CEOs and CROs want results now. And building partnerships can help, but…

The challenge lies in aligning this demand for swift outcomes with the inherently time-consuming nature of building a robust partnership ecosystem. 

Establishing fruitful partnerships requires an investment of time for enablement and empowerment, factors crucial for driving substantial revenue.

However, as you embark on Q1 with high expectations and, perhaps, a limited budget, the insights provided by GTM experts offer a roadmap to bridge the gap between the desire for rapid results and the organic pace of partnership development. 

Dispel any skepticism within your teams by leveraging these trends, ensuring that your partnerships align with the urgency your CEOs and CROs demand in the competitive landscape of 2024.

We sat down to chat with GTM leaders on why the nearbound trends in 2024 all point to partnerships. These leaders include: 

• Vaughn Mordecai, SVP of Sales and Business Development at Mindmatrix
• Naomi Dreifuss, Founder and CEO of Zugit
• Judd Borakove, Partner and Founder of Red Monkey Consulting
• Jill Rowley, Head of Strategy and Evangelism at nearbound.com, and GTM Advisor and LP at Stage 2 Capital
• Adam Pasch, Founder and Head of Partnerships at Stealth Startup

Understanding the top five trends identified by these GTM experts is crucial for steering nearbound and your partners toward success in 2024. 

Trend one: Trusted advisors will win by Vaughn Mordecai

“People prefer to work with the people they enjoy working with.”

If you and your partner want to reach the promised land, you have to act as a trusted advisor. 

87% of B2B buyers expect sales reps to act as trusted advisors.

And not only for your partners but for your internal teams and buyers. 

74% of B2B customers prefer having a problem solved by human connections than with a chatbot although it takes more time.

By acting as the trusted advisor you can teach your partners, your audience, and your teams that there’s more to partnerships than just deal registration. 

If you, the Partner Manager, act as a trusted advisor and you’re easy to work with, your teams and partners will be more engaged, which means that you’ll drive more revenue quicker. 

68% of B2B buyers claim that showing how to solve a problem and the possibilities behind a purchase decision was an influencing factor.

It’s not about “just doing things” for you to win, but to create a better together story. When you try to find those raising hands who are looking for help and you actually help them to solve their problems—without expecting anything in return—it is like making deposits to the trust bank.  

Top tip: One way you can make some trust deposits is to share knowledge, whether it’s by sharing articles, being part of free webinars, having 1:1 conversations, serving as a reachable-valued resource, etc. 

Mindmatrix is doing this through their recently launched Partner Marketing University—a free online course of 25 to 30 hours that can help and guide you to improve your partner marketing strategy. 

Trend two: Those who learn from partners will see more success by Naomi Dreifuss

“The best way to win and grow with your partners is by listening to that voice and adapting your strategy based on the things your partner shares with you.”

In the past, Partnership teams only focused on what they wanted from partners. But what companies don’t understand is that listening and adapting to partner needs and leveraging data, rather than dictating expectations, are keys to winning partners over. 

Now, teams are gathering feedback regularly through surveys, meetings, or their Partnership Success Managers. 

One of the main reasons 78% of partnerships fail is lack of communication, causing mistrust because of a lack of shared insights. 

Partner feedback is a type of intel. Your partners have valuable insights into your customer needs, the market, and how your product is being used. 

Top tip: It’s not only about talking to your partners’ Partnership team. If possible, connect with their CRO, their CMO, or even their CEO, and ask them about their expectations, where can a partnership be beneficial for them, and what type of intel they have about your ICP. 

You might not have arrived at your promised land, but it’s almost 100% certain that your partners have, or at least they are two steps ahead of you, meaning that they can teach you how to achieve your goals.

In 2024, one of the best things you can do is to learn from your partners on how to improve your partner program, management, enablement, etc. Use their insights to lead the strategy, and not only to get intros but to get intel to close deals faster.

Trend three: Partner programs will go back to basics by Judd Borakove

“Partnerships as a strategy is going to be really hot in 2024. And now, we’re going to see a need to build strong partner programs by focusing on the basics.”

Building revenue matters (and it always will). That will always be a KPI, but doing more cold outreach won’t help you reach that goal. If you want to produce 2x more revenue, you have to focus on building relationships. 

The problem is that most of the time, organizations are expecting a lot of partner-sourced or influenced revenue, but they don’t have a mature partner program or they aren’t investing resources in what matters: building relationships that can be leveraged to drive revenue and value. 

Nearbound is a powerful strategy that works well when you have the basics down and have previously built trusted relationships. So if you want to build a strong and successful partner program, prioritize the basics to drive relationships and trust. 

Globally, integrations are the third most important factor for buyers. Trust is the #1 factor and sales flexibility comes in second.

Once you show your CRO the revenue potential that your trusted relationships can generate, they will want to get on board—the numbers don’t lie. 

Pro tip: Leverage Reveal’s Analytics dashboard to access nearbound data like win rate boost, deal size boost, revenue potential, your partner addressable revenue, and more.  

Your ecosystem has a lot of power that you won’t leverage unless you start investing time into relationships. The more connected you and your teams are the more growth and value you’ll deliver. 

Trend four: Customers have to be (even more) in the center by Jill Rowley

“Partnerships are a strategic approach to enhance customer value; not just a channel for sourced revenue.

In the rapidly evolving business landscape of 2024, the focus is shifting towards creating purposeful integrations and GTM partnerships. It’s not just about the number of partners, but the quality and value they bring. 

When identifying a new partnership, due diligence is essential in ensuring that the partnership aligns with your strategic objectives and has the potential to drive growth and enhance customer success. There are a few things to consider: shared vision, shared value, and market potential. 

• Shared Vision: Assess how well the partner’s corporate vision, mission, and values align with yours. Assess how well the problem they’re solving aligns with the problem you’re solving for a shared set of customers.
• Shared Value: Value for each partner: strategic benefits, operational efficiencies, market expansion, brand enhancement, and innovation. Value for mutual customers: more comprehensive, integrated, enhanced offering, better coordination and collaboration, more cohesive customer experience, and outsized impact. 
• Market Potential: Size and growth of the market, ICP overlap, competitive differentiation, revenue potential
•  

Pro tip: Use call recordings to identify capabilities and/or companies being mentioned that could be potential partners.

73% of B2B customers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations.

When measuring customer health, identify partner involvement. Which partners are your best customers working with? Do your Service/Solutions partners get customers to value more quickly? Are CSAT scores higher for customers working with specific partners? Are retention rates higher for customers with more integrated products? Do customer testimonials mention partners? 

Shine the spotlight on your best customers. Shine the spotlight on partners who work with your best customers. 

Trend five: Nearbound sales is on the rise by Adam Pasch

“The best cold email comes when your friend told you, “x” person was going to email you about a pain point of yours. For an email to be open, you have to trust the source.”

We’ll see a rise in AI and it’ll be a great help in crafting sales emails. But this doesn’t mean that your emails shouldn’t be based on customer research, personalization, and intent. 

Who knows your customer better, you or AI? 

Customers are hungry for the human element.

71% of the B2B buyers say that most sales interactions feel transactional.

You need that personal touch if you want to build a relationship with your customers, and getting help from your partners is essential to achieving that.

Tech partners helped sales reps drive 50% better conversions, from early stage to close/won.

For creating a successful nearbound sales email, you and your Sales and Customer Success teams have to: 

• Avoid creating a ton of noise
• Have high intent, intel, and context
• Be relevant and address your customer’s pain point
• Involve a trusted advisor/influencer/known POC who can create a connection for you

Emails aren’t a thing you send and then pray for results. They involve customer research (knowing their pain points and priorities), then build a relationship with your referral source. 

Top tip: Emails aren’t a magic growth hack. You have to do account mapping, identify your ICP based on your nearbound data, look for the deal influencer who can help you make an impact, and then build a relationship with them. Know how they help customers in a way you don’t and vice versa – it’s all about the better together story!

To ensure your emails are opened and become sources of opportunities, every member of your Sales and Customer Success teams must actively listen to the market and your partners and build mutual trust along the way for effective communication and relationship-building. Become the trusted advisor.

​​90% of top sales organizations leverage partner channels to achieve their revenue goals.

Bonus trends

You didn’t think we’d stop there, did you? Here are a couple more important trends we found on LinkedIn that can help support your nearbound strategy: 

Trend six: The rise of AI by Jay McBain

Last year, generative AI emerged as a catalyst, reshaping IT strategies and creating opportunities for the channel. 

In this context, predictions for 2024 and beyond not only encompass broader industry shifts but also delve into the B2B SaaS partnership (channel) sector. 

Forecasts include the integration of generative AI into standard software and hardware, a surge in non-programmer code contribution, and the rise of boutique consultancies within top GSIS, all of which are poised to impact the B2B SaaS landscape. 

Trend seven: Consolidation as an asset by Isaac Morehouse 

Companies are going to realize the power that their ecosystem has. In 2024, big companies are going to acquire or merge with smaller companies that bridge their product or service gap. 

Consolidation not only means combining companies, but departments. Productivity is going to be key to success, where doing more with less will become the mantra for some companies. 

There will be fewer vendors and tech stack, and a tighter focus on the product and market to achieve faster teams, time-to-value, and revenue. The point here is to master what you have been doing, instead of trying new horizons or trying to expand to new markets. 

The ones who meet the basic functionalities in the best way are the ones who will win. 

TL;DR

Navigating the complexities of building partnerships in 2024 requires a strategic approach and a deep understanding of evolving trends. 

The insights from GTM experts highlight the importance of trends like: 

• Being a trusted advisor
• Learning from partners
• Focusing on relationship-building
• Treating partnerships as a strategic value driver
• Leveraging nearbound sales emails 

Each trend emphasizes human connection, customer research, and meaningful collaboration. 

Staying abreast of additional trends, such as the rise of AI and consolidation as an asset, becomes crucial for continued success in the dynamic partnership ecosystem. 

To learn how to action these trends directly in Reveal, book a meeting with our experts. They will tell you everything you need to know to create strong, value-driven partnerships and capitalize on opportunities this 2024.