You’re looking to improve your partnership program. What tools should you use?

Finding the right partners for your program is indeed the first step to success. To achieve this, you can use partner discovery tools that provide data and insights on potential partners, such as their audience size, engagement, niche, and reputation. Just as an examples of partner discovery tools include: PartnerStack, Partner Optimizer, Partnerize, Breezy and so on… These tools leverage data-driven and AI-based approaches to help businesses identify and recruit the most suitable partners for their specific needs. By using partner discovery tools, you can ensure that your partnership program aligns with your goals, values, and target market, and that your partners offer unique and valuable contributions to your customers.

Partnerships, whether in business, sports or other collaborations, fundamentally revolve around building trust. This trust extends in multiple directions: internally, within an organization, it needs to be fostered upwards to superiors, downwards to subordinates, and across among peers. Externally, trust is equally crucial with prospects, clients, and other stakeholders. The key to cultivating this trust lies in transparency and setting clear, comprehensible expectations. Transparent communication ensures that all parties are on the same page, avoiding misunderstandings and building confidence in the partnership. Additionally, consistently providing value fortifies these relationships, demonstrating commitment and reliability.

To make your partnership program better, think about using some important tools for working with partners. Begin with a strong CRM system to handle partner interactions well. Add a PRM platform to make communication and working together easier. Use analytics tools to see how things are going and find ways to do better. Also, try project management tools for smooth coordination. When you bring all these tools together, you can improve your partnership program and work even better with your partners.

I'm grateful for the valuable insights shared by leaders in this community. ?? It's reassuring knowing we've developed a structured approach after many years of experience in Channel Partner management. ?? When it comes to successful partnerships, it's essential to use integrated planning tools, scorecards, and Quarterly Business Review (QBR) templates to seamlessly connect with other systems such as PRM and/or Salesforce. Integrated approaches allow for effective collaboration and help streamline the planning process. ???? Successful partnerships depend on interconnected systems. By leveraging automation/data uploads, performance-to-plan reports are generated automatically, providing valuable insights into partnership performance ????

To enhance your partnership program, focus on leveraging robust management tools to ensure seamless collaboration. Effectively managing expectations is crucial – employ tools that facilitate clear communication and set realistic goals. Time management is key; utilize tools that streamline processes and allocate resources efficiently. Cultivating thought leadership through consistent, valuable communication will keep your partnership top of mind. Ultimately, invest in tools that foster growth, emphasizing strategic planning and execution. #PartnershipManagement #EffectiveCommunication #TimeManagement #ThoughtLeadership #BusinessGrowth

For our partner relationship management tool, we use PartnerStack, which I highly recommend. PartnerStack enables us to onboard partners, provide them with enablement materials, facilitate communication, and process payouts. Once we were ready to recruit new partners, I experimented with a manual yet effective tactic. I would search on LinkedIn to identify people mentioning our company name, hoping for positive sentiments about their experience with us. I would then connect with them and invite them to join our partner program. Also, after identifying our ideal partner profile, I leveraged Apollo (shameless plug) to gather a list of potential partners. Then, I created email sequences, allowing me to reach out at scale.

We love using PartnerStack from an affiliate point of view. So this alone can help us join certain partners as they are on that platform already.

Not sure where the AI is coming up with the suggestions, but the three largest partner managment tools are Mindmatrix, Zift, and Impartner. They cover management in all partnership aspects (sales, marketing, programs). And, Owen's correct, PRM in itself isn't enough. It's about engagement. Anyone can spin up a portal but if no one engages with it, and there's no program to support it, it's pointless. The real question that more companies need to consider is how to produce a partner platform that supports the growing complexity in ecosystem, and how to get partners to onboard and engage with it.

In my experience having a PRM is a de-facto requirement but it is not a panacea. If you partner programs are not attractive, realistic and rewarding for the partner they will not use it. A clear communication process is needed to build on the functions and value that a PRM can provide, however it is only one part of the puzzle. All pieces need to be fully aligned and measured, if you run incentives and they are realized are they paid on time? If not why not? Tools deliver data and that data is invaluable in building long term relationships

Personally, I liked working with both Allbound and PartnerStack. However, it's dependent on the 'stage' of your partner team and strategy. If you're too late, it's a real B to implement, and migrate, but if you're too early, it's way too expensive and extensive and will only bring you pains without the gains. key points to consider; - Does the Tech align/integrate with the tools Sales, Marketing, CSM, and Sopport use? - Is it scalable in ALL regions we're live? - Does it support multiple languages, currencies, and cultures? - How it the support during implementation and enablement? - Do we have an in-house team, ready to activate and enable the tool?

Check out PublisherFinders.com first and foremost to look for new partnerships. Once you have reached out and proposed the partnership, make sure to build the 2 way relationship into a mutually beneficial partnership! Getting on a video call is the best way to do this.

Communication is the lifeblood of partnerships, and the right tools can supercharge that connection. Think of it like building a bridge: Lay the foundation with clear, consistent communication. Keep partners in the loop, no matter the news. Engagement and motivation: Build the support beams with appreciation, recognition, and open dialogue. Let partners feel valued and heard. Tools like Mailchimp, Typeform, and Zoom are the sturdy cables, enabling easy newsletter blasts, surveys for real-time feedback, and face-to-face connection. With a strong communication bridge, your partnership can weather any storm and reach new heights together.

Tools don't matter if you can't identify your partner contacts easily in the first place. Commons issues in that realm include: - Partners being allowed to use non-corporate domains like @gmail or @hotmail to do business (avoid!) - Partner contacts not being segmented properly in the CRM that flows into the Marketing engine - Weak gating for comm access - Competitors sneaking in - Global marketing opt out killing all comms - No segmentation for business value (contracts, etc.) - Too much comm, not enough strategic value From there, don't try and use 'sales' tools like Outreach or Salesloft, go for partner-team tools like Superglue.io. Also, shared slack channels and AI driven engagement will soon be the norm.

When we work with partners email is the first port of call in most cases, these should be personal and not generic newsletter style. Calls/Zooms are the best way for us to quick agree partnerships, ask and get any questions answered.

If you are not communicating effectively with your partners how do you think that impacts your true revenue opportunity. No one in business likes "surprises" a QBR or MBR should not be a painful exercise it is an opportunity to level set. Automating that process with tools like Successful Channels helps simplify that exercise and enables you to focus on business. I have always split communication in to two elements, where we are and where are going. This enables clear alignment and preparation for inclusion in your roadmap which increases trust and engagement, two factors that should also be a metric that is constantly reviewed. Add in to this a solid PRM platform with TCMA and you are set for success and / or the truth both are imperative.

In my experience of building programs, you need a good tool to maintain engagement at scale and you need a couple of tools to communicate at scale. For me it's ? Superglue.io - engagement at scale ? Partnerstack ? Marketing automation platform - to communicate and coordinate at scale ? Zoom ? Slack

Google Workspace is a main tool for us when dealing with our partners, whether its document creation/editing or sheets for providing discount/promo codes to our members.

Again, there are lots of great tools like Channext, Allbound, and PartnerStack that can help with collaborating with your partners. To dive into the 'starting' phases there are also lot of other tools you can use that are free, or cheaper than the 'big guns'. Personally, I like to kick things off with Slack for communication, Canva for content, and Notion to create a partner portal. Simple integrations between those tool make a solid kick-start tech-stack for any partnership team.

Consider using a Through Channel Marketing Automation platform for mature programs with Partners who have demonstrated Marketing capabilities and personnel. Such tools can amplify your Marketing messages and brand, drive alignment with the Vendor's key initiatives and produce actionable leads. Must include an enablement and communication plan from Vendor to eligible partners!

Help your channel teams succeed and build out dashboards for them to use in the performance management of your partners. These can be built in salesforce, or Power BI, etc. The more effort you put into intelligent dashboards, then the more you can leverage the narratives of what the data is telling you.

One thing that often gets overlooked is the true "health" of the partnership. What is the satisfaction of the relationship and the breadth of penetration across the partner. If your Partner Manager is only dealing with Sales and Operations how do you know what the expectations or commitment levels are from the Partner Executive team or from their Finance team. Automating engagement and feedback is not an annual survey exercise it needs to be dynamic and consistent. Using a platform like Partnerscore.io quickly identifies gaps and issues within the relationships and highlights risks. Building partner GTM is very competitive and competition is fierce, take a look at the current Broadcom situation, clear communication is key to success

This all comes down to what tool you're using for not only the partnership team, but also sales, marketing and CSM. In HubSpot you can create killer dashboard and reports to keep track of your activities, ACV, MRR, Conversion rate, Churn, and other relevant KPIs. Also think about Won reasons, Lost reasons, missing features, used tech stack and so on.

Creating a successful partnership transcends the mere exchange of assets; it's fundamentally about devising solutions through active listening and insightful questioning. Often, brands are bombarded with pitches focused solely on assets, overlooking the core purpose of partnership - problem-solving. This mindset is limiting. The goal should be driving awareness, fostering consideration, leading to conversion, and ultimately cultivating loyalty. Effective partnership requires diligent research, genuine curiosity, and a deep understanding of the partner's business. By shifting the focus from selling assets to solving problems, one can significantly enhance their partnership program, turning challenges into collaborative victories.

Tools are great if you want to scale. However, a tool won't help you if you don't have worked out the processes first. "Just" buying a tool is not enough. Start with creating meaningful workflows and processes (think of a process as "written down best practices"!) and then look for a tool which can help you to scale (and automate) these processes where needed.

"Improve" in what way? It's critical to understand where the gaps are in your partner program prior to attempting to address them. Channeling the "Voice of the Partner" is a smart way to understand where those gaps are. Start by creating a Partner Satisfaction Survey of current partners, asking them to rate how satisfied they are with your partner program and to help identify gaps. Once a statistically significant amount of response have been collected you can Pareto those out and identify where to focus your attention.

Many years ago an Executive at Tech Data expressed his frustration at the way partner programs and incentives are put together without the consideration of how it will impact anyone other than the vendor. Times have moved on but the principle of having a discussion and meeting of minds to achieve mutual goals will always deliver better results than presenting a fait accomplis and hoping it works.

We love to work with companies that are flexible and can adapt to our needs, so we recommend that you listen to each partner and their needs and adapt.