Five key traits of highly successful partners

In my role as Vice President of Worldwide Channel Sales at Microsoft, I spend every day talking with partners. We share perspectives on market dynamics, the opportunities and challenges we face, and how we can collaborate to deliver the best outcomes for mutual customers.

At Microsoft, we’re committed to unlocking the great potential of our partners through common language—that is—simply being customer obsessed. It starts with the Microsoft Customer Engagement Methodology (MCEM), our winning formula to bring more value to each customer conversation. MCEM’s framework provides a great tool to help us gain a deeper understanding of our customers' needs and ensure we’re creating a holistic approach to solving challenges and unlocking new opportunities together. And it doesn’t end there…

For years, I’ve watched the Microsoft ecosystem grow into a thriving community of amazing partners and at the very top are highly successful partners that stand out for their exceptional accomplishments.

So, what makes a partner exceptional within the Microsoft ecosystem in this new era of AI? Below are five traits I’ve observed among some of our most highly successful partners. Some partners embody all five. Others may demonstrate just a few. How many do you have?

Customer obsessed

Our most successful partners have an unwavering commitment to the customer. They wake up each day with a singular focus—to serve each customer’s best interests. They listen, learn, and anticipate what’s next. Their strategies revolve around enhancing the customer journey and exceeding expectations. They are 100% focused on their customers’ competitive edge and fanatical about the customer experience. They consistently ask, “What is the customer trying to accomplish? What do they really need? What can we do today to deliver real value?”?

Softbank recently brought 15 customers into a meeting to better understand how Softbank and Microsoft work together to achieve desired outcomes. I was fascinated by how well Softbank executives knew every detail about each of these customers, including every pain point and the specific business issue it created. This knowledge is—the first step in being able to deliver the expected customer outcome.

When you’re listening, you’re learning.

Differentiated value proposition?

Our standout partners are those that recognize and leverage their unique strengths—their “superpower.” They know and understand how to deploy them to deliver exceptional customer experiences. They think deeply about Solution Area alignment to not only maximize their opportunity, but to anticipate their customers’ immediate needs and achieve their customers’ long-term business goals. These partners do many things well, but they do one thing great—and they bet their business on it.??

Take Insight Enterprises, a Fortune 500 company and winner of multiple Microsoft Partner of the Year awards. Insight has a broad portfolio of capabilities and deep expertise in digital transformation. Insight knows that its superpower is solutions integration. From data and AI solutions to modern workplace solutions and everything in between, Insight integrates them to create infrastructures that are smart, efficient, manageable, and responsive. Its clear value proposition is delivering transformative experiences.

Harnessing your greatest superpower drives our ability to win together and ultimately maximizes customer value.

Alignment with Microsoft

Our most successful partnerships are built on a foundation of mutual trust and shared values—not by chance but by choice. These partners deeply understand the Microsoft Partner program incentives, leveraging them to help their customers achieve their business outcomes with the best value. These partners believe in the power of the platform and invest in co-selling opportunities, Centers of Excellence, Proofs of Concept, and more, to demonstrate its capabilities.

With 1,400 Microsoft experts and more than 60 competency centers, The Cronos Group offers comprehensive expertise in Microsoft clouds and solutions. A two-time Microsoft Belgium Partner of the Year award winner, the group is dedicated to learning, skilling and investing in new technologies, incubating them into innovative business solutions. They’re experts in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program incentives, helping customers find creative and profitable ways to make the most of their investments.

Leverage the ecosystem?

With millions of partners around the world, the Microsoft ecosystem serves as a powerful asset, helping to expand capabilities, create new revenue streams, and open new markets. Those who understand the power of the collective and tap into this ecosystem, maximize customer satisfaction, and increase profitability. They seek synergies with other partners in the Microsoft ecosystem to enhance their offers with complementary services, while also addressing a wider range of customer needs. These are partners who understand the value of Partner-to-Partner (P2P) collaboration, actively look for complementary solutions with other partners, and seek ways to deliver value together.

Another great example is the relationship Microsoft has with both CDW and ServiceNow. Tapping into the Microsoft commercial marketplace, these two partners leverage the ecosystem and collaborate closely to help customers optimize the value of their cloud investments. CDW and ServiceNow are working to accelerate business transformation and agility together.

Culture alignment?

At Microsoft, we value diversity and inclusion. It not only guides us to do the right thing, but it also inspires creativity and innovation. And this is when true magic happens. Partners with similar values understand the impact diversity and inclusion can have on their business, their customers, and the communities they serve.

Winner of many culture awards, Rackspace Technology prioritizes a diverse and inclusive work environment. Like Microsoft, Rackspace supports a variety of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), inspiring their people to bring their whole authentic selves to work, encouraging their employees (affectionally called “Rackers), to be who they are, to share their voices and take risks. This practice aligns well with the Microsoft mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

How we support each other matters.

A successful partnership

Partners that embody any or all five traits are better positioned to create deeper value for customers, grow their own businesses, and increase profitability. These traits, combined with the MCEM framework and resources offered in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, will help accelerate partner transformation and success.

Over the next few months, I’ll break down each of these traits further, detailing partner attributes and providing more partner examples. I look forward to learning how your businesses align with these traits and hope you’ll join the conversation!

To learn more about becoming a Microsoft partner, visit the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program site and follow the Microsoft Partner blog for the latest news.