Channel sales is any revenue a vendor generates through third-party partners (resellers, MSPs, distributors, referrals) rather than through its direct sales team.
Channel sales, or indirect sales, is the go-to-market motion where partners carry the sales cycle on behalf of the vendor. It is measured, forecast, and compensated separately from direct sales and requires its own operating model, tooling, and analytics.
A channel team recruits partners, enables them, gives them pipeline tools (deal reg, quoting), and measures partner-sourced and partner-influenced revenue. A PRM is the operating system for channel sales.
In most B2B categories, channel sales eventually outgrows direct sales in reach and cost efficiency. Vendors that master it scale further per dollar of go-to-market spend.
Yes. The terms are used interchangeably.
Channelo covers deal registration, MDF, tiering, training, and analytics in one place, across programs at every stage of maturity.