Chanimal

03/03/2026

I asked ChatGPT, "Who Am I?" And this was the result (saw something similar from Jay McBain).

11/07/2025

Black Friday is LIVE! The annual Black Friday promotion is now live. Save up to 75% off the Certified Channel Manager course! Only happens once a year (great for folks who pay for it themselves--vs company sponsored). Enter code: BlackFriday-2025 during checkout.

Join over 10,000 channel managers (channel sales, channel marketing, channel operations) both new & highly experienced who have been trained through Chanimal University.

About ChanimalUniversity.com

The industry’s foremost training & standards organization) provides the world’s first, best-selling, and most rigorous channel training and the industry gold standard Certified Channel Manager ™ program, available LIVE or self-paced online, that trains, tests, and certifies your channel, sales, and marketing knowledge.

“Great education – unbelievable depth of content here. It is more than just a certificate – It is an MBA in the channel!” Jay McBain, Chief Analyst – Canalys, and Channel Influencer of the Year.

06/02/2025

There are a lot of things more important than work--like watching your baby girl get married. This is not the formal wedding video, but instead a short music video I created as a dad's gift to his daughter two Saturdays ago. Join me in congratulations.

It took 7 software apps to make. I wrote the lyrics (had AI help with part of the chorus), did the editing, got AI help with the music and the modified AI voice (the singing is only "partially" me--going for the "Cinderella" song style)--it is amazing what is now possible.

There was no AI help with dad's distinguishing wrinkles and signs of aging wisdom (right ;-)--it took 66 years to develop those. Cheers.

04/21/2025

Happy Easter!

03/18/2025

https://www.zinfi.com/events/partner-ecosystem-symposium-austin/

02/27/2025

A video podcast that Chanimal participated in: "5 Keys to Successful Channel Partnerships."

Chapter 1: Positioning your product for channel success
Chapter 2: Designing partner-friendly margins
Chapter 3: Showing partners the love they deserve
Chapter 4: Onboarding partners for maximum impact
Chapter 5: Activating and supporting partner growth

Discover 5 keys to successful channel partnerships with Ted Finch, covering strategies for partner onboarding, enablement & long-term success.

02/11/2025

Last week I mentioned that all Chanimals who want to be successful know that "No Other Success can Compensate for Failure in the Home." One of the greatest indicators of that success is Love at Home - and if you are fortunate, with a loving spouse and family. I proposed a few ideas to make this Valentine's Day special--showing a video idea created for my wife. See the prior post for the sample.

This week, with Valentine's only a few days away, I would like to double down on one of the greatest gifts you can give to your spouse and family, which is being "A Good Man" (if you are a man ;-). We see what happens when this is missing in the home.

To help this along, I created this song, based on a poem I wrote for my wife in 2003--while climbing the corporate ladder, back when I was gone from home way too often, and way too late--and then had to prioritize what mattered most. Perhaps it might put things in perspective for you, as it did for me. Happy Valentine's Day (week) in advance. Turn on the cc for the lyrics.

"Heart of Steel - Superman in My Own Way"Lyrics based on my poem, "Superman"I watch the show called SmallvilleTo see if I can findA comparison to my own life...

02/05/2025

Want to be a successful Chanimal (Channel Animal)? No other success can compensate for failure in the home. Like they say, "Happy wife, happy life." So... remember to do something extra special for Valentine's Day.

I'm sharing this early to give you time to prepare. Here's an idea, in addition to the flowers, candy, and evening out, how about a personalized Valentine's song and video? Maybe this will get the juices flowing (cheers):

Song I created along with video for my amazing wife

01/20/2025

Where were you during the amazing Trump inauguration? Was anyone else on the beach on the northern end of Peru? It can't get much better than this.

It's a rough life... but somebody has to live it!

11/27/2024

Enter coupon code for 75% off the regular price. Become a Certified Channel Manager. Join over 10,000 channel pros who have been trained through www.ChanimalUniversity.com. There is currently an anniversary sale, but this is still almost $1,500 off the normal price--the absolute biggest sale of the year! It runs from now until the end of Cyberweek 11:59 Dec 8th.

Do not miss this killer deal! Includes a 30-day money-back guarantee (see site for details)--plenty of time to convince your company to help cover it. People wait all year for this deal. Code is BlackFriday-2024

11/22/2024

A "Channel Manager" can be anything. In fact, you don't always know what you've got. A Director of Channels at Google asked me, "What is MDF?" Uh ooh. A 10 year channel veteran of channels at a 22 billion company had ONLY done promotions. Most have never setup a program from scratch, don't know how to determine margins, and know little about agreements. Some have never recruited. Or ONLY worked with VARs--not MSPs, SIs, Retail...

Here are some questions you should consider when interviewing a channel manager candidate (so you know what you've got):

How do you define channel management?
Explain the difference between channel sales and channel marketing
What part of each of these roles have you done?
What experience have you had setting up a program from scratch?
Define the elements of a good reseller program.
How do you typically recruit resellers?
How do you get resellers to sign up?
What is your greatest recruiting success?
Have you used any rep firms? Which ones?
What CRM have you used?
Have you used a PRM?
What have you done to onboard them?
What are the biggest holes in onboarding that you've seen?
Have you setup a certification program?
How do you disseminate leads?
How do you follow-up on reseller leads?
Have you worked with government/GSA deals?
Have you worked with distributors? Which ones?
Have you negotiated any distributor deals?
How do you train your resellers to sell the product?
Have you done model or coaching calls?
What are your ratios? (close, call back, avg deal size)
What sales books have you read?
Do you know what your reseller recommendation rate is?
Have you ever done merchandising?
What about setting up and running an affiliate program?
What sales management books have you read?
How did you learn channel management?
How do you motivate your resellers?
How have you helped your channel partners to sell?

This is a good place to start. Other questions you think are critical?

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11/20/2024

Become a Certified Channel Manager. Join over 10,000 channel pros who have been trained through www.ChanimalUniversity.com. No promo is needed--the list price has already been reduced. 30th Anniversary of Chanimal - 30% off!