This article is part of our first-ever 2021 Partnership Leaders Awards, highlighting powerful professionals in the partnerships space. Learn more about the awards and check out all the winners.
Today, we’re highlighting our final Rising Star winner, John McCabe who took home the Partner Exec category. John has nearly 25 years of experience in direct sales and channel sales experience. Early on, John saw the value of partners, who were able to help him land opportunities he never could have alone.
In his role at ThirdPartyTrust, John recently helped the organization shift to 100% channel. We’re excited to dig into the strategies and mindsets that have empowered John to make such a large shift.
John’s Early Years in Partnerships
Before he helped ThirdPartyTrust shift to 100% channel sales, John McCabe built channel programs from the ground up. “In the beginning, I built MSP programs and channel programs from scratch for startups. In every case, it’s been rewarding and fulfilling to have your Sales org understand and see the value of the channel. Many sales reps are hesitant to share commissions. However, when they see great value, they start to become believers.”
The Value of Leadership Buy-in
While he’s worked for many organizations to support their channel program build-out, he was able to have an increased impact at organizations where leaders supported his efforts. “I’ve worked for two companies in my channel career where the leadership was behind a 100% channel sales motion. One of the interesting aspects of ThirdPartyTrust is that the CEO is a brilliant entrepreneur. In the beginning, he was the only one selling. He turned to complementary organizations and utilized their sales team to help him sell. From there, he wanted to hire a sales leader to build out the channel.”
“With the support of a CEO or other leadership members, it’s easy to turn to 100% channel,” John continued. “We also have very positive, understanding sales reps. I had a lot going for me here. Now, we have begun the shift toward strictly channel on every deal. Partnerships are 50-50, there’s gotta be something in it for everybody. You have to treat your partners like your top customers. Make sure they have everything they need. So far, we’ve been able to build out some solid relationships with partners.”
2021 Gameplan for Growth
Now that ThirdPartyTrust has shifted to 100% channel, they plan to continue to support their Sales Reps. “As we go into 2022, we’re looking for a new sales leader who is on board with a 100% channel pipeline. We only allow our sales reps to prospect to channel partner reps. We’re very serious about this and are probably going to plan a marketing campaign for 2022 to promote it in the space.”
Our 2021 Rising Star Partner Exec
Making the shift to 100% channel sales is an incredible feat we’re excited to celebrate with John & the ThirdPartyTeam. Congratulations to John for being named our 2021 Rising Star Partner Exec. Of the award, John shared, “I don’t often win awards or get recognized for what I’m doing. This award means that my network of relationships thinks enough of me to nominate me. That humbles me tremendously. I’m always someone who wants to help to get things done and close a deal, or help partners. I’ve tried, since I joined Partnership Leaders, to help everyone in the community. I try to help more than I ask. It’s just very humbling to have people think enough of me and respect me to nominate me.”
This month, we’re celebrating all of the incredible partnerships professionals who took home our first-ever Partnership Leaders awards. Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn so you don’t miss any updates.
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