You're managing a Partnerships program. How can you ensure it runs smoothly?

Ensuring the smooth operation of a partnership program is critical. I prioritized the top three areas that form the foundational framework for an effective partnership program. 1. Establish clear communication channels, fostering trust and understanding among partners. 2. Align program goals with the overarching business strategy, reducing conflicts and enhancing collaboration. 3. Implement a robust governance structure with clear roles, decision-making processes, and escalation paths for effective management.

I suggest you start with your overall business goals. Then, decide which functions in your business (product, channel, marketing, operations) would benefit through partnerships. Pick the right partner category and partner type that will contribute to supporting these functions. Then, define the partnership goals that contribute to achieving your business goals. Make sure the expectations and goals match with the selected partner type. From here, go into more detail by defining the objectives for the Partner Programs you plan and setting the objectives you want to achieve with individual partners.

Defining the objectives is an activity to do together with the Executive Team, as only a partnership program in line with the Company objectives will have chances to achieve its goals. Then, these objectives have to be in line with what the potential partners care for.. and that is something that can be found out from the customers. Customers will highlight traits that will help define the key characteristics of the ideal partner to pursue (gaps in the solution, need for specialised services, etc). Establishing the right partnership from the get go with the above foundation will make it much easier to have a smoother ride with the partner program.

Contextualising, defining and articulating your basic your program objectives sets the foundations for future success. Your primary objective needs to be to tie the client-need and partner-need together, while keeping the customer-need at the centre of the process, to create a scaleable motion. Using this as an objective framework, you need to enable all stakeholders through impactful education, bespoke communication channels, a give-first mentality, internal and external alignment, tangible, self-motivating incentives, and co-developed KPI’s to track and optimise the success of your program. Ensure these objectives are also flexible and can adapt to changes in market conditions, personnel, and service and product offerings.

Don't try to eat the elephant. Most organizational objectives are large. It is impossible to run a large Partner Program without the right resources. When working on objectives you will need to understand how to allocate time, energy and money. This requires both external and internal analysis which often is not done. This will then help you understand which objectives you need to prioritize and focus on, while the others you roadmap. Then you can effectively communicate up, sideways and down....

Vale este checklist aqui: - Definir seu modelo de parceria - Entender se a solu??o do parceiro é complementar ou concorrente ao seu produto - Ter uma proposta de valor clara para 3 partes: sua empresa, parceiro e cliente em comum - Definir seu modelo comercial - Quais métricas você vai acompanhar para analisar o sucesso ou n?o da parceria

We recommend two activities to pull the critical elements for joint partner development planning: A Growth Assessment and a CX Assessment. The first is done by reviewing portfolio and capabilities and the second by using a scientific methodology and industry benchmark data, attempt to buy software from that partner

Some of the things that I've found useful are- - Understanding what other similar entities are doing with your partners - Understand what other programs are doing with similar partners - Research the KRA ( key result areas) of the person leading the program and can you support them in achieving it - What matters to the partner in terms of impact, customer acquisition, brand visibility and so on - Which department is financing the vertical you are partnering with

I'm always a huge fan of using your customer ecosystem to dictate the partnerships you go after and to better understand what might motivate them. It also deepens your relationship with your customer!

Understanding what makes your partners tick will enable you to motivate them. Research them publicly and privately. Learn about their families, hobbies, retirement plans, whatever.

Visibility is a game-changer in communication. As a Partner Program Manager, it's crucial to be in the rooms where operation, product and service discussions take place. This ensures that our Partners get the resources they need and are integral to the overall go-to-market (GTM) strategy, not an afterthought.

Communicating effectively is a key for long term growth. The partnership program has an important challenge of maintaining balance between Partners and internal stakeholders. When documenting business plans at the beginning of partnership,its key goal is to communicate effectively & have agreement between all the stakeholders involved.

Partnerships cannot be win-win unless both sides bring value to the table, working hand in hand and putting in the same amount of effort, or it's equivalent either funds, or enablement for instance. Communication is the only way partners &vendors can get things done. Without communication, there will be no way to agree on the best way to reach mutual goals, mitigate risks, and overcome challenges.

In the same way you think about your customer journey, mapping out all communication, a similar approach should be taken to outline your partner's journey. Identify opportunities for effective communication at the beginning of your partnership through a signed agreement, throughout the collaboration via partnership status calls and email updates, and at the conclusion of the partnership through a detailed performance recap. Additionally, it is essential to ask about your partner's preferred communication method, a detail frequently overlooked but significant in fostering effective communication in a partnership.

Right, you are, Noemi. Be in the room. Walk the floor, meet the people who make your partners run—execs, ops, admins, marketing, revops, everybody. And let them all know how important their partnership is to you.

Some partnerships are handshakes, while others may be letters of intent or formal contracts. At the end of the day, these are all agreements, and it is important to follow-through on the commitments regardless of the type of agreement. And don't overpromise. Keep agreements simple and realistic, and keep communication channels open in the partnership and stay authentic and honest.

Keep the actual partnership contract or agreement as simple as possible. It is made for rainy days or when influential decision-makers change in the company. In addition to that, before (!) signing the agreement, build with your partner a Mutual Action Plan (MAP) consisting of each party - objectives towards the partnerships, - activities to promote the partners, - key roles and executive sponsors You can add this (MAP) into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as part of the negotiation with your partner. It is worth taking the time planing and MAP before signing an agreement instead of running into a non-functional partnership. The MAP can develop over time. While the agreement and its basic clauses remain untouched.

You want to make sure the funds, time and effort are well spent toward reaching the mutual goals. So measuring is key here. Both parties can agree on the right KPIs that can help them figure out if they are in the right direction.

Historically this has been really hard to measure. Building out your technology and human capital alike is going to be key here. There are specific organizations that provide the metrics you need to do all of the above and I would be happy to help anyone in the strategy along what tech stack is best for their partner program.

Ensuring tracking is in place and communicated on - within the organisations - both internally and externally at the partner. It is crucial to show some metrics from early on - it may not be the pipeline from day 1. Well ideally both should come to the table with some first leads or initiatives in mind - this will help to align faster.

Picking the right KPIs and monitoring them closely will be the key to success in partnerships. Making data decisions is critical in partnerships. I’ve seen it so many times that partnerships are created without thorough due diligence, suck resources out of an organization, and result in minimal gains. Use metrics such as lead flow, qualified opportunities, joint customers, influenced revenue, etc - pick ones applicable to the type of partnership you are operating and check on them daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly. Use QBRs to sit down with your partnerships to review the metrics and take actions to make improvements as needed.

Have a 3 month, 6 month and 12 month check up to determine if you are getting ROI from your partners. It should be a win-win for both parties otherwise it will not last.

No partner program is a one-size-fits all model and partnerships are constantly evolving. To learn and improve, you have to remove all bias from your view and ask for feedback by way of surveys and interviews to constantly improve. Anonymous feedback tends to be the most honest so allow that as an option. Reward your partners with results, adjust and create solutions that show them you’ve listened to them with changes to the program (if it makes sense) or an explanation if it doesn’t make sense. Create a newsletter (monthly or quarterly) where you over-communicate with partners on upcoming improvements or adjustments to the program and this will build trust.

Brainstorming is one of the best ways to learn and improve. When you share your thoughts, you lay the foundation for a two-way conversation where you'll have the chance to listen to others and discover different approaches. Not all ideas are perfect, but if you hold back, others might do the same, and ultimately, there will be nothing to build upon. Being brave and sharing is essential. Take every opportunity to enhance a conversation and steer it toward uncovering something new and worthwhile Encourage taking initiative, push for collaboration and contribution.

Just because something didn't work two years ago doesn't mean it won't work today and vis versa. In a former company, partnerships translating to something completely different (technology ecosystem) vs. what I was trying to accomplish (referrals and revenue generation). So make sure you discuss with your teammates and you all agree on a partnership strategy.

It often happens that during a collaboration with a partner, things go wrong. But we shouldn't give up and move forward. Failure is part of that. there are partners who do not respect their commitment.

Think of your partnerships program as a garden. To help it thrive, you must constantly learn and adapt. Gather best practices, share success stories, and nurture relationships by recognizing and rewarding your partners. Act on feedback like pruning, addressing issues promptly, and always be on the lookout for new opportunities and innovations to help your partnerships—and your business—flourish.

It all starts with the people! Partnerships are relationships, and relationships require the commitment of the people involved. In my experience, there are some who don’t discern well between customers and partners and those are VERY different types of relationships! Companies are looking for more than transactions from their relationships with manufacturers and vendors. I find that when I hire team members who are passionate about partnering, everything we do is more successful!

I think we always need to take into account shared values and trust. Building trusted relationships are so important to the success of any partnership - and they take time. Great article, thanks for the share!

Keep Communication Lines Open: Effective communication is key. Regularly update partners on program developments, share insights, address concerns promptly and gain insights into what their true priorities are.

The truth is that while hyperspacelers can be similar, every organization company is unique in their own way. It is important to have a foundation for communicating which you can build on as you evolve your partnership program.