David and Goliath 

Growing up, one of my favorite bedtime stories was David and Goliath. I loved how, despite his size and circumstance, David overcame Goliath.

I see partner people in this story.

Partner people have the potential to become the heroes of the decade of the ecosystem, but that’s not going to happen unless they muster up the conviction to fight unpleasant battles.

Becoming like David means:

• Believing in what you’re fighting for
• Arming yourself with the correct resources and strategy
• Approaching challenges with unwavering conviction

Today, that’s your challenge, partner pros — become like David.

It’s up to you to prove value and impact the bottom line in the language that matters most to revenue leaders to create change.

What Revenue leaders really think

Let’s talk about the beef between Partnerships and Revenue.

Companies are leaving a lot of revenue on the table by not addressing and minimizing the gap.

We wanted to help, so we interviewed six stellar Revenue, Sales, and Business Development leaders to help Partner Managers build better relationships with their Sales organizations.

Some of them are all-in on partnerships, some of them are on the fence. But all of them have thoughts Partner Managers can learn from to change the tired story tainting Revenue orgs, and to be proactive in the problems you might face with your Sales team in the future.

In today’s email, I’ll outline 3 of their thoughts and how you can implement their feedback. Find the rest here.

#1: Partner teams are doing too many things at once

The goal is for Partner teams to be both efficient and effective—but from where CROs are sitting, many are failing at both.

Almost every CRO interviewed said the same thing. Sales can’t benefit from Partnerships if:

• The goals aren’t clear and aligned with business objectives
• The program keeps changing
• The program consists of a ton of weak, hardly used relationships vs a few high-quality partnerships
• The Partner Manager hasn’t taken the time to nourish key relationships

Sales leaders want to benefit from the partnerships you’re building, but they can’t if the foundation is shaky. Metrics like “number of partners” are essentially useless if 1) you’re not building strong, mutually beneficial relationships, and 2) your company is not ready to handle a large ecosystem.

How to action this feedback:

• Get crystal clear on your key objectives.
• Know which partners will help you reach those objectives—and best support your customers—and stick to them.
• Don’t be tempted to go after every type of partner or big logo that comes your way.
• Be honest about what your team and company can handle.

#2: Partner teams aren’t focusing on the right goals

Metrics and goals might be one of the trickiest topics in partnerships. There’s an ongoing debate about what Partner teams should be focused on to drive impact. But regardless of what camp you’re in, it’s important to hear what CROs have to say about what goals they think you should be going after.

First up: don’t fall into the partner-sourced revenue trap.

Next, be sure you’re setting realistic expectations and having the conviction to push back against unrealistic goals set for your team.

Lastly, be sure that any goal you’re going after is directly linked to top-line Revenue and business objectives.

How to action this feedback:

• Make sure you’re working with leadership to set realistic goals.
• Ensure that your goals are aligned with top-line revenue objectives, and communicate how they are with the right people.
• Keep communicating. Track and explain the progress on your goals with your Revenue leaders.

#3: Partner teams don’t have the right relationships and/or structure

Partners teams often work in silos, and everyone feels the impacts of it.

But to make partnerships an overlay in every department, rather than an isolated department on its own, you have to make sure you are connecting the right people.

And it’s not just about making nice with the folks that write the checks. It’s about getting your top leadership to fully comprehend the long-term value you’re trying to drive through partnerships. Doing so can help shift the very DNA of the company, even down to where your team will sit in the organization.

Once you get your ducks in a row with your leadership and structure, think about what relationships will be needed on the ground. Who will your sellers need to lean on from your team daily?

How to action this feedback:

• Create relationships with your C-suite. Explain your short and long-term goals and how you expect them to help the company (remember to be realistic). This will help with buy-in in the long run.
• Ensure that the Partner team is not a siloed department or afterthought. Partner Managers might be relationship people, but they are also revenue people—be sure your organization reflects that.
• Be sure that your team places the right people and positions in the field with sellers.

Continue reading…

Partner up or perish

“Insightful, detailed, relevant—but especially, actionable.”

That was what Antonio Caridad (Senior Director, Channel Programs, Megaport) had to say after reading Nearbound and the Rise of the Who Economy.

"Throughout my career, I’ve seen many of the mistakes that Jared points out throughout the book. I have made some of them myself as well. I’ve seen brands or teams fail because of their unwillingness to change and challenge the “status quo.” But I’ve also seen many succeed by taking risks and changing a stagnant culture...

In a world where outbound and inbound are not working, nearbound is a must.

Read the full review and get your copy of Nearbound and the Rise of the Who Economy today.

Free database: 5k+ of the best digital agencies

Tai Rattigan, Chief Operating Officer at Partnership Leaders, shared this database of 5,000+ of the best digital agencies worldwide.

Comment on the post and he’ll send you the database!

Thanks Tai and the PL crew!

Let’s bridge the gap, together

Know someone trying to bridge the Sales-Partnerships gap? Send them this email.