As a veteran of both direct and channel sales management for IBM and Oracle, I know firsthand that companies selling through the channel face no shortage of challenges. Unlike with direct sales managers, channel sales managers don't know their end customers; they only know their reseller partners. This is further complicated by the fact that data collection in the channel is difficult and sporadic.

The problem boils down to this: For most manufacturers, data comes in from tens, hundreds, or thousands of different partners, in a number of formats, via varying delivery methods, and with differing levels of priorities. So, while channel sales managers have all the accountability, they don't have the visibility.

Being responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars of business without the same level of information and control afforded to those in direct sales leads many channel sales companies to make critical decisions based on mere rumor and innuendo. This is the weak link in channel sales.