enablement or partner sales management. If y...

Successful B2B lead generation requires understanding your prospects deeply before crafting any marketing campaign. Answering five critical questions helps marketers position offerings as solutions rather than sales pitches. These considerations unlock higher conversion rates by aligning messaging with customer perspectives and priorities. Key Takeaways B2B lead generation campaigns must appeal to...

A best-of-breed partner relationship management platform should address the management of the partner lifecycle in a highly efficient and effective way. The five core elements are partner recruitment , partner onboarding , partner training , partner marketing and partner incentives management . In addition to addressing these five core elements individually, a best-of-breed partner relationship ma...

Channel marketing automation platforms succeed when they integrate lifecycle management across partner recruitment, training, enablement and incentives while aligning automation capabilities with outsourced marketing services for structured global deployment. Organizations lacking this integrated approach face fragmented operations and diminished partner ecosystem productivity. Channel management...

Let’s begin this discussion by taking a stab at defining through-channel marketing automation (TCMA). What does it really mean? Basically, it’s about enabling channel partners to generate leads by using marketing assets and a set of marketing tools provided by a vendor or company. The entire purpose of through-channel marketing automation is to enable partners to create brand presence by leveragin...