3 Things Cycling & Channel Marketing Have in Common

Cycling is one of my favorite passions. I love planning my ride, getting geared up and heading out on the open road. My passion has led me through beautiful places in both the U.S. and abroad. But, I’m most proud of a 100+ mile, two-day ride with my @ForeScout teammates, @Matt Hartley, @Dave Farling, @Erik Floden, @Erick Messing.

In April, we participated in the World Team Sports Face of America ride from the Pentagon to Gettysburg (yes, that’s our team on the homepage and me in the neon vest holding up the rear). Annually, the event brings adaptive and able-bodied athletes together to ride in honor of military veterans and first responders. During this challenging ride, I couldn’t help but think of three things cycling has in common with Channel Marketing.

1. Your route. To get to the finish, you must first determine your starting point, know your conditions and set your goals. In channel marketing, we start with mapping our go-to-market plan to our partner landscape–Distributors, Value-Added Resellers, Managed Service Providers and others. Next, we assess our partner conditions, such as market strengths, vertical expertise, solution areas and more. Finally, we develop our strategy to achieve our goals–helping partners drive awareness, build pipeline and make money.
2. Your peloton. No, this is not an indoor exercise bike.Your peloton is the cross-functional, integrated team that helps you get to the end of your ride. These are your teammates in finance, operations, content marketing, enablement, legal and more. In cycling, working as member of the peloton can reduce the aerodynamic drag you experience by up to 44%. Likewise, in channel marketing, your peloton helps steer you through windy roads, warns you of potholes, and keeps you on the route to quickly and successfully execute on your strategy.  
3. Your inspiration. Not every ride is easy. Channel marketing certainly isn’t. We have to factor in two audiences–marketing to our partners and marketing through to their customers. The most challenging rides, though, are the most rewarding. Every day, I am inspired by our partners and my peloton. Our partners share ideas on ways we can continually improve our value proposition and help optimize their profitability. And, every day my teammates inspire me to finish the ride. 

If you’re gearing up to craft your Channel Marketing strategy, then plan your route, gather your peloton and find your inspiration. Together, these three things will get you to the end of your ride.