Performance, Points Boards & the Power of People — with Nick Martin

In this episode of The Channel Zone, host Mark Edwards sits down with seasoned consultant Nick Martin to explore the evolution of sales, consulting, and collaboration in the tech world. From early career points boards to today’s AI-powered disruption, this candid conversation covers what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and what really matters: people, performance, and perspective.

Nick shares insights from decades in tech—reflecting on the old-school motivation of public sales metrics, how the modern workplace is evolving to support mental health, and why transparency and teamwork beat private performance conversations every time.

The duo dives into:

• 🔍 The challenges of digital transformation as an ongoing mindset shift

• ⚖️ AI’s influence on legal services and other regulated industries

• 🤝 Why genuine networking still beats LinkedIn profiles

• 📉 How private equity’s grip on the MSP space is changing client relationships

• 📈 The role of creativity, strategy, and compliance in modern consulting

Whether you’re a veteran seller, a startup strategist, or just curious about how the tech and consulting landscape is shifting, this episode delivers sharp thinking with a human touch. The video version of this podcast can be found on our YouTube channel.

In this episode, Mark Edwards sits down with Roy Ferrari, SAP GTM Lead at HCLTech, for a wide-ranging conversation on what it takes to build a billion-pound partnership in the modern enterprise tech landscape. Roy shares insights from the recent SAP Sapphire event in Madrid, the importance of face-to-face interaction in today’s digital-first world, and HCLTech’s evolution from a systems integrator to a strategic SAP partner.

They dig into the rise of AI in sales—from proposal automation to RFP response generation—and what that means for the future of the sales profession. Roy also offers a candid take on the declining quality of sales qualification, the over-reliance on relationships, and why understanding the decision-making ecosystem is more important than ever.

Key Questions Explored:

- What is the role of a go-to-market lead in tech partnerships?

- How is AI reshaping the sales process?

- Why are in-person meetings still critical in an age of automation?

Whether you're in enterprise sales, partnerships, or tech strategy, this episode delivers valuable lessons on adaptation, alignment, and authenticity in modern selling.

In this episode, I interview Mark Shephard, or Shep, EMEA Cloud Alliances Leader at Okta, to explore a remarkable journey from the armed forces to the forefront of cloud sales strategy. We unpack the power of extensibility in tech platforms, the strategic value of collaboration with AWS, and how lessons from sports and the military shape leadership in high-performance environments.

Shep offers insight into the role of a cloud alliances leader, highlighting the trust, forecasting, and teamwork required to thrive in the fast-moving AWS marketplace. Whether it's aligning resellers, enabling regional partners, or simplifying customer transactions, this conversation is a masterclass in modern tech sales collaboration.

You’ll also discover how rugby and military discipline translate to business effectiveness, why Okta sponsors McLaren F1, and what it really means to conduct a sales orchestra.