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Partner Recruiting

Unless you are from Birmingham or Tuscaloosa, you may be getting tired of seeing the Crimson Tide of Alabama in the playoffs and as college football national champions year after year.\xa0 For those who follow Nick Saban, he has many secrets to his success including the undying support of his university and the alumni, a huge budget and good coaches.\xa0 But many will argue that what really separates his outstanding football program is his focus on recruiting.

Unlike other college programs who come in as cheerleaders for their school and tout how great they are, Saban and his coaches have another approach that is very factual, practical and direct.\xa0 Recruiting coaches are taught to have a conversation that goes somewhat like this, \u201cThis is who we are. This is what we do. This is what we\u2019ve done. This is what we feel like we can do for you. This is what we feel like you can do for us. If you want to be a part of it, great. If you don\u2019t, somebody else will.'\u201d

In our channel, partner recruitment is an on-going process.\xa0 Master agents want partners to sell through their contracts, and recruit based on their relationships with providers and what they can do for the partner that other masters can\u2019t.\xa0 Providers recruit partners to sell services in preference to those of their competition.\xa0 So, what can we learn from arguably one of the most successful college football coaches of all time about recruiting?

The first lesson is to target the right partners.\xa0 Saban doesn\u2019t want just anybody to play for Alabama.\xa0 It has to be a win-win.\xa0 He focuses not only on what Alabama can do for the player, but also what the player can do for Alabama.\xa0 Master agents and providers need to define the characteristics they value in a partner and then target those that come the closest.\xa0 Here are some questions to ask your program that help you recruit the right players:

\xb7\xa0 \xa0 \xa0 What type of customers are currently in the partner\u2019s portfolio?

\xb7\xa0 \xa0 \xa0 How complex of a sales process does it take to win a deal?\xa0 Some partners are not motivated for a long, strategic and large deal?

\xb7\xa0 \xa0 \xa0 What type of relationship does a partner need and want from you and is your program ready to support that type of relationship?

You don\u2019t need every partner to affiliate with you, only the ones that create a win-win relationship and score the touchdown and bring the deal in.

Once you have defined the right partner, it\u2019s time to narrow the field and focus your efforts.\xa0 Saban and his coaches can\u2019t scout at every high school football game, meet every parent or bring every player to campus.\xa0 They have to focus their efforts to be effective.\xa0 Once a partner program has defined the ideal partner they want to target, then the next step is to eliminate activities that produce partners that are not going to succeed in the program. \xa0 As an example, if your deal is complex and you want a partner that understands security as a service, a program may want to target managed services providers, attend their events, and gear their marketing message to attract that type of individual.

Define what you can do for your partner and what you need them to do for you.\xa0 Back to Nick Saban.\xa0 His conversations with prospective recruits was direct and to the point.\xa0 \u201cThis is what Alabama can do for you AND this is what you can do for us.\u201d\xa0 In the channel, we often forget the part about what we want the partner to do for us.\xa0 Partner programs should be clear about the benefits of their program, and most programs do this.\xa0 But you also need to focus on the commitments you want them to make to you and be clear about that.

Don\u2019t wait for partners to come to you.\xa0 Go to them.\xa0 Although Alabama is an elite pro