Yesterday, I moderated my first webinar at Channelscaler as part of our new See and Solve series, and it turned into one of those conversations that stays with you after the session ends.
Not because we talked about deal registration.
Because we talked about trust.
Yes, we covered AI. We showed real examples of AI automation. We talked workflows, approvals, attribution models, and channel conflict. But underneath all of it was a bigger conversation about how vendors and partners work together and where those relationships start to break down.
One of the most interesting moments came right at the beginning of the webinar when we asked attendees whether they were currently using AI in their deal registration process.
Nearly 80% said no.
That stat alone tells you where the market is right now: everyone is talking about AI, but most organizations are still trying to figure out where it actually fits.
Here are the five biggest takeaways I walked away with from the discussion.
1. The Biggest Deal Registration Problem Isn’t Technology. It’s Friction.
When we asked attendees where the biggest friction points exist today, the answers were immediate:
- approval delays
- lack of visibility
- workflow complexity
- integration challenges
None of that surprised our panel.
Kevin Morata from Itron summed it up perfectly when he talked about the tension between vendors wanting more information and partners wanting a fast, simple process:
“Partners want almost real-time approvals.”
That balancing act is where most deal registration systems start to break.
One stat that sparked a lot of discussion: The average deal registration form across programs we analyzed contains 23 fields, with some reaching into the 60s.
And this is where Sue Baker from NinjaOne made one of my favorite observations of the day:
“Complexity on the back end can lead to simplicity on the front end.”
That line stuck with me because it reframes the entire conversation.
The goal isn’t removing complexity altogether. The goal is making sure your partners don’t feel it.
2. Deal Registration Is Actually About Trust
This became the emotional center of the conversation.
Tim Brunn said something that I think every channel leader should write down:
“The first time they interact with a vendor is generally when they submit a deal reg.”
That’s such an important reminder.
For many partner reps:
- the portal is the brand experience,
- the approval process is the relationship,
- and the rules of engagement are the trust model.
And trust, as everyone on the panel agreed, is incredibly hard to earn back once damaged.
Tim also put it bluntly:
“Trust is very hard to earn. It’s a long hill up, very easy to lose.”
The discussion around transparency was especially strong.
Sue Baker made a point I loved, the people approving deal registrations should not be the people financially incented to reject them.
Or in her words:
“Make sure the foxes aren’t guarding the hen house.”
That got a lot of nods in the chat. Because at the end of the day, partners don’t just want speed. They want fairness and consistency.
3. There Is No “Perfect” Attribution Model
This was one of the most interesting parts of the discussion because every panelist approached attribution differently. And they were all right.
Sue described a strict first-in-first-out model designed around sales velocity and fast approvals.
Kevin talked about using a points-based system to objectively evaluate who knew the customer and opportunity best.
Tim focused on aligning attribution models to broader business goals:
- net new growth,
- account expansion,
- or greenfield acquisition.
And that’s the point.
There’s no universal “best” deal registration strategy. The right model depends on your business, your partner ecosystem, and your sales culture.
But one theme came up repeatedly throughout the conversation:
If the rules are unclear, everything becomes emotional.
Transparency reduces conflict. Ambiguity creates it.
4. AI Is About to Completely Reshape Deal Registration
This is where the energy in the conversation really shifted.
We started the webinar by showcasing some of Channelscaler’s AI-driven capabilities around:
- approval visibility,
- duplicate detection,
- partner insights,
- and workflow acceleration.
But the panel took the conversation much further.
Tim talked about AI reinforcing governance and rules of engagement in real time:
“It can remind everybody, this is how the company operates.”
Sue talked about AI-assisted approvals and eventually delivering proactive enablement resources based on the specific deal being registered.
And Kevin delivered what may have been the quote of the day:
“I’m not sure three years from now, because I think the future is here.”
He’s probably right.
We’re already moving beyond static portals, manual workflows, and endless forms toward more intelligent and proactive partner experiences. The conversation around AI isn’t really about replacing people. It’s about reducing manual work, accelerating decisions, improving visibility, and helping channel teams operate more efficiently at scale.
And the audience clearly agrees.
When we asked where AI could make the biggest impact, the top answers were:
- faster approvals,
- intelligent workflows,
- and auto-filling registration data.
Translation: nobody wants to fill out those forms anymore.
5. The Vendors Who Win Will Be the Ones Willing to Rethink Everything
One of the final questions I asked the panel was:
What do vendors consistently get wrong about deal registration?
Kevin’s answer hit hard. He talked about how organizations continuously layer on more products, more workflows, more approvals, and more exceptions until eventually nobody steps back to ask:
“Why are we doing it this way?”
That level of self-awareness matters right now.
Because AI is creating one of those rare moments where organizations can stop patching old systems and actually redesign the experience from the ground up.
Not just digitize old processes, reimagine them.
And Kevin closed with what may have been the boldest recommendation of the session:
“Take the risk. Do your research, take the risk.”
I think that’s the perfect takeaway.
Final Thought
Moderating this webinar reinforced something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately:
The future of partner ecosystems won’t be built by the companies with the most automation.
It’ll be built by the companies that use automation to create better partner experiences.
Faster doesn’t matter if partners don’t trust the process. AI doesn’t matter if the workflow is fundamentally broken. And simplicity matters more than ever.
Especially now.
Huge thank you to Sue Baker, Kevin Morata, Tim Brunn, Adam Gedde and the incredible Channelscaler team behind the scenes for such an honest, thoughtful conversation.
And to the 80% of attendees not yet using AI in deal registration:
I have a feeling that number is going to change very quickly.
If you missed the live session or want to revisit the discussion, here is the link for the on-demand version. It’s a great conversation for anyone thinking about the future of partner operations, deal registration, and AI-enabled channel workflows.
