Part 5: So you think you need a partner program?

I am a partnership nerd!

I mean, I have a newsletter all about it right?

I like it so much that I write content outside of my job around it.

One thing that I geek out about is seeing “partnerships in the wild”.

These announcement make me appreciate how much work goes into these mainstream partnerships and how much value is in this area, so I thought I would begin each week with my favorite partnership in wild.  

Walmart partners with Paramount to provide Paramount's streaming service to their 16 million subscribers.

It is a perfect fit as Walmart continues to challenge Amazon, and Paramount achieves mass distribution to millions of homes.

Brilliant effort from the teams behind this partnership!

With that out of the way, let's dive into this week's newsletter.

Last week, I identified some red flags that should be taken into account before taking that next partnership role.

This week, we are going to flip the perspective and look at partnership from the company’s point of view: is now the time right for a partnership program at your business?

I often speak to leaders that are thinking about starting a partnership program, simply because they need another lever for growth.

There is a recipe - or a series of questions -  that I always ask to assess whether partnerships are going to be a fit for them, and ultimately going to be that effective revenue driver.

This one is going to be a good one for those that are business owners, whether a side-hustle, a booming company or anything in between, or for those that are in partnership programs and wondering why you aren't moving the needle.

Let's begin.

1.  Has everyone bought into this strategy?

I love diving into this question, because as anyone reading this newsletter knows, partnerships touch every part of an organization (this is probably a whole separate blog post on its own).

If the VP of Sales is proposing the partnership strategy but doesn't know the implications for the rest of the organization, it's something to evaluate

Partnerships will touch sales, as the ultimate goal is to get nice warm leads over to your expectant sales team, but it was also effect:

Marketing: where are all those partner enablement resources coming from

Product: tech partnerships are often times the best driver of growth

Customer Success: cross selling partner solutions

Buy-in from all departments will get an effective partner strategy off the ground.

2.  Do you have a solid sales process?

Putting that another way…do people actually understand the value proposition associated with your product?

Think about this: you have a direct selling motion, but the value of your product isn't widely known and your sales team struggles to ship your product.

Imagine how hard it becomes when you go down the indirect selling route, and start requiring your partners' sales team to understand and also sell your software.

It's impossible.

A rock solid product with a clear value proposition is critical to have a successful partner program.

3. Do you have any inbound interest from prospective partners currently?

This may seem like the simplest question out of the bunch, however it's one that many companies don't consider.

A great sign that partnerships might be the strategy for you is that people have enquired about potential partnership opportunities.

If you have had little to no inbound interest, then this is usually a red flag because no potential partners are aware of your product which reflects the understanding of the value your partnership could bring. It will make the person's job a lot harder if they have to start from absolute scratch.

Having interest and getting some quick wins off the bat is going to get the program off to a great start.

4. Are you willing to invest in this program?

Partnership programs need investment.

Outside of the labor cost associated with a partner program, there are also tools that are needed in order to optimize and achieve efficiency in the programs you are creating.

It's fine to bootstrap it at the beginning with a combo of spreadsheets, and manual lead registration, but at some point, this will not work.

At a minimum, a partner needs access to some type of account mapping tool, a way to register leads, and a way to attribute the leads coming in.

At a bare minimum, this will require either monetary or people investment to get things to a stage where you can scale and accelerate your program.

If you want a great program, you have to be willing to invest.

5. Are you willing to let this program grow and mature?

This final question is one that I will tell anyone and everyone that will listen, partner programs take time.

To set up, to build, to grow.

It's not going to be immediate revenue -  it's a long term investment - and one that you need to give time to flourish.

Much like a special bottle of red wine I have been saving for 6 years now. 🍷

Patience is key.

A typical partnership program requires partner profile mapping, partner recruitment, setting up of systems and processes, and enablement.

These are all complex tasks that don’t happen overnight and contrast to the simpler lead gen and cold emails associated in direct sales.

So there are my 5 questions to help clarify whether partnerships are for you.

Don't just dive into a partnership GTM strategy without considering the topics mentioned above, it's going to save you both time and money in the long run.

Until next week!

Cheers,

Ben