Effective Work Samples and Role Plays for Hiring a Head of Channel Sales

The Head of Channel Sales position represents a critical leadership role that directly impacts a company's market reach and revenue growth. This senior leader serves as the architect of your channel strategy and the primary relationship manager for your most valuable partnerships. Finding the right person requires more than just reviewing resumes and conducting standard interviews - it demands seeing candidates in action through realistic scenarios that mirror the actual challenges they'll face.

Traditional interviews often fail to reveal how candidates will perform in real-world situations. A candidate might articulate impressive strategies or claim exceptional relationship-building skills, but without seeing these abilities demonstrated, hiring decisions become unnecessarily risky. Work samples and role plays provide a window into how candidates actually think, communicate, and solve problems under conditions similar to those they'll encounter in the role.

For a Head of Channel Sales, practical exercises should evaluate strategic thinking, relationship management capabilities, leadership skills, and analytical acumen. The right candidate must demonstrate they can develop comprehensive channel strategies, navigate complex partner ecosystems, lead high-performing teams, and make data-driven decisions that drive revenue growth.

The following work samples and role plays are designed to assess these critical competencies in a realistic context. By incorporating these exercises into your interview process, you'll gain deeper insights into each candidate's capabilities and significantly improve your ability to identify the individual who will excel in driving your channel sales strategy forward.

Activity #1: Channel Strategy Development Exercise

This exercise evaluates a candidate's strategic thinking, business acumen, and ability to develop a comprehensive channel strategy aligned with business objectives. It reveals how candidates approach market analysis, partner selection, and program development - core responsibilities for a Head of Channel Sales.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide the candidate with a brief on your company's product/service, current market position, growth objectives, and any existing channel partnerships.
• Include relevant market data such as target customer segments, competitive landscape, and current sales distribution (direct vs. channel).
• Allow candidates 48 hours to prepare a 20-minute presentation followed by 25 minutes of Q&A.
• Ensure the brief contains enough information to develop a strategy but requires the candidate to make reasonable assumptions where data is limited.
• Have 2-3 key stakeholders (e.g., CRO, VP Sales, CEO) participate in the presentation and Q&A.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Develop a 12-month channel strategy that addresses:
• Target partner profile(s) and selection criteria
• Partner recruitment approach
• Channel program structure (tiers, benefits, requirements)
• Partner enablement strategy
• Channel conflict management
• Key performance metrics and targets
• Prepare a 20-minute presentation outlining your strategy with supporting rationale.
• Be prepared to discuss your assumptions, alternative approaches considered, and how you would implement the strategy.
• Include a high-level timeline for implementation and expected results.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide specific feedback on one strategic element the candidate addressed effectively and one area that could be strengthened.
• Ask the candidate to spend 10 minutes refining their approach to the area needing improvement, explaining how they would adjust their strategy based on the feedback.
• Evaluate not only the quality of the initial strategy but also the candidate's receptiveness to feedback and ability to adapt their thinking.

Activity #2: Partner Negotiation Role Play

This role play assesses the candidate's relationship-building skills, negotiation abilities, and business acumen in a realistic partner interaction. It demonstrates how they balance company interests with partner needs to create mutually beneficial relationships.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a scenario involving a negotiation with a strategic partner (e.g., contract renewal with changed terms, resolving a channel conflict issue, or establishing a new partnership).
• Provide a brief that includes:
• Background on the partner (size, market position, historical relationship)
• The partner's objectives and concerns
• Your company's objectives and constraints
• Points of potential conflict or negotiation
• Assign an experienced team member to play the role of the partner executive.
• Allow the candidate 30 minutes to prepare after receiving the brief.
• Conduct a 30-minute role play negotiation session.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided materials to understand both companies' positions and objectives.
• Prepare your negotiation strategy, identifying:
• Your primary objectives and minimum acceptable outcomes
• Potential concessions you're willing to make
• Value propositions that address the partner's needs
• Approaches to handle potential objections or conflicts
• During the 30-minute negotiation, work to reach an agreement that satisfies both parties' core needs.
• Be prepared to make real-time decisions and adjustments based on the partner's responses.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the role play, provide feedback on one aspect of the negotiation the candidate handled effectively and one area for improvement.
• Ask the candidate to spend 10 minutes explaining how they would approach a specific challenging moment in the negotiation differently based on the feedback.
• Evaluate their relationship-building approach, strategic thinking during negotiations, and ability to create win-win scenarios.

Activity #3: Channel Performance Analysis and Optimization

This exercise evaluates the candidate's analytical capabilities, data-driven decision-making, and ability to optimize channel performance - critical skills for driving revenue growth through partnerships.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a realistic dataset showing 6-12 months of channel partner performance data, including:
• Revenue by partner/partner tier
• Deal registration metrics
• Partner engagement metrics (training completion, marketing activity)
• Pipeline data
• Year-over-year growth rates
• Profitability metrics if applicable
• Include some performance anomalies or concerning trends that require attention.
• Provide context about the channel program structure and business objectives.
• Allow candidates 45 minutes to analyze the data and prepare recommendations.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided channel performance data to identify key trends, opportunities, and challenges.
• Prepare a 15-minute presentation that includes:
• Your assessment of current channel performance
• 3-5 key insights from the data
• Specific recommendations to address underperformance or capitalize on opportunities
• Metrics you would track to measure improvement
• A prioritized action plan for the next 90 days
• Be prepared to explain your analytical approach and the rationale behind your recommendations.
• Consider both short-term tactical adjustments and longer-term strategic implications.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide feedback on one analytical insight or recommendation that was particularly valuable and one area where the analysis could be strengthened.
• Ask the candidate to spend 10 minutes refining their approach to the area needing improvement, explaining how they would adjust their analysis or recommendations.
• Evaluate their analytical rigor, business acumen, and ability to translate data into actionable strategies.

Activity #4: Channel Team Leadership Scenario

This scenario assesses the candidate's leadership capabilities, coaching skills, and ability to develop high-performing channel sales teams - essential for scaling channel revenue and partner satisfaction.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a realistic scenario involving a channel team leadership challenge, such as:
• A team member consistently missing targets with key partners
• Conflict between channel team members affecting partner relationships
• Integrating a new channel manager into the team
• Implementing a significant change to the channel program
• Provide relevant background information about the team members involved, their performance history, and the business context.
• Assign an experienced team member to role-play as the channel team member(s).
• Allow the candidate 20 minutes to prepare after receiving the scenario.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided scenario and prepare for a 30-minute role play that includes:
• A one-on-one coaching or feedback session with a team member
• Discussion of performance expectations and development goals
• Addressing specific challenges or behaviors
• Creating an action plan for improvement
• Approach the conversation as if you were already in the Head of Channel Sales role.
• Focus on both addressing immediate performance issues and long-term development of the team member.
• Be prepared to adapt your approach based on the team member's responses during the conversation.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the role play, provide feedback on one aspect of the leadership approach that was effective and one area that could be improved.
• Ask the candidate to spend 10 minutes explaining how they would adjust their approach based on the feedback.
• Evaluate their leadership style, coaching abilities, emotional intelligence, and effectiveness in driving performance improvement.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much time should we allocate for these work samples in our interview process?

Each exercise requires approximately 60-90 minutes including preparation, execution, and feedback. We recommend selecting 1-2 exercises most relevant to your specific needs rather than conducting all four. The Channel Strategy Development and Partner Negotiation exercises are particularly valuable for assessing core competencies.

Should we share these exercises with candidates in advance?

For the Channel Strategy Development exercise, provide the brief 48 hours in advance to allow thoughtful preparation. For the other exercises, share the general format in advance (e.g., "You'll participate in a partner negotiation role play"), but provide the specific scenario details only 20-30 minutes before the exercise to assess the candidate's ability to think on their feet.

How should we evaluate candidates who have experience in different industries?

Focus on the candidate's approach and thought process rather than industry-specific knowledge. Strong candidates will ask clarifying questions, make reasonable assumptions, and apply transferable skills even when working with unfamiliar products or markets. Consider providing additional context for candidates from different industries.

What if we don't have team members experienced enough to play the role of partners or team members?

Consider engaging an external consultant or recruiting advisor to play these roles. Alternatively, provide more detailed scripts to internal team members to ensure consistency across candidates. The key is ensuring the role player can provide realistic responses that challenge the candidate appropriately.

How do we ensure consistency in evaluating different candidates?

Create a structured evaluation rubric for each exercise that aligns with the key competencies for the role. Have the same evaluators present for all candidates whenever possible, and conduct a calibration session before beginning interviews to align on evaluation criteria and standards.

Should we adapt these exercises for internal candidates?

Yes, modify scenarios to avoid using information the internal candidate would already have intimate knowledge of. For example, create a fictional new product line or market expansion for the Channel Strategy exercise, or use a fictional partner for the negotiation role play.

The Head of Channel Sales role is pivotal to your company's growth strategy and partner ecosystem. By incorporating these practical work samples into your interview process, you'll gain deeper insights into candidates' capabilities and significantly improve your hiring decisions. Remember that the best candidates will demonstrate not only strategic thinking and relationship skills but also adaptability and receptiveness to feedback.

For more resources to enhance your hiring process, check out Yardstick's AI Job Description Generator, AI Interview Question Generator, and AI Interview Guide Generator. You can also find the complete job description for a Head of Channel Sales here.

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