Channel explainer: How to use the summer lull constructively

Reconnecting with colleagues

One benefit of a quieter office is that it presents an opportunity to pull up a chair and chat with colleagues.

“Navigating everyone’s out-of-office can be challenging over the summer weeks, but it does mean that many of the larger meetings are postponed or finish a lot quicker. This opens up the opportunity to identify when you, key customers and colleagues are available, allowing you to schedule some valuable catch-up time,” says Sara Wilkes, chief operating officer at Agilitas.

The pace of the channel is so fast, it is sometimes easy to forget that we are all people and building strong relationships is the foundation for success

“The pace of the channel is so fast, it is sometimes easy to forget that we are all people and building strong relationships is the foundation for success. Taking the time to understand your employees and customers better can make the times when you are super busy much easier. Ask about family, their holiday, the British weather! Not every interaction has to be solely work-related – that can follow in time. Building trust and a strong rapport with the people who matter is key and shouldn’t be underestimated,” she adds.

Gillian Holloway, Insight’s EMEA vice-president of partnerships and strategic alliances, also encourages those who are normally snowed under to take advantage of the next few weeks to talk to their colleagues.

“As a leader, take the time to talk to people and ask questions. As a listening organisation, Insight gains significant intelligence and solutions from such conversations,” she says.

Reconnecting with customers

It’s not just fellow staff that you might have been neglecting in busy times. Bob Layton, chief channel officer at eSentire, encourages a review of how things stand with important customers.

“As a channel partner, you will of course take some time off and enjoy the summer along with your customers. But summer is also a time to reflect on what is working in the business and where a bit of tuning-up for efficiency is in order,” he says.

Layton provides a number of questions that could help guide that process of reconnecting and reviewing the customer strategy.

“Have you grown disconnected from your best clients? When was the last time you, as the business owner, visited your best clients to simply say ‘thank you’ in-person? This is often overlooked, but certainly appreciated,” he says.

“Who is your ideal customer? As you are planning for attracting new clients, or delivering more services to your existing ones, ask yourself which clients are right for you,” he adds.

“Are you delivering services that are consumable by today’s modern buyer? Do you have the correct partnerships in place that offer the right mix of products and services for your ideal client profile, and can you truly add value to the experience? Today’s buyer is certainly getting younger, and they prefer a low-friction path to consuming services. Perhaps this could point to creating a smaller portfolio of offerings with greater focus? Have you created a path for marketplace buyers or a way to attach value to the all-digital buyer’s journey?”

These are questions that should spark some thinking and activity over the next few weeks. 

Reconnecting across the ecosystem

The channel can also expect vendors to reach out over the next few weeks to check in on how they are faring and to get a sense of where things stand before things ramp up in the fourth quarter.

Fiona Doak, channel director for Europe at ZeroFox, believes this is an ideal time to make sure things are going in the right direction.

“The seasonal slowdown provides vendors an opportunity to update partner records to ensure that their sales records and data are up to date. During this time, businesses should focus on reviewing where they are against their partner plan, and course correct where necessary. This process allows businesses to shore up their pipeline for the next six months, enabling vendors to analyse the market, evaluate their approaches and pinpoint needs for improvement ahead of Q4,” she says. 

“To avoid staying stagnant during the summer, businesses should also take the time to have conversations with their partners to listen to and better understand their evolving needs. This allows for a programme that enables the partner to grow alongside the business,” she adds.

Will Akin, channel partner sales manager at Esendex, suggests the summer lull might also be a good time to evaluate how things are going from a partner perspective.

“Channel businesses should take this time to look at their providers to ensure they’re getting a share of the revenue from any business messaging they are offering to their customer base, depending on whether they have a partner or reseller relationship,” he says.

Training

The need to improve skills, keep on top of technologies and make time to learn about fresh ones is a good way to fill some of the time that becomes available when things slow down.

“The summer is a perfect time for planning, networking and education,” says Pete Wilson, director of channel sales for EMEA at Illumio. “While a lot of people may be off, not everyone is away, and those who aren’t tend to have more time to spare. Vendors should use this as an opportunity to network with channel partners and build relationships. It’s also a great time for upskilling.”

Kerstin Demko, channel and digital sales and marketing executive at Brivo, agrees that this is an ideal time to brush up on some training.

“Review your technical skills and the skills of the team. Are there gaps, new technologies or refreshers that your team needs to be top of their game? As a dedicated resource for your customers, the slower summer days are the time to review technical and sales needs to ensure readiness to support existing customers and new customer growth,” she says.

Planning

The quieter weeks of summer could also be the right time to do some research about areas of the market that are set for growth. Questions could be asked about where the business is in terms of artificial intelligence (AI) or the latest cloud applications, and there is always the need to address the top customer concern of security.

“The slower weeks of August are deceptively quiet. While many resellers and IT teams will take a well-deserved break, the threat landscape will remain as active as ever. The reality is malicious actors will continue to operate around the clock, looking for vulnerabilities to exploit,” says Axel Conrad, senior director and head of EMEA channels at BlackBerry Cybersecurity.

“Resellers and their security partners have a vital role to play in terms of educating end-user organisations on the best options available for enhanced threat monitoring and mitigation,” he adds.

Ian Anderson, senior director of partner sales at Park Place Technologies, advises using the quieter weeks to review progress and get ready for the rest of the year.

The summer period is all about preparation and planning. It’s a chance for businesses to take a wider view of the market and their partner landscape

“The summer can present partners with an opportunity to take stock of the year so far, and recharge the salesforce by revisiting and revising strategies such as pipeline cleansing, to validate the revenue values, sales stage and close month for opportunities up to year end, closing knowledge gaps by refreshing the value proposition and associated benefits for customers, and getting your sales team to take those online trainings that usually get pushed to one side when everyone is working flat-out,” he says.

“Finally, use the summer to ensure that your team is competent in the sales tools and platforms they are using regularly, particularly if there have been any tool, platform or system enhancements or changes. These steps will ensure that you will have a bumper Q4 and deliver that all important EBITDA to the business.”

Zerofox’s Doak agrees that this is the time when strategies for the rest of 2024 can be focused on and vendors can make sure their channel is where it needs to be.

“The summer period is all about preparation and planning. It’s a chance for businesses to take a wider view of the market and their partner landscape to evaluate where they might want to add new partners and identify new verticals. It’s a chance to dive deep into what’s working and what’s not, then develop new approaches that are better fit to the current market and new verticals you want to target,” she says. 

“Despite this, the summer slowdown is not what it was. Although operations tend to move at a slower pace, there is likely a lot of work being done behind the scenes. As such, this period is a great time to conduct ‘health checks’ on partners, getting in touch to find out what their current struggles are and updating them on your platform and what’s new.,” she adds.

Getting ready for the fourth quarter

There is no doubt that most people like to get away for a couple of weeks and recharge the batteries before coming back into a busy September and heading full-tilt into the crescendo at the end of the year.

Most minds will be turning to what needs to be done in the final three months – how much business needs to be sealed to hit targets and just what needs happen between now and then.

“The summer months also present an opportunity for the year ahead if businesses can plan for the upcoming quarters efficiently so that they are prepared for the incoming increase in demand and able to react to any emerging market trends,” says Jon Naik, alliances director at Netcall.

“Most businesses rely on the Christmas trading period to prepare and plan for the year ahead. However, the summer window can be the most transformative period as employees will be at their most attentive. Q4 is notoriously known to be the busiest time of year for businesses, so being proactive during the summer will ensure they can proactively respond first to certain situations,” he adds.

With the first half in the books, the summer also marks a point at which minds can focus on what’s left of the year.

“Summer is also an ideal ‘halfway point’ in the year for businesses to evaluate their performance thus far before strategically planning for the second half of the year. By reviewing performance data from the first half of the year, businesses can refine their marketing strategy and plan effective supporting campaigns for both Q3 and Q4,” says Estelle Cameron, sales director at M247.

“We managed service providers (MSPs) can take advantage of the quieter summer months by enhancing our systems and customer-facing portals to deliver the best possible service to channel partners. I came across research from customer experience and marketing expert Jay Baer that says that two-thirds of customers value speed as much as price. From my experience overseeing the channel for M247, I’ve found that customers are also demanding increased flexibility in how they interact with a business. If we MSPs can streamline these tools in the quieter summer period, we will reap the rewards during peak times,” she adds.

Getting the balance right

The key thing about late July and August is getting the balance right. Everyone deserves a holiday and a chance to unwind, as well as planning, training and reconnecting with colleagues, customers and vendors.

“August offers a unique opportunity for both rejuvenation and productivity. For those fortunate enough to take a break, it’s essential to prioritise rest and recharge. Returning to work refreshed can significantly boost performance in the busier autumn months,” says Marco Faasen, director of partners in EMEA and APAC at Neat.

“However, for those who continue to work, August presents a valuable chance to catch up and prepare. Often overlooked tasks, such as CRM [customer relationship management] updates and data management, can be tackled without the usual time pressures. By investing time in these foundational areas now, teams can streamline operations and enhance efficiency for the upcoming busy period,” he adds.

The last words go to M247’s Cameron, who underlines the need for a well-earned break: “Working in the channel, particularly in roles like sales, can be incredibly rewarding, but I believe it’s important that people take advantage of the quieter period to take time off and have some R&R. A rested team can return to work with renewed energy and focus, ready to handle the stresses of peak times.”