L&D is in a Product and (perhaps) a Service business. You render Products and Services to your marketplace.

Yet you are not alone. There are others in the channels that feed similar Products and Services to your marketplace. Do you have a handle on who they are – and what you can learn from them?

This “Sales Channel Map” is useful for:
• Initially planning the multiple points of sale (POS) required to reach the
final customer or user
• Determining what salesware or promotional activities are needed per
channel entity
• Estimating the appropriate budget per channel based on the potential revenue
they generate
• Identifying channels with (or without) growth potential
• Determining the appropriate amount of channel overlap, conflict, or competition
in the channel.

Effective Product Managers work with their internal resources to analyze sales
channels and determine the most profitable or logical components for their product in
each phase of the Life Cycle.

I’ve been using Channel Maps (called that or by whatever name makes sense in the context) since 1986 when I used them in the Product management training I developed for AT&T Network Systems Pr4oduct Managers.

I used them as well in my 2000 article in my attempt to help ISPI look at where and how they sat in the marketplace of Professional Affinity Groups.

How might you use a similar device to see you in your broader context – and who and how you might partner with other entities currently in that set of channels or those that need to be brought in?

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