If you’ve ever had to defend your channel program’s budget, you know the pressure. Leadership wants to see results. They want proof that channel isn’t just a convenient way to book revenue, but an actual growth engine that scales efficiently. And they want to know why they should invest more.

Ken Chapman, SVP of Strategic Alliances and Channel Sales at D2L, gets it. He recently joined us for a LinkedIn Live conversation about rebuilding D2L’s channel program from the ground up. What made the conversation so valuable wasn’t theory or best practices, it was hearing from someone who’s in the trenches right now, figuring out how to prove channel ROI while simultaneously scaling into new markets.

Chapman came into his role about three to four months before our conversation, taking responsibility for D2L’s global channel sales program after spending years in product and engineering. His mandate? Transform channel from a transaction vehicle into a machine that generates leads, closes business, and helps the company identify where to make strategic market bets.

The insights he shared aren’t from a polished case study years after success. They’re from someone actively building credibility, managing limited resources, and making strategic choices about where to invest time and energy. Here’s what we learned.

Start With Internal Credibility, Not Market Expansion

One of Chapman’s first points hit home for anyone who’s felt like the channel team is constantly justifying its existence. Before you can scale externally, you need to build credibility internally.

“What I want to do is demonstrate to my organization that this channels org is an efficient engine that can drive growth in emerging markets,” Chapman explained. Notice he didn’t say his first priority was signing more partners or entering new geographies. It was proving value to his own leadership team.

This matters because channel programs often get caught in a cycle. You need resources to scale, but you can’t get resources until you prove results. Chapman’s approach breaks that cycle by focusing on efficiency metrics that resonate with executive leadership.

He specifically mentioned revenue per employee as a key metric he tracks. It’s a startup-minded measure that shows you’re generating results without bloating headcount. For a channel leader trying to make the case that channel is more efficient than direct sales in certain markets, this metric tells a compelling story.

The practical takeaway here is about sequencing. Don’t try to do everything at once. Build a track record with your tier one partners first. Show that your channel org is lean and effective. Then use those results as ammunition for expansion budget.

As Chapman put it, “I think I need a really strong reputation internally as a lean, effective group that delivers amazing partnerships. And, you know, ultimately we see the pipeline and bookings that come from it.”

The Tier One Strategy: Thin Slice and Deliver

Chapman’s approach to partner strategy is refreshingly focused. D2L uses a tiered partner structure, and Chapman is deliberately concentrating resources on tier one partners where they expect the most business results.

This isn’t revolutionary thinking, but it’s disciplined. Many channel programs spread enablement resources too thin, trying to activate every partner equally. Chapman is doing the opposite. Focus on partners that are strategically aligned with D2L’s ideal customer profiles. Put real energy into activating them. Prove the model works. Then expand.

He described this as “thin slice, deliver around those really strong tier one strategies we have now and then grow and expand.” It’s a crawl, walk, run mentality applied to channel program development.

What makes a tier one partner in D2L’s model? Chapman looks for partners with real regional expertise in markets where D2L has limited presence or is testing product-market fit. These partners have sector-specific knowledge, customer relationships, and local credibility that would take D2L years to build directly.

The enablement implication is significant. If you’re only deeply enabling a focused set of strategic partners initially, you can invest in higher-touch, higher-quality partner activation. You can validate that your enablement actually produces sales-ready partners. You can measure what works before scaling it across a broader partner base.

This approach also protects you from a common channel program mistake: declaring success based on the number of certified partners rather than the number of partners actually driving revenue. Chapman’s focus on tier one activation keeps the emphasis on outcomes, not vanity metrics.

Rethinking What “Activation” Actually Means

The word “activation” gets thrown around a lot in channel programs, but Chapman was specific about what it means at D2L. It’s not just about completing training or earning a certification badge. It’s about turning partners into a “machine that can generate leads and can close actual business for us.”

This distinction matters. Traditional channel thinking often treats activation as a binary state. Partner completes onboarding: activated. Partner gets certified: activated. But Chapman is measuring activation by behavior and results. Can the partner generate pipeline? Can they close deals? Can they help D2L identify strong product-market fit in their region?

When we asked how D2L determines when a partner is truly activated and ready to sell effectively, Chapman was candid about being in the middle of launching a new enablement program. There was an old way and a new way.

The old way relied heavily on knowledge transfer and traditional certification. Partners would complete training, check the box, and that was it. No real validation of whether they could pitch effectively or handle customer objections. No way to measure actual sales readiness versus completion rates.

The new way Chapman is implementing focuses on authentic skill validation. Partners practice the actual behaviors they’ll need in customer conversations. They get feedback. They iterate until they’re genuinely ready. The enablement program validates performance, not just comprehension.

This shift from completion-based activation to performance-based activation changes everything about how you measure channel program success. Instead of reporting how many partners finished training, you’re reporting how many partners can demonstrably execute the sales behaviors that drive results.

Using AI to Scale Personal Touch, Not Replace It

One of the more interesting parts of the conversation was Chapman’s perspective on AI in enablement. He made a point that’s easy to overlook: video assessment actually humanizes enablement rather than dehumanizing it.

“When I see it threaded into an enablement in the learning experience, it very much humanizes it,” Chapman explained. “It’s an actual interaction that happens in real life and helping me better understand what’s happening from that outside of my own perspective.”

Think about what he’s describing. Partners aren’t just clicking through slides or taking multiple choice tests. They’re practicing actual customer conversations. They’re getting feedback on their delivery, their messaging, their ability to handle objections. The assessment method mirrors the real work they’ll be doing.

The AI component provides instant feedback at scale. A partner in Singapore can practice a pitch at 2am their time and get immediate coaching on their approach. The D2L enablement team doesn’t need to be available 24/7 across every time zone to provide that feedback.

But Chapman’s point about humanization is key. The AI isn’t replacing human judgment. It’s scaling the opportunity for practice and immediate feedback so that human reviewers can focus on final validation and more nuanced coaching.

This is how AI-powered enablement should work. Technology handles the repetitive, scalable parts (providing practice scenarios, giving immediate feedback on objective criteria, tracking completion and performance data). Humans handle the parts that require judgment, context, and relationship building.

For a lean channel team trying to enable partners across multiple regions without adding headcount, this division of labor is essential. You get the operational efficiency leadership wants to see while maintaining the quality that actually produces sales-ready partners.

Watch the full conversation with Ken Chapman to hear more about how D2L is using video assessment to validate partner readiness.

Measuring What Actually Matters to Leadership

Chapman’s focus on specific metrics reveals how he’s building the internal business case for channel investment. He’s not just tracking partner metrics. He’s tracking metrics that leadership cares about across the entire organization.

Revenue per employee is one. This metric shows operational efficiency in a way that resonates with finance and executive leadership. If your channel org can generate $X in pipeline with a team of five people, and direct sales needs twenty people to generate the same pipeline, you’ve got a compelling efficiency story.

Pipeline generation from partners is another obvious metric, but Chapman’s emphasis on “pipeline that they actually close” shows he’s focused on quality, not just quantity. It’s easy to pad pipeline numbers with deals that never close. Chapman wants to see conversion rates that prove partners aren’t just identifying opportunities but actually winning them.

For partners specifically, Chapman looks at their ability to activate and turn on emerging and expanding markets. Are partners opening doors in regions where D2L doesn’t have strong presence? Are they helping validate product-market fit before D2L makes larger direct investments? That strategic value is often harder to quantify but critical for proving channel’s role in company growth.

The enablement metrics matter too. How many partners are truly ready to sell, not just certified? How long does it take to get a new partner from signed agreement to first deal? These operational metrics show whether your enablement program is actually working or just creating busywork.

What Chapman is doing is connecting channel program activities to business outcomes that matter to people outside the channel org. When you speak the language of efficiency, growth, and ROI rather than just partner satisfaction scores and certification completion rates, you get different conversations with leadership.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Reality Check

Perhaps the most valuable insight from Chapman was his honesty about where D2L’s channel program actually is in its development. “I think we’re sort of in the crawling to walk phase right now,” he said.

This candor is refreshing in a world of polished case studies that only showcase finished success stories. Chapman is in the middle of the work. He’s making strategic choices about where to focus resources. He’s building proof points with tier one partners before scaling broadly. He’s implementing new enablement approaches and measuring their impact.

The crawl, walk, run framework he described isn’t just a catchphrase. It’s a practical approach to building sustainable channel programs. In the crawl phase, you focus on tier one partners and prove the model works. You validate that your enablement produces sales-ready partners. You build internal credibility through early wins and operational efficiency.

In the walk phase, you expand to tier two partners with the proven playbook from tier one. You start scaling enablement because you know what works. You have metrics that demonstrate ROI. You’ve earned the resources and trust to grow.

In the run phase, you’re operating a mature channel program that’s recognized internally as a strategic growth driver. You have the budget, the team, and the operational systems to scale efficiently across multiple tiers and regions.

Most importantly, Chapman’s approach acknowledges that you can’t skip phases. You can’t go straight to “run” by signing 100 partners and hoping for the best. You build credibility through disciplined execution, prove value with focused results, then earn the right to scale.

What This Means for Your Channel Program

If you’re a channel leader facing similar pressures to prove value while scaling efficiently, Chapman’s approach offers a practical blueprint. Start by getting clear on what metrics will build internal credibility with your leadership team. Revenue per employee, pipeline quality, and operational efficiency resonate with executives in ways that pure partner counts don’t.

Be strategic about where you focus enablement resources. You probably can’t deeply enable every partner equally, at least not initially. Identify your tier one partners based on strategic fit and potential business impact. Put real energy into activating them properly. Use those results to justify broader investment.

Rethink what partner activation actually means. Completion-based metrics (finished training, earned certification) are easy to track but don’t prove readiness. Performance-based metrics (can demonstrate key sales skills, can close deals) are harder to measure but actually predict results.

Consider how technology can help you scale without proportionally scaling headcount. AI-powered enablement tools can provide practice opportunities and immediate feedback that would be impossible to deliver manually across a global partner base. This isn’t about replacing human judgment. It’s about amplifying your team’s impact.

Most importantly, be honest about what phase you’re in. If you’re in crawl mode, own it. Build the foundation properly. Prove the model works with a focused set of partners. Then scale from proven success rather than hoped-for potential.

Chapman’s LinkedIn Live conversation offered something rare: a real-time look at how an experienced leader is building a channel program with all the constraints and pressures that come with the role. No perfect case study. No glossy outcomes. Just strategic thinking, disciplined execution, and a clear-eyed focus on proving value before asking for more resources.

Ready to see how video assessment can help you validate partner readiness at scale? Book a demo to learn how channel programs are using AI-powered enablement to prove ROI while scaling efficiently.