So, what do I actually do?

At the CRN Sales & Marketing awards last week, I had an absolute blast. Not only did I get to spend the evening with my fellow judges, who are excellent human beings, but I caught up with so many colleagues and friends from the industry, including some I hadn’t seen for years. It was wonderful. Of course, most people know I work for myself now (almost 4 years and counting), but they’re not entirely sure what I do. Inevitably therefore I got asked the question a lot ‘So what do you actually do?’

It's a bit of a tough question to answer apart from saying that I work in channel and partner marketing. The reason it’s a bit more complicated is because I’m not running an agency as most people understand it, this time around. Instead, I use a network of other agencies and freelancers to bring in expertise to support the project outcomes where it’s needed. This gives me much more flexibility and ensures I’m delivering just what my clients want, not what I need to sell them.

More importantly for me, is that although I’m a channel and partner marketing consultant I don’t often get involved in the sort of projects that channel and partner marketing agencies get asked to do – like create new partner platforms, run demand gen campaigns, and the like. One reason I don’t is because there are some great agencies out there who already do this – and some of them I’ve worked with!

The second, and I think, more interesting reason I tend not to get involved in those types of projects is because the work I do usually doesn’t come with a brief. What do I mean by that? I mean that I don’t work on a project that you’re looking to deliver. Where you’ve probably gone out to tender and asked a handful of agencies to pitch. Instead – I help to deliver the business you want to create.

Let me explain. Most channel businesses that I work with – usually vendors and distributors – have a business need. Not a marketing project. A business need – but one which needs marketing support to make it work. So, for example, maybe a vendor wants to attract new partners. Maybe they want to work really closely with just their top partners and build a better, closer relationship, that's more rewarding for them both. For distributors, perhaps they are looking to win joint business with a key manufacturer in a specific vertical. Maybe they are looking to build a joint value proposition for a specific opportunity. All of these are projects I’ve worked on since I set up She/Her.

I’ve worked on 1:1 ABM projects – in fact you can download my case study here of some work I did with a US tech vendor looking to build a market in the UK. (They now have an open opportunity with each of the businesses we targeted.) I’ve worked to deliver thought leadership campaigns for distribution working with vendor and press partners which have spanned the cybersecurity and electric vehicle markets. I’ve worked on activating key global partners by providing truly specific and bespoke marketing collateral and campaigns which have successfully helped partners articulate their joint value propositions to end users. I’ve even worked with a number of agencies to help them define their propositions in the tech marketing space.

What I really love about these types of projects is that I can be really creative. I work with senior leaders in the business to understand what they’re trying to achieve – in terms not just of traditional ROI, but perception in the marketplace, awareness, strengthened relationships. Because I’ve worked agency side and in EMEA and Global marketing roles vendor side, as well as in distribution, I have a clear understanding of how the channel works and what all the parties in a deal are looking for. And also, what my clients are looking for – not just in terms of their corporate goals - but what do they want to bring to the table and be remembered for.

The channel continues to be a fascinating and rewarding place to work. I’ve invested in myself this year too, by enrolling on the excellent Web 3 course with Cactus and I’m finding out about new and exciting ways to market and interact with customers and partners that are also going to be becoming more widely available in the future.

So, if you don’t have a project, but do have a business need – why not drop me a line and let’s have a coffee? We can do it online…or, my favourite – we can meet in person and have actual coffee (coffee is something else I never get bored of!). Or if you want to find out more about me and the work I do, you can take a look at my website – www.sheher.co.uk Thanks! Now I think, it’s time for a coffee before I start the next thing…