31, 2017
Episode 33: The Right Way to Set up your Partnership, Reseller & Affiliate Strategy: An Interview with Jen Spencer
About Allbound: Problem & Solution
Definitions: Channel Partners vs Referral Partners vs Co-Marketing Partner vs Reseller vs Affiliates
Listen to the episode here:
Even better, why not subscribe to the “Startup Selling Podcast: Talking Sales with Scott Sambucci” on iTunes?
THE STARTUP SELLING PODCAST ON ITUNES
When should I start thinking about External Partners?
- Affiliates & Co-Marketing – Never too soon for these. Make sure you and your partner are speaking the same profiles/customers. Co-marketing tend to be “nice-to-have”
- Referral Partners – Once you’ve identified the right Product-Market fit. Have an ideal Customer Profile & Buyer Personas built
- Reseller Partners – Most resellers want to own implementation. Make sure your product can support a reseller. Every Reseller is assigned a Customer Success Manager. One reseller could equal 10, 50, 100 customers
“Partners” – The best partners provide you a predictable revenue stream.
Structuring Programs:
- Look at other firms and partners. Learning from Hubspot, Marketo, Salesforce
- i.e. 10% of first-year revenue
- Evolve the program
Implementation:
- Things fizzle. A Partnership is a relationship.
- “Partners are people too.”
- Train, educate. Treat your Partners just like a brand new sales rep.
- Channel people are massively under-resourced
- Outline and structure – online meetings, vs in-person, self-serve. Be transparent and map out in an Agreement.
4 Pipelines:
- New Customers
- Renewals
- Professional Services
- Partner Pipeline
4 Pillars:
- Content – The way that knowledge transfer happens. Access to content (ie. training, internal price sheets, playbooks, data, research); PLUS end-user
- Collaboration – Include your Partners in your product communication, pricing, services
- Customer Success – How does my customer want to buy? How do they want to be serviced & supported?
- Culture – Touches every part of your business & approach
The Honest Conversation – Sometimes the timing isn’t right. Be honest. Let’s come back to this in 6 months, 1 quarter.
Exclusives: Think really
MyChannelScore.com
Unusual:
- Completely different vertical or space
- Expand
Show Links:
Jen LinkedIn
Jen on Twitter
Allbound Blog
MyChannelScore.com – Score yourself on Content, Co
The Allbound Podcast on iTunes
Blog Post – “The Subscription Economy: Why Channel Sales is Essential for SaaS”
B2B Growth Podcast
Tiffani Bova