What are some creative ways to celebrate partner milestones and anniversaries?

One element of these gifts to consider is how the Partner team will be able to showcase their success to their potential clients. Yes, gift baskets are nice, as are wines, but they don’t stay in the lobby or sit on the shelf behind a Partner leader’s zoom. If your partners are representing multiple solutions or just your software, it’s important to showcase that expertise with that lobby and award-wall material. If you don’t others will, and despite the fact your numbers are rising and other vendors are faltering the materials in the partners office may tell a different story. The right set of gifts that tell your story can and will keep on giving back to you!

Choosing gifts that reflect the partner's interests or business values makes the gesture more meaningful. Personalized items such as engraved plaques, customized tech gadgets, or bespoke hampers show attention to detail. Consider gifts that provide utility in their daily operations, like branded office supplies or premium software subscriptions. Arrange for a surprise delivery at their office to create a memorable experience. Include a handwritten note from the leadership team, emphasizing the personal touch and recognition of their contributions. Offer experiences such as virtual reality tours, personalized online classes, or exclusive event tickets to make the gift unique.

Depends on the milestone/anniversary, but something big should match big. In a world where you can video call everyone very easily, in-person time is more valuable than ever. Having a custom in-person event with key decision makers is a great way to celebrate accomplishments, and move the relationship to another level. Material customized gifts can then be offered, that translates the intangible event into something to remember.

Far too often partner managers will send the typical, generic gift at the end of the year or around the holidays so they can check the box. A well thought-out gift that is personalized to the partner goes a lot further than the cliché, expensive gift basket. You spend a lot of time with your partners - which means you should know a lot about them, both professionally and personally. Putting in the extra effort to make the gift meaningful is well worth it.

It's also important to celebrate the sales makers and pre-sales teams who are the leaders in opportunity creation and are the keys to the direct relationship with the customer. They often do not directly benefit from an OEM's partner program, so providing recognition is a great way to keep your business front and center. This recognition can be in the form of spiffs or prizes, or it can be something simpler like a trophy or plaque. My personal favorite was a WWE-type belt with the name of the seller/engineer team who did the most business each quarter. The Belt of Champions was passed from team to team in a quarterly celebration with a great deal of fanfare, and it became a highly coveted item with bragging rights.

A lot of partner programs miss this element: they want the lead sharing but they don't want to talk about their partners too publicly - which a partner notices. It isn't difficult to create opportunities to spotlight your partners, whether that be a podcast, a newsletter to all of your partners, or even a partner spotlight on LinkedIn. I think too often partner managers are hesitant to spotlight their partners until they have this amazing platform to promote them from. You don't have to have an elaborate spotlight program to start showcasing your partners solution and success.

This is the fun part of the job for us in the partner space. A well planned partner event can pay major dividends by not only creating an easy way for collaboration but also creates the opportunity to really get to know your partners. You can learn a lot more about a partner personally from an hour dinner than you can from months of weekly Zoom check ins. Can't emphasize the importance of well thought out partner events enough.

Agree that hosting an exclusive event for Partners, a Partner Sales Club for example, can be extremely powerful. The motivation that lies within the need to be relevant and recognized as a leader keeps top performers pushing the envelope. We’ve all seen it with Sales clubs at vendors, it works in a very similar way and pays significantly in terms of performance.

If you aren't regularly asking your partners what they would want to change in your program in the upcoming year, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. You have to realize that most of these partners are part of many partner programs (some of which are probably your competition) and getting their feedback of what they think is working and what isn't is absolutely crucial.

Gathering partner feedback is key to any partner program. We want to make the products easier for the partner to use and sell, their feedback is key to these conversations. Ensure that feedback is seen by the people who need to see it, and follow up when changes are implemented.