Executive Education
INDIVIDUALS Courses
Certificates

About Your Visit Fluno Center
About Madison
About Campus
EMPLOYERS Custom Programs
Custom Development Process
Success Stories
Clients
Information Request
View Cart (0)
Cart Preview
    Go-to-Market Channel Design and Management

    Effectively move your products to—and through—the right channels to reach your customers

    This course was previously titled Marketing Through Channel Partners.

    Whether you call them sales channels, marketing channels, or distribution channels, they are the connecting links between manufacturers and their end customers. Even though some companies have used the Internet to fulfill some of the tasks of channels, they realize many of their customers demand installation, repair, immediate delivery, and other functions. So designing the right channel—and managing and motivating it properly—can spell the difference between success and failure in long-term customer satisfaction and revenue generation. If you have the wrong type of distribution channel; unmotivated reps, distributors, or dealers; or legal complications that compromise your sales strategies, it’s time to take action.

    This course will teach you how to:

    Investigate new ways to go to market

    Your products don’t exist in a vacuum, and neither should your distribution strategies. New products, new markets, new competition, and new technologies are all good reasons to revisit and refine your current system. We’ll also discuss the impact of market position—do you provide major, secondary, or minor products?—and how distribution needs can change throughout a product’s life cycle.

    Minimize legal risk

    Don’t change your distribution strategy without reviewing your existing contracts and applicable distribution laws. Our legal experts will provide an overview of necessary legal contract strategies. 

    Choose the right mix of channels…and channel partners

    The world’s best product doesn’t stand a chance without these crucial elements. Learn how the right mix can help you to thrive in your current markets and help you to enter new and growing ones.

    Motivate and manage your distributors

    You can create “win-win” scenarios with your distributors. We’ll show you how with practical tips on coaching and monitoring distributor performance, developing loyalty, organizing advisory councils, and implementing pull-through programs. We’ll also help you to problem-solve your specific network challenges.

    Who should attend

    We've designed this course for professionals involved in making go-to-market decisions, including:

    • Distribution managers, directors, and vice presidents
    • Channel managers and channel marketing managers
    • National and regional sales managers
    • Product and marketing managers involved in go-to-market strategies
    • Anyone reaching end customers through distributors, dealers, independent reps or agents, or other intermediaries

    Added Value!

    As a special bonus for attending this course, you’ll receive a complimentary copy of The Manager’s Guide to Distribution Channels by Linda Gorchels, Ed Marien, and Chuck West.


    Day 1: Create the Foundation for Channel Success

    Our course begins with a big-picture look at the go-to-market philosophies that provide the foundation for execution.

    Integrated channel management: a strategic viewpoint

    • Rethink the art and science of channel strategy
    • Incorporate a supply chain perspective to optimize customer value
    • Recognize catalysts and obstacles to change

    Legal aspects of distribution arrangements

    • Clarify distribution contracts to address exclusivity, pricing, and competitive issues
    • Understand the components of distribution law that you really need to know
    • Establish policies and procedures that mitigate your legal risk

    Day 2: Critical Channel Design Decisions

    Identify the specific elements necessary to create and manage an effective, profitable distribution network.

    Re-assess channel structure and design

    • Recognize the strengths—and weaknesses—of specific channel types
    • Renovate existing channels to fit corporate strategies
    • Align products or product categories with channel selection

    Cultivate superior alignment with your channel partners

    • Define the "ideal" distributor, dealer, or rep for your needs
    • Determine what to do when existing and "ideal" profiles clash
    • Recruit and select the best new or replacement candidates
    • Delineate mutual performance expectations

    Day 3: Motivate Channel Partners and Manage Performance

    True channel partnerships can lead to improved market presence...and improved sales performance.

    Ongoing channel management and motivation

    • Outline the best mix of financial and non-financial motivators for your channel
    • Implement effective pull-through and co-op programs
    • Develop an appropriate distributor sales strategy
    • Select and coach product champions within the channel
    • Take advantage of advisory councils when possible

    Jon Christiansen

    Intimidated and confused by the legal complexities of effective product distribution? Meet Jon Christiansen. A partner in Foley & Lardner’s Milwaukee office, he practices primarily in the areas of distribution and commercial litigation and is well known for his ability to demystify complex legal information. He has extensive experience involving disputes in distribution, and represents both manufacturers and dealers/distributors. Christiansen is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin and the American Bar Association. He graduated magna cum laude from St. Olaf College, and received his J.D. degree from Vanderbilt University.

    Linda Gorchels

    As part of the Executive Education faculty for the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Linda Gorchels is responsible for the financial performance of and long-term strategy for the marketing program. She had previous strategy responsibility in the insurance, publishing, and robotics industries, and has provided strategy consulting or training to such organizations as Trane Commercial Systems, Kerry Group, University of Wisconsin-Extension and CUNA Service Group. Gorchels has been published in the Journal of International Marketing, the Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, the Journal of Contemporary Business Issues, and Industrial Marketing Management. She is co-author of The Manager’s Guide to Distribution Channels, and is author of The Product Manager’s Handbook and The Product Manager’s Field Guide.

    Michelle Kabele

    Michelle Kabele is an author, marketing strategist, and new media advocate. For more than a decade, she’s helped channel partners improve their sales, profits, and overall satisfaction. Michelle takes a proactive approach, and helps her clients see marketing as an investment instead of an expense. Her expertise embraces both traditional and new media marketing channels, including social networking, viral video, e-communications, and other electronic media. Michelle's unique ability to combine both traditional and innovative tactics in the marketing mix ensures that the channel partners get the best of both worlds, while controlling costs and always keeping an eye on value and results.

    John Nevin

    John (Jack) Nevin brings a unique perspective on product pricing: not only has he served as an expert witness in dozens of legal cases with pricing links, he’s also a professor of marketing and executive director of both the Center of Product and Brand Management and the Grainger Center for Supply Chain Management at the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Recognized for his practical, down-to-earth approach to marketing, Nevin has an outstanding background in teaching, research, and consulting in the areas of distribution channels and price management. Past clients include the Federal Trade Commission, S.C. Johnson, Ford Motor Company, J.I. Case, and Frito-Lay. Nevin received his Ph.D. and MS degrees from the University of Illinois and his BS degree from Southern Illinois University.