The Next Sales Profession: Ecosystem Selling- Strategic Alliances

Change is the only constant thing in the world. Look at the Fortune 500 companies, 60 years back, you will notice only a handful survived. Many factors - but the first being we are in the digital age. The rules are different. Old rules are dead.

Clearly, it is a service economy. In the digital age, companies need agility to create competitive advantage. The Industry is moving towards "Value" because... that's what customers want. Some companies are good at something, like point solutions. To create greater mindshare and value, they have to partner with others to increase demand and bridge supply. Chips and Salsa for example. Perfect combination of an ecosystem that creates more value, than it's parts. That's what the Digital Age is about. Ecosystems and Strategic Cooperation. Hope the picture above makes sense now.

THE CLOUD IS CLOUDY : SALES REPS, DO YOU AGREE?

If you are an Enterprise technology sales rep, now selling cloud, you realize that you are selling Platforms and Services. Not software. If you are a System Integrator, you realize the services of maintaining Platforms, Integrations and upgrades etc....are largely going away. So now, you are in the business of Managed Services that are outcome based, not integration. If you are a Customer, then end users are saying - "Do whatever you need to do, just give me what I need to do, but fast". Meaning, the end user is the producer. They say "Solve My Problems. Create Value for me, else your product and services have no meaning for me. Give me a SOLUTION! I need OUTCOMES".

THE TRADITIONAL SALES & INTEGRATOR ROLES ARE SLOWLY GOING TO GO AWAY. ONLY PARTNERSHIPS WILL EXIST, CREATING ECOSYSTEMS.

Basically, "Box Sellers" and "Box Integrators" roles do not align with the customers needs. Think of it this way. If you are hungry, and if you have a lot of work to do, you will pay the company that cooks and delivers your food to you when you need it. You simply pay for the service. And you will gladly have a contract with them. It is a partnership, based on Co-creation.

WHAT? PARTNER? DO WE EVEN UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER? NO WAY! WE WILL DO IT OUR WAY! PRODUCT AND SERVICE COMPANIES LOVE TO FIGHT EACH OTHER.

Think of this, Product companies that turned into Cloud companies make money through it's adoption. Typically System Integrators make money through Implementation and Running the cloud. Like it or not, Cloud sales reps do not care about adoption because of the way they are paid. System Integrators don't want to sell Cloud/Products, yet their services depend on the Cloud Platforms. The situation becomes even more murky when multiple Cloud providers and multiple System Integrators enter the mix. Customers in the past loved this fight. After all, they benefit from it. Good thing is, not anymore. Simply because it does not create agility for them. Remember, the Industry need is greater than any individual, the best sales person, the best manager, the best cloud company or the best integrator.

To Pivot to the need of the Industry, what you need is building TRUST. ENGAGING both sides well. Setting the CONTRACT of WORKING TOGETHER. Then ALIGNING teams between MULTIPLE PRACTICES between both Cloud providers and Integrators. PROJECT MANAGING the entire team effort to build the solution and ensure the SALE is reached. Last but not the least, taking the JOINT SOLUTION to market across the INDUSTRY as a joint Go to Market.

Question is - WHO WILL DO THE ABOVE WORK?

THE RISE OF ALLIANCE and PARTNERSHIP EXECUTION STRATEGY: ECOSYSTEM SALES.

Strategic Alliances Directors and Managers would be the next cutting edge sales profession. Yes, it will be a Specialized Sales/ Biz Dev profession. Don't misunderstand me, am not personifying a person, or saying this profession is better than some other profession. IT IS THE ROLE THAT WILL INCREASE IN DEMAND. Although this role is starting to become mainstream, specially among the younger Cloud companies and Partner friendly large Cloud companies ( and non friendly ones too ), it will evolve.

QUESTION IS: WHAT SHOULD BE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A REALLY GOOD STRATEGIC ALLIANCE PROFESSIONAL?

The Question is - What do you really want Alliances to do? Trust me on this Question. Most sales teams do not know the answer. No ones fault. Product and System Integrators just don't know the answers, or have absurd expectations simply because both sides don't know each other well and how each side creates value for the customer. After all, can you explain heaven to people, if they haven't gone there?

My short answer is this. Product/Cloud companies are about the "substance" of the deal. Integrators are all about "Process" of the deal.

Here is my expectation of what Alliance Strategy should be : It is a role that creates positive partnerships and synergies that co-create greater value for the entire ecosystem including the customer.

Outcome of the role? Help build deals, create synergy & solutions and bring in deals.

BRASS TACKS: WHAT SHOULD BE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A REALLY GOOD STRATEGIC ALLIANCE PROFESSIONAL?

First: Alliance Strategy is a very tough profession that requires a ton of skills and expertise. You have to work with people, who do not report to you and you still have to deliver results. You typically have no authority, yet a lot of responsibility. Do not expect personnel from either side to understand your role. Explain it to both sides clearly and set expectations.

Second: Alliance Strategy roles are "Connect-the-Dots" roles that enable the whole sale. It is a blended role, where one needs to know both sides exceptionally well. It is a Sales + Consulting + Project Management Role. It has little to do with understanding of technology or even knowing people. The role requires exceptional transparency, honesty and building trust. The role requires building trust at every stage of the process. It has three key pieces. Engagement, Alignment and Business Development. The Project Management piece applies to building joint assets and managing team engagements.

Third : Of course relationships matter. It matters anywhere and everywhere. But, just relationships don't help. You have to show each side, where they gain from the whole deal, the total value and what would they lose if they don't partner effectively. We are all self- serving. Let's be honest please. No one is here to help each other but themselves. If an Alliances professional cannot articulate the tough stuff right at the start, the person will just turn into a glorious appointment setter.

Fourth: Language translation specialist: Alliance Strategists have to be flawless communicators. In addition they need to explain each companies communication to the other, flawlessly and ask for feedback if you translated right.

Fifth: Deals, Deals and Deals: Any Alliance Strategist should be able to talk about these 4 things. "What is the Business Case", "What is the TCO/ROI/ROA", What is in it for the Customer, What is in it for each other.

CONCLUDE: I hope you enjoyed reading the article. If you are an Alliance specialist, please comment. If you are a Sales rep, please comment if the article helped in anyway. If you are a VP/ Managing Director, hope this article clarifies the role, the "Why" and the "What" about Strategic Alliances and the growing demand for these professionals.