The 2026 SKO (Sales Kick-Off) season is upon us and I’ve been receiving numerous requests for advice and feedback from a wide range of vendors. While I can’t personally craft a custom plan for each, here is my 10 free tips to all:
- Value Your Employees: The single most important element for a successful SKO is making your employees feel valued and appreciated. If you achieve nothing else in 2026, this is a win.
- Embrace Nimbleness: Planning an entire year in advance is not easy given today’s geopolitical shifts, economic uncertainties, customers’ sentiments and the rapid pace of AI. Be prepared to change direction quickly and remain highly adaptable.
- Prioritize Mental Health (and health in general): Human limits are real. Constantly pushing people without respite leads to burnout, often without visible signs. Maintain an open, watchful mind regarding your team’s well-being. Augment your staff with AI to help them succeed and save time so they can invest some in themselves.
- Product vs. Platform: Define your core identity. Are you a product or a platform? Pick your path and commit fully. If you’re a true platform, you must be open, unbiased and fair; acquiring third-party vendors to compete with others on your platform is a precarious strategy and no different than direct competition.
- Partnership Relationships Over Automation: True channel partner growth isn’t about your partner automation system. If you don’t know what your partners need from you now, find out. Modern partners demand measurable outcomes, autonomy (no lock-in), minimal bureaucracy, excellent on-demand support, profitability (ROI), and zero competition from you. They simply have no time for ‘BS.’ Keep in mind that it’s getting a lot easier to replace a vendor!
- Partner Success is Retention: The biggest challenge for your partners isn’t acquiring new clients (though that’s a bonus); it’s retaining existing ones and defending against competition. Helping them with outcomes, profitability, efficiency, and expertise will drive customer retention and loyalty. Deficiencies will create a ‘leaky’ customer base. Support your partners in customer retention and not only acquisition.
- Maximize Event ROI: If you plan to attend channel events, you should find smarter ways to increase the return on investment. The activities you conduct before and after the event are just as important as the event itself. Ask for our free event ROI Guide!
- Be a real Thought Leader: Success hinges on distributing and amplifying your message effectively as well as being valued to your audience. If you’re not a thought leader in your space, you must try harder. If you’re out of the news or social cycle, you’re off the playing field. Ask about our Digital Waterfall to elevate and accelerate your message and voice!
- AI as an Augment: Leverage AI as much as possible, but understand it’s not a magic bullet and if used incorrectly, it can come back to haunt you. AI will amplify your existing status and beliefs. It won’t fix foundational problems. “Garbage in, garbage out” applies here. Review your business and AI strategy if you are unsure of the direction. Ask us about building your personal and business Digital Twin as we believe that is the smart way to navigate through the AI jungle.
- Elevate Channel Managers: Your channel managers and reps are the bloodline of your business. Treat them well, support them, inspire them, and reward them. Their actions on the front lines, engaging with your partners, will ultimately determine your success. We track the best channel chiefs, managers and reps as voted by the channel community. We know that vendor success is directly related to their channel teams!
What’s in your 2026 SKO playbook?
How did your channel partners rank you in 2025? Find out on February 5, 2026 at our 20th Reseller Choice Awards Gala. Knowing where you are positioned in the eyes of your channel partners is probably one of the most important data points to start the new year. Learn more or come experience it in-person! While this awards is for Canada, we also track votes from US channel partners.
How are we planning to improve what we do in 2026? We are collaborating with our 12 outstanding channel leaders to reshape the future of the channel – our Board of Channel Advisors.
