SALES BY STRUCTURE & INNOVATION
Partner and Innovation selection plan
As there are millions of partnership options, the best way to select and start an ecosystem of partners or an innovation screening, is to develop your clear, growth and profit oriented business strategy around your current and future envisioned position in the market.
Channel and innovation partners will feed the demands of their customers into your offerings but you will need to explain your company’s value proposition also to potential partners who work with your competitor as well, so confidence in messaging and delivery is key to recruit both integration- or channel partners. Think therefore also about industry specific vertical ecosystems and partners that might be necessary to untap the vertical value chain.
Execution based on inbound and outbound capabilities
Inbound and initial partnership building outbound capabilities are vital to start of a partnership, affiliate or reseller model, basically to start channel sales. Your strategy provides the guidance for ideal partner profiling and selection. Ideal client profiles are then made on the basis of design thinking – building personas and initial integration-MVP’s ideas that can cater to partner personas and also to personas of your partners clients.
Marketing and sales enablement execution takes the validated personas as guidance for the development of the necessary materials aligned to various audiences, narratives and brand message alignment. Always check against the “so what?” principle, would someone care or not, are they recognized and appreciated. Aligned content type and the value question is my solution providing more or a better efficiency will make it then easier to pull potential partners into your partner funnel machinery and will increase your understanding why certain partners are a better fit than others. Industry thought leadership will help attracting the audience for inbound and a prepared value proposition before you make your first partner outbound call will increase likelihood of a positive closure. Look at industry examples and partnership models (e.g. look at SaaS partnership or vendor partner models) and learn from there.
Attracting Partners – Know their clients and what you bring to the partner
Like in every hiring process, partners like to hear about value and benefits for them and foremost also their clients. Have a clear “What is in for me” message for the partner a clear process carved out and an easy way to govern the relationship and tool used, then onboarding of partners get easier. Also be clear that you understand the needs of their clients and the mutual benefit working together so be clear around the joint value proposition.
With all the digital tools and world around – Plan roadshows and onsite events
Partners can be found through roadshows and fireside chats where you invite a bunch of identified partners and pitch your value. Especially in these days onsite events get more precious and thus the value of those events has increased. Plan a hybrid, staged structure and attract after you have held one or two webinars around your partner screening.
However never underestimate the work that lies in all that activities and secure resources and funding not to get stuck in a cumbersome situation of oversell and then failing to deliver. Remember, trust is everything and business with partners might be transactional but the partnership is not it is relational and should be are long term but based on KPI, joint commitments and providing necessary governance resources and budgets.
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