Best partner pros = entrepreneurs
The role of partnerships is strategic, which is why the best partner pros often make the best entrepreneurs.
Nate Roybal (Director of Partnerships and Embedded Sales at Syncari), Isaac Morehouse (CMO at Reveal and nearbound.com), and Jared Fuller (Chief Ecosystem Officer at Reveal and nearbound.com) were discussing the state of partnerships, integrations, and SaaS when Nate pointed something out:
Recently, it’s felt like partnerships has been driven by sales-culture. We see it in the way that people talk about partnerships being just a revenue stream and not understanding the strategic nature of partnerships.
Generating revenue daily is table stakes. That’s level one of partnering.
The next level, which only the best partner pros get to, is building strategic partnerships.
This is why partner pros need to be like entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs see opportunities in the market. They ship things other people can’t based on earned secrets, and they advance the market. Nate continued:
I think a lot of partner people have been relegated, whether that’s because of their own actions or it’s because of the way that C-suite thinks about it, to answering emails. Really, the job of partnerships was built strategically.
Partner pros need to keep in mind this principle of business success: the market always wins.
So, if you want to win as a partner person, daily co-selling and co-marketing activities aren’t enough. You have to become a student of the market.
Of course, you need to help your Sales team close more deals by bringing in partner intel and you need to help your Marketing team source more leads, but that’s not enough.
Look for those strategic market opportunities, make choices that others aren’t making, and you’ll find yourself having bigger conversations with bigger customers.
Listen to the full conversation to hear what Nate had to say about taking control of your integration strategy.
And check out Jared’s 3x-winning framework for establishing strategic alliances here.
4 C’s framework: disqualify partners early
The worst feeling in the world is investing time and resources into the wrong partners.
Martin Scholz (Co-founder of PartnerXperience) and Bernhard Fredrichs (Co-Founder of PartnerXperience and Founder of PartnerStandard™) shared their 4 C’s Framework to help you disqualify partners as fast as possible.
The 4 C’s are customer base, credibility, capability, and commitment.
If you’re trying to determine whether or not you should partner with a company, ask yourself these questions.
Customer
- Do they have a relevant and accessible customer base?
- Does their customer base match our ICP?
- What is their customer base’s maturity?
- What is their customer base’s growth potential?
Credibility
- Is this partner credible to my customer?
- Is this partner’s portfolio adjacent to our offerings?
- Would my end customer look at this partnership and understand it?
Capability
- Does this partner have the capabilities and resources to deliver on what they’re promising?
- What are this partner’s technology capabilities?
- What are this partner’s sales and marketing models?
- How does this partner do their accounting and invoicing?
Commitment
- Is there anything about what I’ve seen from this partner that would make me question their commitment?
- What are my partner’s goals?
- What does the JVP of this partnership promise my potential partner and is that a compelling offer?
- Can my teams confidently deliver on everything we’ve promised?
Choosing a partner in B2B is a lot like dating. You’re never going to know for sure, but you can watch for early signals. And usually, if you’re looking, you’ll pick up on indicators that the opportunity isn’t what was advertised.
Happy partnering!
And if you want more like this, check out The Ultimate Partnerships Manager Library, a new addition to nearbound.com!
The frustration of a partnership that goes nowhere!
TechCrunch: another indicator we’re in the Who Economy
Just yesterday, TechCrunch put out an article on why founders need to start making their GTM slides awesome.
The article is gated, so if you’re not a TechCrunch subscriber, the takeaway is super simple:
Go-to-market used to be a "nice-to-know." Now, it’s a necessity.
Remember, recently Sangram Vajre pointed out that 6 months ago there were about 20 jobs on LinkedIn with GTM in the title, and today that number has skyrocketed to over 182.
These are two leading indicators that the Who Economy is upon us.
Investors have realized it, and so have a lot of tech founders.
To survive, companies are going to have to start asking:
Who are my customers?
Where do they live?
How do I tap into their networks of trust?
Nearbound GTM is the answer.
Read the article: If you’re going to market, your GTM slide needs to be awesome.
Send this framework to a partner friend
Share this NbD with a partner pro who could use the 4C’s framework!
