Part 23: Show This to Your CEO

Morning everyone!

Welcome back to another issue of my Partnership Pocketbook.

I hope everyone is hanging in and doing ok, given the state of tech at the moment.

It's not good for anyone at the moment, you are either in two camps…the first being that you’ve been laid off and looking for a job, or the other being that you’re still in a role but now with half a team, and a lack of budget.

It sucks!

This issue is going to be something that will help those still in a role remember how important partnerships are for any business.

Especially in these times where responsible revenue is more important than ever!

Before we get to that, I typically like to bring up a conversation I have had over the last few weeks. This one comes from talks I had with a senior marketing leader about a tool called Lavendar.ai.

Lavender, if you haven't heard of it, is a super cool tool that helps you write better cold emails.  They have a ton of raving customers and an awesome founding team, check them out.

The conversation around Lavender however wasn’t focused on the power of the tool, but instead focused on the people they have recruited as advisors, and what that has meant for them as a brand. They have taken on some massively influential creators and influencers to act as advocates and advisors for their company, and it has SURGED their exposure to the people that are their ICP.

So what does this have to do with partnerships, Ben?

Well, if you think about the motion I have described above it is a partnership!

It is an influencer partnership, where they give their group of advisors shares in return for pumping their brand.

If you are in a partnership role and haven't thought about influencer partnerships, you should!

Think of your ICP.

Now think of the influencers in your space that your ICP follows.

These would make wonderful partners for your company!

I have been following KNOCommerce for a while; their founder is out of Salt Lake and they are doing some great things in the post purchase area of ecommerce. They recently announced a partnership with Tik Tok, which added their post purchase experience to purchases inside the platform.

I love this because it takes their existing software and moves it into the fastest growing social media platform. This works for KC as it exposes them to thousands of potential customers and it works for Tik Tok because it adds additional functionality to their purchasing process.

Great work!

Now onto today's issue.

This one is going to be slightly different, I wanted to make this one a cheat sheet of stats, statements and facts that show the value of partnerships!

I titled this blog post “Show This to Your CEO” because they need to be reminded of the power of partnerships.

It's not going to be my usual tips and tricks, but it is going to be important - and something you can use when fighting for budget next time with your executive team.

Partnerships are the future!

It's up to you as a partnership professional to help them realize this.

Here's a list of stats that you can use, and how to use them:

📈 75% of world trade flows indirectly (Forrester)

🗣 What to say to your executives:  75%! Of all trade! Worldwide! And your organization thinks they don't need a partner program?

📈 84% of companies say that ecosystems are important to their strategy (Accenture)

🗣 What to say to your executives: If 84% of companies believe in the power of ecosystems, why doesn't your organization?

📈  7 of the top 12 largest companies take part in ecosystems (McKinsey)

🗣 What to say to your executives: The biggest companies in the world have been built around an ecosystem strategy! If your company has any desire to be a world-beating software company, they also need to prioritize this strategy.

📈 Co-selling works for 77% of businesses - 77% of companies who’ve taken part in co-selling partnerships have seen a direct or indirect increase in profits. (Wakefield)

🗣 What to say to your executives: Although co-selling isn't for everyone, when selling together with partners, you double up on so many things and have the ability to take on the world.

📈 Word of mouth is the primary factor behind up to 50% of all purchasing decisions (McKinsey)

🗣 What to say to your executives: People buy from people! Therefore building up a cohort of good referral partners will be game changing!

📈 Customers who’ve been referred are 4x more likely to convert (Nielsen)

🗣 Once a referral partner has made an intro to a customer, they typically convert at 4x of the normal conversion rate of sales; faster conversion is always something a business wants to see.

📈  Referred customers are 37% more likely to stay (Raven CSI).

🗣 In the current climate with customer retention a primary goal, creating a robust partner program that refers customers also creates a more loyal customer base.

📈  Nearly a third of sales will come from ecosystems (McKinsey)

🗣 If you aren't investing in an ecosystem led sales strategy, 33% of the pie is going to be untenable to you, which should be a massive red flag for your org.

So there you have it: a list of powerful stats and how to use them! Book a meeting with your CEO and change your company forever. What are you waiting for?

Have a great week!

Cheers,

Ben