Podcasts Other Startup Selling: Talking Sales with Scott Sambucci Episode 33: The Right Way to Set up your Partnership, Reseller & Affiliate Strategy: An Interview with Jen Spencer

Episode 33: The Right Way to Set up your Partnership, Reseller & Affiliate Strategy: An Interview with Jen Spencer

Published: May 30, 2017, 3 p.m.

About Allbound: Problem & solution   Definitions: Channel Partners vs Referral Partners vs Co-Marketing Partner vs Reseller vs Affiliates   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. 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 a Agreement.
  4 Pipelines:
  1. New Customers
  2. Renewals
  3. Professional Services
  4. Partner Pipeline
  4 Pillars:
  1. Content - The way that knowledge transfer happens. Access to content (ie. training, internal price sheets, playbooks, data, research); PLUS end-user
  2. Collaboration - Include your Partners in your product communication, pricing, services
  3. Customer Success - How does my customer want to buy? How do they want to be serviced & supported?
  4. 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
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