Best Practices in Partner Recruiting
Ecosystem growth blends the optimization of existing partners with landing new ones. Depending on where you are in the channel journey and the coverage provided by your existing partners, your need to recruit will vary. But it is a matter of scale - no channel has enough highly contributing, active, engaged partners. Effective new partner recruitment is a lifeblood for channel growth and therefore company success, but it can lead to resource drain, lack of focus, and unrealized potential. Here are key best practices for forming impactful new partnerships while avoiding common pitfalls.
1. Understand the Distinction Between New Business Development and Partner Relationship Management Across Your Team
New Business Development leverages strategic skills and is very different from partner relationship management. Not that one is better then the other, but not all Channel Managers (CAMs) are the same. Asking a CAM skilled in managing and growing existing partners to strategically identify, sign, and activate a new partner can be unrealistic and is often a common mistake. Channels that reach a certain scale often have dedicated partner recruitment resources that focus on signing and activating new partners, leading to higher success and faster growth. Asking a CAM with a stable of existing partners and a quota, to also recruit and activate new partnerships often dilutes their effectiveness in both areas. In some cases, without the support of a broader team they can’t do it. If a territory is new or developing, it makes sense to have a CAM do both tasks, but finding someone who can be effective in this hybrid role is critically important. Remember, not all CAMs are the same, and new business development is a strategic skill.
Example: A software company might have a dedicated team that solely focuses on bringing in new go-to-market partners, while another team manages existing relationships with resellers. A hand-off could occur once the new partnership is ramped and has hit key milestones.
2. Start at the Top (or get there quickly)
Connect with senior leaders at targets and build alignment. Senior leadership could be the CEO, head of product, CRO, or another executive sponsor who can help steer the strategic fit and marshal resources. This sponsor is needed to drive the relationship forward, align, and make organizational commitments. Often, the sponsor will delegate the tactical pieces of formation to others within the business, which is fine. However, securing top-level buy-in is key.
Example: In a potential partnership with a leading hardware manufacturer, initiating discussions with the CEO or CTO can ensure that the strategic vision aligns with the company’s overall objectives and secures high-level commitment. Key activity flows from there.
3. Craft a Focused and Strategic Value Proposition
Make the initial outreach count. Whether via LinkedIn, a cold email, or a warm introduction, hone the message to strategically solve a problem or drive growth that makes the value proportion clear and compelling. For example, reaching out about a partnership where you pinpoint the ability to help rapidly grow the targets business, increase EBITDA, expand into a new market, or fill a critical unsolved need to serve their customers, is likely to lead to interest and the next step. In shaping the value prop, ask yourself what you can do to strategically benefit the target that is unique, strategic, and transformational.
Example: When approaching a potential logistics partner, highlight how a partnership can enhance their delivery network efficiency and reduce costs through your technology. Even better, would be how you can help them expand to drive new growth. The answer here also shapes who you reach out to (e.g. product-side or revenue-side).
4. Maintain Executive-Level Engagement
Ensure an ongoing cadence with the executive sponsor even after others within their business take over day-to-day responsibilities for the partnership formation. This is key to maintaining momentum, such as strategic planning, contract formation, press-release support, and more. Without this motion, the likelihood that partnership formation drags or even stalls increases significantly.
Example: Regular meetings with the Executive of a new partner can ensure continued strategic alignment and a cadence to partnership signing as well as a strategic plan for a fast start around joint marketing initiatives and training of their team.
5. Leverage Mutual Benefits and Synergies
Identify and emphasize mutual benefits and synergies that can be achieved through the partnership. This could include sharing resources, joint customer targeting, combining technologies, and co-developing solutions that provide value to both parties. Highlighting these synergies can strengthen the strategic appeal of the partnership and ensure long-term collaboration.
Example: A partnership between a cloud service provider and a cybersecurity firm can offer bundled solutions that enhance security and scalability for customers.
6. Conduct Thorough Due Diligence
Before engaging with potential partners, conduct thorough due diligence to understand their business model, market position, and strategic goals. This knowledge will enable you to tailor your approach and value proposition effectively, increasing the likelihood of a successful partnership.
Example: Before approaching a financial services firm, research their current technology stack, pain points, and strategic initiatives to present a well-informed proposal.
7. Establish Clear Objectives and Metrics
Define clear objectives and success metrics for the partnership from the outset. This includes setting measurable goals, timelines, and KPIs to track progress and ensure both parties are aligned and accountable.
Example: Setting a target to achieve a certain number of joint webinars within the first six months of the partnership can help ignite sales and drive mutual efforts.
8. Create a Compelling Partnership Narrative
Develop a compelling value proposition that outlines the vision, mission, and strategic benefits of the partnership. This narrative should resonate with both internal stakeholders and external audiences, fostering enthusiasm and commitment from all involved parties.
Example: A joint press release announcing a partnership with a major industry player, detailing how the collaboration will drive innovation and customer value, can generate excitement and media coverage.
9. A Fast Start is Critical - Focus on the First 90-Days
When new partnerships are formed, there can be a flurry of initial activity and excitement. But having an on-boarding plan that outlines the key steps needed to be undertaken to ramp the partnership in the first 90-days is the best practice. When milestones and KPIs are not set or missed, this can let the air out of the balloon and lead to failure to launch.
Example: Establish a clear time-line with jointly agreed to activities before signing a new agreement that ensures a quick start and path to success. This could include training/certifications, product integrations, customer-list sharing, and overall new partner set-up (portal, deal registration, team introductions). Ensure CAMs are supported and have a plan.
10. Build Right Partner Target Lists
Research and create a new partner target list that aligns with your strategic goals and your believe has the high-potential to provide significant value and ROI if succesfully executed. Although it might sound obvious, many channels overlook this step, especially when recruitment is pushed into a region or handled through varying approaches across the team. Inspect lists for purpose and fit to avoid approaching, let alone signing the wrong partner types, which is often only discovered months down the road.
Needs will vary depending on what you seek from the partnership, such as market coverage, reselling, geographic expansion, product integrations, servicing capabilities, and more. Look for partners with complementary strengths, customer base, vertical focus, service capabilities, etc. In some cases, targets are clear and obvious. In most cases, deeper research is needed to guide list creation.
Example: A tech company seeking to expand its market reach might target a partner with a strong distribution network of complementary offerings (indicating they have the credentials) and an established customer base (indicating they have the reach) in a desired region. This ensures a mutually beneficial relationship is possible where both parties can leverage each other’s strengths.
