Turnover Is Targeting the “Old School”

Why Channel Leadership Must Evolve for the CRO’s Growth Mandate

In today’s channel, it’s not merely legacy partner programs which are facing increased scrutiny from their ecosystems. In fact, the leadership teams behind their companies' channel strategies and go-to-market tactics themselves are increasingly feeling the heat.

As CROs chase aggressive revenue targets, they’re also being asked to scale indirect revenue faster, justify vital partner investments, and compress time-to-pipeline across multiple partner types.

What we’re seeing at JSG is that turnover in the senior channel ranks is predominantly befalling a very specific type of legacy channel leader. We're quite sure several will come to mind without too much effort. We're talking about those well-travelled, highly popular and ubiquitously connected channel execs who have built their careers on instinct and personality versus data-driven insights, results-oriented demand-gen tactics and a sustainable approach towards growing the business.

From the hallowed halls at key industry events to executive strategy sessions with our major clients, we’re seeing the same story play out repeatedly. The “hugs-and-mugs” channel chief is being replaced with more analytical talent as CROs are demanding results beyond popularity.

The CRO’s New Channel Reality

For the better part of the 21st century, partner programs were essentially relationship infused constructs. Channel leaders were primarily evaluated by their industry presence, their personal and professional networks, and their ability to “work the room.” Many a channel exec rose to executive roles purely on gut instinct, legacy tenure, and partner goodwill.

In sharp contrast with this history, today’s CROs can no longer afford to have their channel execs lead with legacy programs, a plethora of LinkedIn connections, and fire-from-the-hip ideas. They need partner strategies that drive revenue with the same precision as a direct sales playbook.

This shift is why we are seeing turnover spike among long-tenured channel leaders who fail to:

• Operationalize partner (micro)-segmentation

• Justify spend across non-producing partner types

• Build marketing campaigns that activate the channel

• Connect channel activity to pipeline and sales growth

From Relationships to Revenue

What Today’s Channel Leaders Must Deliver

The new bar for channel leadership looks a lot more like sales operations. And frankly, CROs expect it to.

Legacy Channel Model	CRO-Aligned Channel Model
Focused on partner count	Focused on partner productivity
Led with relationships	Leads with analytics and insights
Limited marketing alignment	Fully integrated with digital campaigns
ROI unmeasured or anecdotal	ROI precisely measured and attributed
Tactical enablement	Strategic GTM and pipeline acceleration

Today’s CRO needs channel leaders who speak in conversion metrics, understand partner economics, and can connect the dots between program design and revenue outcomes. This is where JSG operates.

How JSG Supports the CRO’s Channel Agenda

At JSG, we specialize in building sales and marketing programs that align the channel to the CRO’s priorities:

✅ Partner Activation Campaigns

We go beyond partner recruitment—we help you turn recruited partners into revenue producers through targeted, data-informed campaigns built to engage and convert.

✅ Segmented Channel Strategy

We don’t just score partners—we segment and prioritize them by potential, matching resources to expected returns and reducing waste in the channel.

✅ Time-to-Revenue Compression

We build messaging, GTM plans, and digital content designed for rapid partner onboarding and field activation, compressing the traditional ramp time from quarters to weeks.

✅ Leadership Readiness

We help evaluate and upskill channel leaders—so they can shift from instinctual to intentional, from relationship-first to revenue-forward.

Turnover is the Symptom

Misalignment is the Root Cause

CROs shouldn’t be surprised by increasing channel leadership churn. It’s a market signal, a warning light that traditional skillsets no longer support contemporary revenue mandates. The good news? Forward-thinking CROs now have an opportunity to rebuild the strategic channel function with data, precision, and programs that drive measurable growth through indirect ecosystems.

Ready to Align Your Channel Strategy to Your Revenue Targets?

Move from theory to activation. JSG works with CROs and go-to-market leaders across tech, telco, SaaS, and services to modernize channel programs and deliver real pipeline lift through partners.

Contact us to schedule a strategy session. Email info@jsgnow.com, call 908-566-7241 or simply complete the form in the "Contact Us" section. We look forward to hearing from you!