How to Align Goals with Partner Programs

This may surprise C-suite execs, but your partners don’t work for you. Yesterday I spoke with the CEO of an early-stage SaaS startup. He was confused why, after inking a bunch of partner agreements with “excited” new partners, all of their new “partnerships” fizzled. So I asked him one simple question: “Did you set and align on goals and expectations with these partners?” As soon as he heard the question a lightbulb went off. The answer was NO and he immediately understood why this was a mistake. I hear this all the time... Teams are so focused on getting partners “over the line” they skip critical alignment. Here are a few important things to discuss with a new partner: - What level of partnership the partner would like to achieve - Each partner’s expectations and goals for the partnership - What resources each side can commit to the partnership - How quickly this partnership could be rolled out widely - How you can make the partner more successful - What the partner can expect from your team - How many customers this could be a fit for - What successful partnership looks like - How your product or service works - How your partner program works - What you expect from their team This simple list will make all the difference in how a partnership tracks. Do it as EARLY as possible. If the partner isn’t interested (or willing) to discuss these topics they aren’t bought in. Things end how they begin. So begin your partnerships right.

A day in my life as a Partner Enablement Manager at Apple: - Meeting with Partner Account Managers to coordinate on business objectives - Meeting with my team leader to brainstorm, innovate, and check I'm headed in the right direction - getting the support and connections I need from other teams within the organization - Meeting with partners to ask them what they're objectives are, how we fit into them, and how we can help them to achieve their goals with our better together story - Plugging in those goals into learning frameworks to build content and programs that will achieve them (actually mapping them out in deep work sessions) - Building slide decks 😅 - Getting feedback on the frameworks and content - Delivering content to partners All of this coordination and effort and we still struggled to hit the target. Here's what we were missing: - Partner teams weren't connected to the needs of sales teams. They had their own objectives, but those objectives didn't always align with the bigger GTM picture - Context. We were creating content that mattered to us, but didn't always meet our audience where they were at. Particularly as it applied to individual customers or clients. - Operations. We had no way of tracking if any of our effort was resulting in partner sourced or partner influenced pipeline. - Clearly defined objectives. Our marching orders were unclear. They didn't know what they didn't know and our efforts were, in the end, more experimental than productive. Partnerships has to be a big picture to small activity procedure. Start with the overall objective, then find the process, then create the scale. Any other way is a waste of time and resources.

Partnership led growth is a theme I'm seeing in a lot of 2024 marketing strategies. And for good reason - it's an incredible growth lever for B2B businesses, but only IF they are willing to put in the time. Partnership led growth is like organic growth's hip fun cousin - it's a long game, not an overnight game. We launched our Certified Partner Program last quarter from the ground up. Here are a handful of recommendations I'd provide to anyone doing the same this year: 1) Know your business objective. What's the goal with this program? Are you looking to expand your product into a new market? Looking to drive bundling opportunities by attaching your product to another product? Know this, because without this you can't do the next requirement which is - 2) Know your ICP. Who is most likely to help you achieve number 1. 3) Know why your prospects should care. This is incredibly important when you're talking to prospective partners. Yes, some care about revenue share, but not all. Be mindful of who your audience is and what's most valuable to them. Better yet, build the program with them. 4) Be accessible and be consistent. Partner managers are sales people. You need to show up the same way a sales rep would. Be consistent, be accessible, and be valuable. 5) Set expectations. This is the basic of any partnership. Define what eligibility looks like, and have an up front conversation about how the partnership should be run. Do it FIRST during an exploration call, NOT after they've signed. 6) Invest in robust onboarding. Just do this. #partnershipmarketing #partnermarketing #marketing #b2bmarketing #b2b #b2bsaas

Setting partnership goals is crucial but understanding why and how is even more important. I had a recent discussion about the challenges of meeting ambitious partnership targets. Let's be real: You could potentially sign 70 partner deals in three months, but would they bring true value to your company? What's the core value we're aiming to create with these partnerships? How do they align with our larger objectives? While the idea of quickly growing a vast network is appealing, partnerships often require 12-18 months to genuinely start delivering results. And that's not just about quantity, but about nurturing meaningful connections that align with the visions of both partners. So, to all partnership professionals feeling the pressure: take a step back and ask yourself (and maybe your CEO): - What do we truly hope to gain from these partnerships? - How do we ensure that our targets aren’t just arbitrary numbers on paper? - Are we prepared for the long-term commitment and nurturing these partnerships demand? Remember, it's not just about meeting a number but building a sustainable framework for mutual success. As much as we want to be ambitious, let's also be strategic and realistic. #partnerships #businessgoals #partnerprofessional