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Partnerships are easy. Unless of course you want them to be successful.
Then they're work!
This is not easy. If it were easy, lots of companies would have great
partner programs, with many loyal and profitable partners, and of course,
many loyal and profitable end customers.
But the truth is that few companies have the patience to develop
profitable, long lasting partnerships. It takes 12 to 24 months to see
payback from a partnership, and most companies lose interest in six months.
Call it corporate ADD.
Last month we outlined a process of choosing the best partners and suggested
a method of weeding out inappropriate partners. Now that you've got a full
bench with the "best partners", it's time to get to work.
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Successful Partnerships Require Patience and Attention |
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Rather than tell you a long and involved story, I'm going to get right
to the nitty-gritty on this one - successful partnerships require
patience and attention. And the one critical success factor that cannot
be overlooked...and usually is...is the partner marketing manager.
Successful partnerships require the care and feeding by someone who is
not a sales person. Sure, sales people need to be involved in
partner management, but their motivation and skillset is not quite what
the relationship needs. After all the selling of the partner is
(largely) over, and it's time to nurture the relationship.
The partner marketing manager is the key to success of the
relationship. This person, wearing a marketing hat, will ensure close
ties between important partners and the appropriate people in marketing,
sales, development, support and upper management. The partner marketing
manager is the internal champion for the partner, ensuring that the
partner receive the appropriate resources and support, and that problems
get addressed quickly.
The partner marketing manager also is responsible for the business
planning with the partner. Conducted on a monthly, quarterly and annual
basis, this business planning lays the groundwork for long-term
profitability of the relationship. Joint sales and market development
projects are typically planned, managed and evaluated by the partner
marketing manager.
Occasionally, the partner marketing manager may decide that the
partner is no longer a "good fit" and will have to cut the partner
loose. |
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Day to Day Responsibilities |
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On a day to day basis, the partner marketing manager works closely with
both the partner and the sales person responsible for the partner. While
that sales person largely coordinates joint selling opportunities, it is
the partner marketing manager who puts the structure into place that
ensures the success of those joint sales opportunities.
The partner marketing manager coordinates:
- sales and technical training
- certification
- joint collateral development
- joint market development and public relations activities
- joint trade show and seminar activities
In other words, the partner marketing manager is the liaison
between his or her company and the partner. Without this function, the
company and the partner will engage solely at the sales level, with poor
results. The interaction will be too opportunistic, too widely spaced
out, and without sufficient success to support further development of
the relationship. |
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What should you do? |
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If you have a channel or partner program that just doesn't seem to want
to get rolling, talk with a few of your partners. Ask them why you're
not doing more business now? What would it take for you to develop a
more successful relationship with them? The answer will startle you.
They'll describe the activities listed above...the activities typically
carried out on a daily basis by the partner marketing manager. Your
channel sales people are trying to handle these activities right
now...but they have quotas to make and deals to close.
Once you have the answer, find a couple of experienced partner
marketing managers to develop the relationship with your partners. These
managers typically handle five to ten partners, sometimes more. And
occasionally, you'll devote a manager to work fulltime with a large
partner, potentially locating him or her onsite at the partner. Talk
about commitment to that partner!
Partnerships aren't for everyone. They take a lot of work.
And we all know that work is a four letter word.
Read more about successful partnering strategies and tactics »
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For more information about partnering strategies |
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Come join us at the Marketing Roundtable on June 12th. Cliff Conneighton
has assembled a great group of channel experts to talk indepth about
successful partnering strategies.
Our old friend, Barb Darrow of CMP Publications, will chair the panel,
which will include:
- Jacqueline Franklin, Routes2Market
- Lee Levitt, Acelera Group
- Daniel Housman, co-founder, Channel Wave
- Scott MacMillan, Marketing Director, Corporate Technologies
- Rick Greene, Partner Manager, Microsoft
We'll be participating on the panel and will then deliver a brief
workshop on partnering with Microsoft. You won't want to miss this
event!
For more information on the Marketing Roundtable » |
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Resources |
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