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Josh Scott

Josh Scott writes about channel marketing and SMB partner growth, with a focus on helping technology vendors generate demand through their partner networks. Scott's posts discuss why self-serve portals and marketplace listings alone may not change partner behavior, and how automation can help partners reach end customers.

Partner demand generationAI in partner marketingBased on 23 posts · latest Oct 2026
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At a glance

Most useful for explaining why SMB partner activation stalls and how automation can support partner-led demand.

Best for

Technology vendors and channel marketing platforms focused on SMB partner engagement or partner-led demand.

Not for

Paid self-service partner portal endorsements, guaranteed reach, or campaigns aimed directly at SMB owners.

Key takeaways

  • Most SMB partners will never market a vendor, and self-serve portals are the wrong fix.
  • Marketplaces transact demand; they do not create customer interest or demand.
  • Enterprise playbooks fail for SMB when the partner managers who made them work are removed.

Check first: Ask for audience demographics, engagement data, rates, media kit, and sponsorship terms.

Main ideas
Most SMB partners will never market a vendor, and self-serve portals are the wrong fix · Shrinking the enterprise playbook into SMB removes the people who made it work · Marketplaces transact demand, they do not create it
Read first
Why most SMB partners never market a vendor: four reasons
Ways to work together
Co-announced vendor partnership content · In-person contact at channel and MSP events
Sources for this section

What they are known for

Josh Scott writes about channel marketing and SMB partner growth, especially how technology vendors can help partners create demand among end customers.

  • Their posts argue that the enterprise playbook, self-service portals and marketplace listings do not, on their own, change what busy SMB partners sell.
  • They are associated in these posts with Channext, whose product they describe as using automation and AI-personalised messaging to help partners market to end users.
  • Readers interested in partner-led growth can follow their work for practical arguments about where vendor programmes stall and what it takes to generate customer demand.

Scott's distinctive contribution is to separate activity from changed behaviour.

  • They explain why enterprise programmes can work when partner managers provide time, funding and ongoing support, yet falter when vendors simply extend a lighter version to SMB partners.
  • They apply the same test to marketplaces: they can simplify a purchase already in motion, but do not necessarily create customer interest or tell partners what to discuss.
  • Their posts make these claims concrete with examples such as partners juggling requests from more than 20 vendors, and a vendor campaign intended to help hundreds of partners promote an AI-cybersecurity solution.
  • The posts also include event and partnership updates, alongside the sharper analysis; those updates show their commercial context but are less useful for understanding the underlying argument.
Sources for this section

Ideas and priorities

Josh Scott writes about why technology vendors struggle to get small and mid-sized channel partners to market on their behalf, and what to do instead.

Read more

The argument running through the posts is that vendor programmes usually fail at the last step: the partner is too busy, too small to qualify for market development funds, already fielding requests from twenty or more vendors, and unlikely to use a self-serve portal.

  • Their recurring claim is that availability and enablement do not change partner priorities; demand does.
  • Partners sell what end customers already ask for, and end customers ask for what they have already seen or heard, so a vendor that only adds a catalogue listing or a marketplace presence is riding market growth rather than directing it.
  • The fix they promote is automated demand generation that tailors end-user messaging per partner and runs inside the systems where partners already transact.
  • The posts tie this to Channext partnerships with Check Point, Huddly and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
  • Scott also treats events as a way to hear directly from MSPs: meeting MSPs directly, rather than only vendors, is how the posts gather their perspective.

Most SMB partners will never market a vendor, and self-serve portals are the wrong fix

Scott gives four reasons why, they say, more than 90% of partners never take a vendor to their end users.

Read more

Most SMB partners are technically focused and have, at best, one person covering all marketing, so vendor activity is the first thing deprioritised.

  • Market development funds go only to a small set of top partners, leaving everyone else excluded.
  • Partners work with as many as 20 vendors, all asking for joint marketing, which produces overload and inaction.
  • And long-tail partners are the group least likely to use a self-service portal.
  • Their conclusion: these partners need proactive marketing support delivered through automation, not reactive enablement that waits for them to act.

Scott writes that they have seen data from the largest technology vendors in the world and that none has managed to activate SMB partners for marketing through a portal. They turn the point into an offer: comment or send a direct message to find out how.

Read original

Shrinking the enterprise playbook into SMB removes the people who made it work

Scott describes a repeated pattern: when a vendor makes SMB a priority, it takes the enterprise playbook, makes it lighter and self-serve, and pushes the same model, metrics and programmes across the wider partner base.

Read more

Enterprise motion works, they argue, because partner managers build plans, provide funding and give constant support, and because large partners have the time to act on vendor-specific plans.

  • Remove that human investment and the programme assumes partners will engage on their own.
  • In SMB, where most partners are running flat out and selling what customers already ask for, that assumption fails.
  • Vendors add headcount, enablement and internal alignment while partner behaviour barely shifts.

Scott's summary line for the pattern is blunt: vendor activity increases, adoption does not.

Read original

Marketplaces transact demand, they do not create it

Scott separates marketplace purchasing from growth.

Read more

Hyperscaler marketplaces have become a primary route to purchase, procurement is simpler and deals close faster, but they argue much of that revenue was already going to happen, just transacted a different way.

  • Marketplaces do not help partners decide what to raise with their end customers or teach those customers what they should be asking for.
  • Demand generation, they say, happens outside the marketplace, and in SMB that is what drives growth.

Scott's illustration: the buyer has already decided and the vendor is already selected, so the marketplace simply wins the purchase order.

Read original

Enablement does not change partner priorities, demand does

Scott argues that vendors assume revenue will follow once partners are enabled and the offer sits on a marketplace.

Read more

Partners instead default to what already works: what they sold last week and what customers are already asking for.

  • Being listed simplifies procurement for the partner but does not reorder their priorities.
  • Programmes scale, they say, when customer momentum arrives first—that is, when end customers start conversations about a specific solution rather than when another option is added to a catalogue.

Scott draws the conclusion directly: without customer pull, a marketplace launch is just activity, not a way of scaling revenue.

Read original

'SMB is our fastest growing segment' is not evidence of winning the SMB market

Scott pushes back on a claim they hear constantly from vendors.

Read more

More deals, more revenue and more partners can simply reflect a rising market, because a growing market lifts everyone.

  • If demand is not directed, they say, it is shared.
  • Competitive separation comes from shaping both halves of the loop: partners sell what end customers ask for, and end customers ask for what they have already seen or heard.
  • A vendor that shapes neither is growing with the market rather than taking share.

Scott frames the difference as riding the tide versus directing it.

Read original

The answer Scott promotes: automated, AI-personalised partner demand generation

Scott's constructive position is that partner-led demand work should be automated and personal.

Read more

They describe a demand generation engine that uses AI to tailor end-user messaging per partner and is integrated into the marketplace, so a vendor launching a new solution can have hundreds of partners make their end users aware of it and then implement it without a single manual action.

  • The same idea appears in partnership announcements: Check Point MSPs getting free automated digital marketing and AI personalisation, and a Huddly partnership framed around doing more with less.
  • These are vendor and partnership announcements, not independent product tests or measured outcomes; ask for independent evidence before assessing results.

Scott's worked example is a vendor launching a solution against rising AI cyber threats, with hundreds of partners raising awareness among their end users and implementing the solution without manual work. The Check Point post names the MSP benefit as simple to use, free of charge and powered by AI personalisation.

Read original · Original 2 · Original 3

Statistics carrying a vendor's own admission

A recurring move in Scott's posts is to open with third-party figures about partner marketing gaps and then attach a named vendor's response.

Read more

The numbers are 81% of partners saying they are not getting the marketing support they need, attributed to JSG, and 71% saying demand generation is their number one challenge, attributed to Demand Gen Report. Scott then points to Hewlett Packard Enterprise working with Channext.

The quoted HPE contact, Fabienne, says all partners are extremely important to HPE's success but that it is too hard for smaller partners to drive marketing activities, and that the aim is to support them in the most impactful way.

Read original

Meeting MSPs directly, not only vendors, is part of the method

Scott treats channel events as research, not just promotion.

Read more

Posts describe attending MSP Global, deliberately steering conversations away from vendors and toward MSPs themselves, asking how they approach marketing and how they are supported, and later summarising what came back.

  • The stated finding is that MSPs need help with marketing and vendors want to help—the premise the rest of the posts build on.
  • Pax8 Beyond posts promote and recap the event, the community and the keynotes, and describe how recently the MSP world entered their orbit.

At MSP Global, Scott describes pulling out an iPad over evening drinks and interviewing as many MSPs as possible about their approach to marketing and the support they receive.

Read original · Original 2 · Original 3 · Original 4

Sources for this section

Start with their work

Why most SMB partners never market a vendor: four reasons

This is the clearest statement of the problem underlying the rest of their posts: portals and co-branded assets don't reach long-tail partners, and something more active is needed.

Read more

Read it first to understand what partner demand generation is trying to fix.

Scott gives four reasons they say explain why 90%+ of partners never take a vendor to end users.

  • Partners lack time and marketing resources: most SMB partners are technically focused and, if lucky, have one person covering all marketing, so vendor activity gets deprioritised first.
  • Market Development Funds go to only a small set of top partners, excluding everyone else.
  • Partners work with 20 or more vendors, all asking for joint marketing, which leads to inaction.
  • SMB and long-tail partners are also least likely to use a self-service portal; they need proactive marketing support through automation, not reactive enablement.
  • Scott says they have seen data from the largest technology vendors, and none has activated SMB partners for marketing through a portal.

For brands planning a campaign

A vendor brief on portal uptake, MDF coverage or long-tail partner activation maps directly onto this argument and offers a natural opening for collaboration.

The enterprise playbook doesn't shrink to fit SMB

It answers the question newcomers will ask next — why copying a working enterprise partner programme to SMB usually stalls — with a clear before-and-after mechanism.

Read more

Scott describes a pattern they keep seeing: when a vendor makes SMB a priority, it takes the enterprise playbook, makes it lighter and pushes it across the wider partner base — same model, same metrics, same programmes.

  • Enterprise motion works because partner managers build plans, provide funding and give constant support, while large partners have time to act on vendor-specific plans.
  • Without that time investment, the programme assumes partners will engage by themselves.
  • Scott says that doesn't happen in SMB, where most partners are running flat out and sell what customers already ask for.
  • When momentum doesn't appear, vendors add headcount and enablement while behaviour barely moves: "Vendor activity increases.
  • Adoption doesn't."

For brands planning a campaign

A strong hook for content or a session on programme design for long-tail partners, contrasting a people-led enterprise motion with anything that depends on partner attention.

Marketplaces move deals, not demand

It states the distinction they return to repeatedly — transaction engine versus demand engine — in one short, self-contained post, making it the fastest way to grasp their position on channel tooling.

Read more

Scott separates marketplace transactions from growth creation.

  • Hyperscaler marketplaces have become a primary purchase route, procurement is easier and deals close faster — but they argue that much of this revenue comes from deals that would have happened anyway, just transacted differently: "The buyer has already decided.
  • The vendor is already selected.
  • The marketplace wins the PO."
  • Marketplaces help buyers buy what they already want; they don't help partners decide what to talk to end customers about or teach end customers what to ask for.
  • Demand generation, they say, happens outside the marketplace, and in SMB that is what drives growth.

For brands planning a campaign

A useful angle for marketplace-launch content: why a listing alone doesn't create pipeline, and where partner-led demand work has to sit alongside it.

Why "SMB is our fastest growing segment" says little

A compact, quotable argument for separating market growth from competitive advantage, useful to anyone weighing channel performance claims.

Read more

Scott challenges a claim they hear constantly from vendors.

  • More deals, more revenue and more partners don't show that a vendor is winning SMB, because a growing market lifts everyone: "If demand isn't directed, it's just shared."
  • Partners sell what end customers already ask for, and customers ask for what they have already seen or heard.
  • Vendors that don't shape both are growing with the market rather than taking share — riding the tide instead of directing it.

For brands planning a campaign

Supports collaboration on channel measurement and demand direction, where the vendor's message is about shaping demand rather than reporting revenue.

The partner marketing support gap, in a vendor's own words

It shows how Scott turns market statistics into a specific vendor argument, with a large vendor stating the long-tail problem in its own words.

Read more

Scott pairs two figures — 81% of partners say they aren't getting the marketing support they need (attributed to JSG), and 71% say demand generation is their number one challenge (attributed to Demand Gen Report) — with a named partnership: Fabienne and Hewlett Packard Enterprise working with Channext. The quoted HPE contact says all partners are important to their success, but smaller partners find it too hard to drive marketing activities, and the aim is to support them in the most impactful way.

For brands planning a campaign

A template for a stats-led pitch anchored to a named partner; relevant when a brief calls for evidence-backed collaboration rather than commentary.

Channext's automated partner demand engine

It is the clearest description of what they actually build, which readers need before weighing their commentary on channel programmes.

Read more

Scott describes the product they work on: an automated demand generation engine that uses AI to tailor end-user messaging for each partner and integrates into the marketplace where transactions happen.

  • Their worked example is a vendor launching a solution against rising AI cyber threats: hundreds of partners can make their end users aware and then implement the solution "without taking a single manual action".
  • The post closes with an invitation to see more or book a demo.

For brands planning a campaign

Clarifies the commercial context: advisory or collaboration content would sit alongside a product-led vendor motion, rather than neutral analysis.

Sources for this section

Topics and approach

Posts cited for each topic
Field research at MSP events4
Automated, AI-personalized demand generation as the product answer3
Why SMB partners do not market vendors1
Enterprise playbooks fail when copied into SMB1
Marketplaces transact demand; they do not create it1
Enablement alone does not change partner priorities1
SMB growth is not proof of SMB market leadership1
Vendor and partner statistics used to frame the problem1

Why SMB partners do not market vendors

Scott’s recurring diagnosis: most SMB channel partners lack time and dedicated marketing staff, rarely qualify for market development funds, juggle more than 20 vendor relationships and do not use self-service portals.

Read more

Long-tail SMB partners need proactive marketing support through automation, not reactive enablement that assumes they will act on their own.

Four-part diagnosis: limited time and resources, no MDF, vendor overload and portal avoidance.

For brands planning a campaign

A collaboration should address partner activation beyond portal access. This is a useful angle for a channel marketing platform selling SMB partner engagement: it frames the problem as one of behaviour and attention, not tool availability.

Examples: Source 1

Enterprise playbooks fail when copied into SMB

Scott argues that vendors repeatedly take the enterprise partner playbook, make it lighter and self-serve, then apply the same model, metrics and programmes across the wider partner base.

Read more

Enterprise works because partner managers drive it with plans, funding and constant support. SMB partners run flat out and sell what customers already ask for, so removing human support leaves vendor activity rising while adoption stays flat.

A direct contrast between enterprise and SMB motions, built around the recurring line that enterprise works because people drive it.

For brands planning a campaign

An advisory session could focus on designing demand-led SMB motions that require little staff time. A channel platform can position automation as a substitute for manual partner management, using Scott’s argument to frame the problem.

Examples: Source 1

Marketplaces transact demand; they do not create it

Scott separates marketplace purchasing from demand generation.

Read more

Hyperscaler marketplaces make procurement easier and close deals faster, but Scott argues much marketplace revenue is demand that already existed, transacted differently.

  • Marketplaces do not help partners decide what to discuss with end customers or educate those customers on what to ask for.
  • Demand generation happens outside the marketplace, especially in SMB.

A contrast between transaction engines and demand creation.

For brands planning a campaign

This is a clear positioning argument for a marketplace-integrated demand generation product. A content collaboration or advisory session could pressure-test the claim that marketplace presence alone will not produce repeatable demand.

Examples: Source 1

Enablement alone does not change partner priorities

Vendors often assume that once partners are enabled and an offer is available on a marketplace, revenue will follow.

Read more

Scott says partners default to what already works and what customers are already asking for.

  • Demand changes priorities, and programmes scale when customer pull or momentum comes first.
  • Without customer pull, a marketplace launch generates activity rather than revenue.

For brands planning a campaign

Useful for a brand that wants to lead with demand creation rather than catalogue availability. Scott could pressure-test a demand-first launch plan or co-create content on why marketplace listings need demand behind them.

Examples: Source 1

SMB growth is not proof of SMB market leadership

Scott challenges the common claim that SMB is a fastest-growing segment.

Read more

A growing market lifts everyone; if demand is not directed, it is shared.

  • Winning requires shaping both what end customers ask for and what partners sell.
  • The distinction is between riding the tide and directing it.

A rhetorical question followed by a tide metaphor.

For brands planning a campaign

A strong content hook for a channel platform: growth versus directed demand. An advisory session could focus on how vendors direct demand through SMB partner networks rather than counting market lift as success.

Examples: Source 1

Automated, AI-personalized demand generation as the product answer

Scott posts about a Channext automated demand generation engine that uses AI to tailor end-user messaging for each partner and integrate into a marketplace.

Read more

The promise: hundreds of partners can make end users aware of a solution and implement it without manual action. Related posts announce free automated digital marketing and AI personalisation for Check Point MSPs, and a Huddly partnership framed as doing more with less through automation and AI.

Product and partnership announcements featuring named partners and customer-facing benefits.

Promotional announcements for Channext partnerships, not neutral product reviews or measured outcome reports.

For brands planning a campaign

The strongest direct product-fit signal in the corpus.

  • A brand can explore content collaboration or an advisory session on automated partner demand generation.
  • Treat the claims as partner announcements, not independent product tests.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3

Field research at MSP events

Scott attends MSP-focused events to gather channel perspective.

Read more

Posts describe visits to MSP Global, conversations with MSPs about their marketing approach and the support they receive, and a later summary that MSPs need marketing help while vendors want to provide it. Pax8 Beyond posts promote and recap the event, the MSP community and standing-room keynotes.

First-person event attendance, informal interviews and recap posts.

The posts here do not include publication dates, so the event sequence is not verifiable from the posts alone.

For brands planning a campaign

For a brand seeking SMB partner engagement insight, Scott’s event-based field reporting offers a natural collaboration format: co-hosted interviews with MSPs, event-based content or an advisory session built around conversations with partners.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3 · Source 4

Vendor and partner statistics used to frame the problem

Scott cites 81% of partners saying they are not getting the marketing support they need and 71% saying demand generation is their number one challenge.

Read more

They link those figures to a Hewlett Packard Enterprise partnership and a quoted concern that smaller partners struggle to drive marketing activities. The method opens with third-party statistics and follows with a named vendor response.

Statistic-led problem framing followed by a partner or vendor example.

For brands planning a campaign

A channel platform can co-create stat-led content around SMB partner marketing gaps. Source and attribute the stats transparently to keep the content credible for a campaign audience.

Examples: Source 1

Sources for this section

Brands and businesses

Josh Scott’s posts center on Channext, the channel-marketing platform they write about in the first person.

Read more

They announce vendor partnerships with Huddly, Check Point Software, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and describe Channext’s work with MSPs.

  • They also appear at channel events including Pax8 Beyond and MSP Global, where they talk with MSPs and vendors.
  • Ask for their formal title and ownership status before treating the Channext relationship as employment or ownership.

Channext

Disclosed partnership

Josh Scott writes as part of Channext, using “we” and “us” to describe the company’s demand-generation work with vendors and MSPs.

Read more

Posts promote Channext partnerships, events, and product demos, but do not state a job title or ownership. Ask for their title and ownership status before treating the relationship as employment or ownership.

View example

Huddly

Disclosed partnership

Huddly partnered with Channext, according to Josh Scott’s post announcing the partnership.

Read more

They write that Huddly wanted to “do more with less” and point to a comment from Bo Pintea. Ask for their individual role in the partnership.

View example

Check Point Software

Disclosed partnership

Check Point Software joined Channext to offer MSPs automated demand generation and AI-personalized marketing.

Read more

Josh Scott announced the partnership and tagged Check Point people. Ask for their role beyond the Channext first-person voice.

View example

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Disclosed partnership

Hewlett Packard Enterprise partnered with Channext, according to a post by Josh Scott.

Read more

The post quotes Fabienne about supporting smaller partners with marketing. Ask for their individual relationship to HPE.

View example

Pax8

Mention

Josh Scott attended Pax8 Beyond, calling it one of their favorite events, and posted about the MSP community and Channext’s presence there.

Read more

The post describes event attendance, not a sponsorship or client relationship.

View example

MSP Global

Mention

Josh Scott attended MSP Global and later praised the event alongside Acronis.

Read more

They described talking with MSPs about marketing support. The posts describe event attendance, not a commercial relationship.

View example

Sources for this section

Topics and similar creators

Josh Scott's posts form a running argument about SMB channel partners.

Read more

Start with the four-reason post on why most partners never market a vendor, then read the companion posts on how shrinking the enterprise playbook for SMB removes the people who made it work, and why marketplaces transact demand rather than create it.

  • Together, they set out Scott's recurring position: partners sell what end customers already ask for, and end customers ask for what they have already seen or heard, so programmes scale only when demand comes first.
  • Product and partnership posts on automated, AI-personalised partner demand generation show what they recommend instead; the MSP Global and Pax8 Beyond recaps show how they gather the partner view directly.
  • For related perspectives, Lindsay Riggs approaches the same partner-marketing ground through content strategy, Manny Rivelo writes from the vendor side of the MSP shift to AI, and David Nankervis lays out the sales pipeline arithmetic behind the same market.
SMB partner marketing Channel partner enablement Partner demand generation Marketplace strategy AI in partner marketing Channel marketing LinkedIn text posts Event recap posts Managed service providers Vendor channel teams

Lindsay Riggs

Riggs describes the same failure mode Scott sees from the vendor side: partners go quiet when vendors show up only with asks, and disengage when co-marketing support and useful materials are missing.

Read more

Riggs's list of what partners want — enablement, demand generation support, strategic alignment, and real co-marketing materials rather than a portal graveyard of PDFs — aligns with Scott's argument that portals and reactive enablement do not activate SMB partners.

Riggs frames the fix as a content and relationship strategy built around four pillars: to-partner, with-partner, through-partner, and for/about-partner content. Scott stays within the SMB segment, making a demand-first, automation-led argument and treating marketplace placement as a transaction channel rather than a source of demand.

Read original · Original 2

Manny Rivelo

Rivelo posts from within the same MSP and SMB technology community Scott writes for, covering the shift toward AI and automation in managed services and what MSPs need to adopt it responsibly.

Read more

Both use event and community moments to explain where the market is heading.

Rivelo writes as a vendor platform explaining its investments in unified, security-first AI tooling for MSPs. Scott focuses on vendor-to-partner marketing programmes and demand mechanics, often posting alongside Channext partnership announcements rather than platform investment updates.

Read original · Original 2

David Nankervis

Nankervis also writes about growth for an MSP and channel audience.

Read more

His pipeline-planning post offers the same kind of concrete, arithmetic explanation of a go-to-market problem Scott uses to explain why partners do not market vendors.

Nankervis focuses on sales leadership and pipeline math — MQL, SQL, and SAO conversion rates for MSP and startup sales teams — as well as company news from inside a security vendor. Scott focuses on partner marketing demand, channel programme design, and vendor-to-partner enablement.

Read original · Original 2

Sources for this section

Audience

Josh Scott’s LinkedIn content is relevant to brands trying to reach technology vendors, MSPs and channel teams focused on SMB partner growth.

Read more

Their posts explain why self-serve portals and enterprise partner programs may fail to change SMB partners’ behavior, and why marketplace listings can simplify transactions without creating customer demand.

  • For example, Scott argues that smaller partners need proactive marketing support, while a marketplace listing alone does not change what partners prioritize (why SMB partners may not market vendors; marketplaces and demand creation).
  • That makes the content a plausible fit for campaigns about channel marketing or SMB partner engagement.
  • Ask for current LinkedIn analytics or run a tracked test measuring engagement from relevant partner and channel roles.
Sources for this section

Partnership options

Josh Scott’s posts document partnerships between Channext and other technology vendors, but do not describe a personal sponsorship programme or bookable collaboration packages.

Read more

The examples are product and channel relationships: Check Point Software joining Channext, and Huddly and Hewlett Packard Enterprise working with Channext.

  • Scott announces them in their own voice, usually linking to the other company’s programme sign-up rather than to terms for working with them directly.
  • The posts publish no rates, deliverables, media kit, audience data, or partner policy for Scott as an individual.
  • A May 2024 post invites readers to comment or send a direct message about marketing support for SMB channel partners.
  • For planning, the visible entry point is a relationship with Channext or one of its vendors.
  • Ask directly about scope, deliverables, pricing, and timing.

Co-announced vendor partnership content

Buyer requirement

This pattern appears only when the other company already has a product partnership with Channext.

  • Scott announces it on LinkedIn in their own words and points readers to the partner’s programme, as with Check Point Software joining Channext, Huddly, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
  • The posts show no route for a brand without an existing relationship.

In-person contact at channel and MSP events

Buyer requirement

Scott attends MSP and channel events with the Channext team, including Pax8 Beyond and MSP Global, and says they want to speak with as many partners and vendors as possible. Brands can use these events to start a conversation, but attendance is not presented as a paid format and has no published deliverables.

Sources for this section

Campaign fit

A campaign to shortlist

Brief: A B2B SaaS channel marketing platform wants to understand SMB partner engagement and is considering a content collaboration or advisory session.

Read more

Decision: strong fit.

  • Josh Scott's posts address the problem the platform sells into: SMB and long-tail partners do not respond to self-service portals or copied enterprise playbooks.
  • In a May 2024 post, they list four reasons most partners never market a vendor — lack of time and marketing staff, MDF going only to top partners, partner overload from 20+ vendors, and long-tail avoidance of portals — and conclude that these partners need proactive marketing support through automation.
  • They return to the enterprise-to-SMB mismatch in a later post: enterprise motion works because partner managers drive it with plans, funding, and support, while SMB partners are running flat out and sell what customers already ask for; removing people leaves vendor activity rising and adoption flat.
  • They also distinguish marketplaces as transaction engines from demand generation, which happens outside the marketplace.
  • This gives the platform a ready-made problem statement, a reason its automation product matters, and a credible speaker with product context from Channext.
  • Before proceeding, ask for audience demographics and engagement data, rates or a media kit, and sponsorship terms; the visible commercial relationships are Channext product and vendor partnerships.

When to choose a specialist

A vendor selling a self-service partner enablement portal wants a paid endorsement with a guaranteed reach figure, or a consumer-facing SMB software brand wants Josh Scott to speak directly to SMB owners.

Read more

Decision: poor fit.

  • A paid endorsement of the portal contradicts their published argument.
  • In a May 2024 post, they say SMB and long-tail partners are least likely to use self-service portals and that vendors have not activated them through portals; instead, they call for proactive marketing support through automation.
  • Endorsing a portal as the fix for SMB partner activation would run counter to that position.
  • A campaign aimed directly at SMB owners is also a weak fit: their posts address vendors, channel teams, MSPs, and partner marketers, not SMB end customers.
  • The posts provide no audience demographics, engagement metrics, or evidence of a direct SMB-owner readership, so a reach guarantee cannot be supported.
  • Their posts show Channext partnership announcements and event contact, not a personal sponsorship programme with rates or deliverables.
  • If the brand still wants to work with them, the stronger route is a problem-framing collaboration for channel and vendor audiences.
  • Ask directly about scope, pricing, deliverables, and any reach commitment before agreeing terms.
A worked campaign example

Worked campaign angle for the strong-fit brief: 'The long-tail activation gap: why SMB partners don't market you, and what to do instead.' Use Josh Scott as the advisory voice in a 45-minute recorded session for the platform's vendor customers, moderated by the platform.

  • Open with the four reasons from their May 2024 post: partners lack marketing time and staff, MDF reaches only a small top tier, partners juggle more than 20 vendors, and long-tail partners avoid self-service portals.
  • Then show the enterprise-to-SMB contrast: enterprise partner motions work because partner managers build plans, provide funding, and give constant support; SMB partners are running flat out and sell what customers already ask for, so removing people from the motion leaves vendor activity up and adoption flat.
  • Close with the marketplace distinction: marketplaces are transaction engines that help buyers buy what they already want, while demand generation happens outside the marketplace and drives SMB growth.
  • Convert the session into a co-authored playbook or long-form post for the platform's audience, with a simple three-step vendor checklist: identify the long-tail segment you are trying to activate, choose the specific customer problem partners should raise, and design a low-effort demand motion that does not depend on partner attention.
  • Add an optional event-based segment if the platform attends MSP or channel events: short interviews with partners about the marketing support they receive, using the 81% partner-support gap and 71% demand-generation challenge figures only with their original attributions.
  • Keep the call to action factual — for example, a platform demo or a request for a partner-activation workshop.
  • Confirm rates, deliverables, and audience metrics before promoting reach or exclusivity.
Sources for this section

Who else to consider

Lindsay Riggs

Choose Lindsay Riggs when the collaboration is about partner marketing content strategy and partnership health rather than SMB activation mechanics.

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The March 2025 post sets out four content pillars a vendor has to staff: to-partner content (programme guides, enablement and training material, newsletters, portals, awards, appreciation events); with-partner content (joint value propositions, co-branded solution sheets, case studies, thought leadership, joint webinars); through-partner content (customisable campaigns, email sequences, sales scripts, playbooks, social posts); and for/about-partner content (messaging guides, press releases, executive presentations, sales kickoff material).

  • A channel platform advising vendor customers on what content to build, and for which audience, would get a more developed content taxonomy here than from Josh Scott.
  • The January 2025 post addresses relationship upkeep directly: it warns against treating partners as transactions and recommends checking in before they check out, providing enablement and demand-generation support before asking for pipeline, and replacing a portal graveyard of PDFs with real co-marketing support, streamlined deal registration, and MDF.
  • That addresses the same portal complaint Scott makes, from the content-planning side.

Riggs's evidence is about partner marketing practice in general, not SMB or long-tail partner behaviour specifically.

  • The two posts do not explain why small partners fail to market vendors, say whether MDF reaches only a top tier, or distinguish marketplace transactions from demand generation.
  • A brief focused on the SMB activation problem, or seeking product context from someone working inside a channel automation company, gets less from this material.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

Manny Rivelo

Choose Manny Rivelo when the collaboration needs a vendor-executive and MSP-community voice rather than a practitioner argument about long-tail partner behaviour.

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The February 2026 post speaks directly to MSPs, saying SMBs deserve the benefits of AI but should not navigate complexity, risk, or security blind spots alone.

  • It describes investment in unified platforms, security-first approaches, and practical AI use cases that automate repetitive work and strengthen security.
  • The March 2026 post reports from IT Nation Connect Europe in London, where more than 600 IT leaders gathered, and frames the move toward an AI-driven, automated MSP model as the next wave after reactive IT support.
  • A channel platform that wants a keynote-style session on where the MSP market is heading, or event-based content reaching a large partner audience, finds more here than in Scott's post-level arguments.
  • The vendor-to-MSP relationship is the subject, not a side note.

Rivelo's posts focus on executives and events.

  • They say what ConnectWise is investing in and what MSPs should prepare for, but do not explain why most SMB partners never market a vendor.
  • There is no activation data, discussion of MDF or portal adoption, or practical checklist a vendor could apply.
  • If the platform wants problem framing and campaign mechanics rather than market direction, Scott's posts are more directly usable.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

David Nankervis

Choose David Nankervis when the session needs sales-pipeline mechanics, quota planning, or the MSP security-vendor angle.

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The October 2026 post works backwards from a $50K quarterly quota at a $500 MRR average deal to show the plan needs about 9 deals, 30 SAOs, 45 SQLs, and 90 MQLs, with MQL-to-close at 10%, SQL-to-close at 20%, and SAO-to-close at 30% against a 40% goal.

  • It advises planning on the number you hit today rather than the goal.
  • A channel platform that wants a recorded session on how partners set and defend a pipeline number, or a co-authored planning resource, gets a finished worked calculation.
  • The June 2026 post adds a vendor-market view: Timus joining CyberFOX to combine SASE, Zero Trust, password management, and privileged access management for MSPs, alongside a note on mentorship and the people involved.
  • A brief about security consolidation, or how an MSP-facing vendor explains a merger to partners, fits this material.

Nankervis's strongest evidence is about selling and pipeline maths, not partner marketing or demand generation.

  • Neither post explains why SMB partners do not market vendors, discusses MDF, or distinguishes marketplace transactions from demand creation, so the campaign's core argument would have to come from elsewhere.
  • The security post is a company announcement and personal reflection rather than an analysis a vendor could act on.
  • For a campaign about why small partners stay inactive, Scott's posts address the question directly.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

Sources for this section

Build your campaign brief

Editable Markdown templates for planning a campaign with this creator.

Campaign brief template — Josh Scott (portable)

Completed brief — SMB partner activation session and playbook

Completed brief — SMB launch, demand first

Sources for this section

Research methodology

  • This profile draws on 13 LinkedIn posts by Josh Scott.
  • They cover SMB partner marketing, vendor programmes, marketplaces, demand generation, Channext partnerships and channel events.
  • The posts carry no publication dates, so the profile describes recurring positions rather than a dated sequence, and they are short-form social posts: no long-form articles, video or interview transcripts, audience demographics, engagement data or commercial terms appear in the posts here.
  • Figures, partner quotations and product claims are reported as Scott presents them, not independently verified here.
  • Three related creators are named in the topics section for comparison.
  • A gap remains for name searches: Scott's posts do not mention a book, show, earlier career or other signature work, so the profile describes these posts rather than Scott's complete public record.
  • Anyone assessing a commercial collaboration should confirm scope, deliverables and pricing directly, because no rates, media kit or personal sponsorship terms appear in the posts here.

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