Working with top resellers and integrators requires more than great products; it also takes readiness, alignment, and trust.
By Larry Walsh
Partnerships are the lifeblood of the channel. Whether they take the form of resellers, integrators, service providers, agents, or marketplaces, every vendor shares the same goal: expanding reach and driving growth through trusted allies that help acquire new customers and better serve existing ones.
At Channelnomics, we track the many dimensions of the partner ecosystem, including the types of partners vendors most want to engage. Across hardware, software, cloud, AI, and services, one group consistently rises to the top: large resellers. The elite set includes CDW, Computacenter, Connection, ePlus, GuidePoint, Insight, Optiv, Presidio, SHI, Softchoice, Trace3, World Wide Technology (WWT), and Zones.
Those names surface in nearly every channel-strategy discussion and program-design session we lead — and whenever my team conducts a vendor’s segmentation or partner-optimization analysis. Vendors see these partners as pathways to rapid market access, expanded account coverage, and accelerated sales performance.
And for good reason. They maintain relationships with both large and midsize customers, operate regionally and internationally, and possess the resources and scale to manage complex projects end to end. They serve as ecosystem aggregation points, combining dozens of technologies and brands into solutions greater than the sum of their parts. Collectively, they generate billions in sales and account for a significant portion of their vendors’ indirect revenue.
But what does it take to develop productive, go-to-market relationships with top-tier partners? What earns their attention and converts them into amplifiers of a vendor’s strategy? And what does success look like from their perspective?
At a Channel Focus 2025 conference earlier this month (pictured), I moderated a panel of national resellers and major integrators discussing their experiences working with vendors — the missteps they encounter, how value propositions are best defined, and what it takes to create and sustain a strong, mutually productive partnership. The following are 10 takeaways from that discussion.
- Scale Defines Engagement
Top-tier partners function like ecosystems, managing dozens of vendors and serving thousands of customers across industries and regions. Their operations depend on scale, specialization, and efficiency, so every vendor must earn its place in the portfolio. Success comes from understanding how these organizations are structured — with vertical, segment, and solution teams, each with its own incentives — and aligning with their existing motions, whether fulfillment, integration, managed services, or co-selling. The best vendors identify where they fit, engage at multiple organizational levels, and focus on becoming indispensable within specific areas that create measurable value.
- Maturity & Readiness Matter
Engaging a large reseller requires more than a compelling product; it demands operational maturity. Vendors must demonstrate their ability to perform at scale through defined channel processes, consistent enablement, and a clear go-to-market model that complements a partner’s own. Comprehensive training, digital self-service tools, and streamlined onboarding demonstrate readiness to integrate seamlessly into a partner’s systems. Vendors that operate predictably, minimize friction, and align with how the partner goes to market demonstrate reliability. Not mere suppliers, they’re trusted extensions of a partner’s business.
- Differentiation Is Essential
Major partners are flooded with vendor pitches that often sound alike. To stand out, vendors must define what makes their technology unique, why it matters to a partner’s customers, and how it fits within a partner’s portfolio. Success comes from demonstrating integration with existing solutions, complementing rather than competing, and quantifying the shared revenue potential. Clear differentiation involves demonstrating how both parties can benefit from a mutually advantageous relationship.
- Programs Must Be Simple & Stable
Complex tiering models, shifting incentives, and frequent rule changes create friction and erode trust. Channel leaders value simplicity — programs that are easy to navigate, predictable over time, and transparent in how benefits are earned. Clarity in deal registration, pricing, and requirements allows partners to focus on selling rather than interpreting constant policy updates. Vendors that deliver consistent, stable programs earn partners’ confidence and mindshare.
- Profitability Is Multidimensional
For national resellers and integrators, profit isn’t just about margin; it’s about creating recurring value through services, renewals, and lifecycle management. Vendors that enable implementation, integration, and managed services help partners establish predictable revenue and strengthen customer relationships. Providing tools and insights for adoption and renewals further supports retention and account expansion. True profitability — and loyalty — come from helping partners build sustainable, service-driven business models.
- Trust Is Built Through Transparency
Trust is the currency of the channel. Clear rules of engagement, consistent deal protection, and open communication ensure that partners know where they stand. When vendors honor commitments and apply policies evenly, they reinforce credibility; when they allow conflicting field actions or fail to communicate changes, relationships deteriorate quickly. Predictability and integrity turn trust into a competitive advantage.
- Services Are the Real Growth Engine
Services drive sustained revenue and customer loyalty. Large resellers prioritize vendors whose technologies support deployment, integration, and managed offerings, enabling them to expand beyond one-time sales. Vendors that make it easy for partners to deliver and monetize services — rather than compete with them — strengthen both profitability and retention. Empowering partners to own customer relationships through services creates ecosystems that are resilient and mutually rewarding.
- Data Drives Decisions
Resellers like Optiv rely on data — including propensity models, intent signals, and install-base analytics — to pinpoint real opportunities. Vendors that align with this intelligence and share complementary insights position themselves as strategic collaborators. Data synchronization enables better targeting, efficient co-selling, and faster results. In modern ecosystems, data alignment isn’t optional — it’s foundational to joint success.
- Executive Alignment Accelerates Success
Active CRO-to-CRO and channel chief-to-channel chief relationships keep partnerships aligned and responsive. Executive alignment ensures shared goals, faster decision-making, and early resolution of issues that could slow progress. When leadership teams communicate regularly and model collaboration, it cascades through both organizations, driving clarity, accountability, and sustained growth.
- Partnership Requires Shared Investment
The best vendor-partner relationships are two-way. Vendors that co-fund enablement, share data, and invest in joint marketing demonstrate a commitment that extends beyond short-term sales. Shared investment builds trust and ensures that both sides have a stake in long-term value creation. When vendors approach partnerships as collaborative ventures — not transactions — they become embedded in a partner’s strategy, not just listed in its catalog.
Building productive relationships with major partners isn’t about chasing logos. It’s about understanding how they operate, aligning with their motion, and proving that collaboration creates measurable outcomes for both sides. The vendors that succeed with large resellers and integrators are the ones that treat partnership as a discipline: strategic, data-informed, and continually optimized.
At Channelnomics, we help vendors and distributors do exactly that. Through partner research, program assessments, and go-to-market strategy development, we provide the data, frameworks, and insights that turn ambitions into executable results. Whether you’re refining your partner mix, redesigning your engagement model, or trying to unlock greater productivity from top-tier partners, Channelnomics can help you build the structure for scalable, sustainable growth.
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Larry Walsh is the CEO, chief analyst, and founder of Channelnomics. He’s an expert on the development and execution of channel programs, disruptive sales models, and growth strategies for companies worldwide.
