Home

Editor’s Note:
In a previous post, I outlined some best practices for business partnering from a marketing perspective.  Andy Blevins, one of my colleagues at Azaleos, started a great internal discussion on how these concepts translate into tactics for field reps.  Andy’s built an impressive network of happy clients and successful partnerships.   A lot of businesses (and marketers) could leverage his perspective on how successful partnerships work at the field level.

Best Practices for Partnering:  A Rep’s Point of View
by Andy Blevins

Here are some best practices I apply to partnering.  I have a very specific goal in this exercise: hitting my number.

One of my biggest problems is getting in front of enough deals. I *know* that there are hundreds if not thousands of real deals and opportunities right now in my territory and I’m always thinking about ways to get in front of more of them.  I’ve found that when I stick to these guidelines, I have the most success.

1.  Value the right relationships
Successful partnerships for us reps usually start with our relationships with partner reps. It’s great to setup a partnership on paper with the CEO or VP of Sales but the real business gets done at the rep level. Is that rep going to think of you, see your face, and bring you into his customers? Would you do the same for him/her? Getting a partner agreement signed means nothing until opportunities are flowing, and flowing both ways. Rest assured that without rep to rep activity, that signed partner agreement will do nothing but gather dust. Focus on the people that are vital for the partnership to succeed.

2.  Prospect for partners like you do for customers
Have an idea of what your ideal partner looks like: what they sell, how big they are, how their sales reps prospect, what kinds of other partnerships they have, and how well they get along with any mutual partners. Finding potential partners can start with asking your other partners who they think is great. Even better – ask your customers who they like, and who they trust and respect. That way when you reach out to your potential partner you’re going to provide immediate value. More on that later.

3.  Qualify your partners
As you go down this road it’s easy to get 20 companies with sales reps that are interested in “partnering” with you. You should actively qualify your partner options. Sales people are always ready to talk about how to work together, and are always very optimistic. Be realistic. In most cases basic lead sharing is as far as it will go. If you talk with a rep or a sales executive and the other organization doesn’t fit the profile you want, then move on. A partner that’s a no-fit wastes lots of time, and time is the only resource you can’t get more of.

4.  Keep score
Keep count of how many leads or activities your partners bring you into and make sure you are reciprocating. If someone hasn’t brought value to the table after 2 quarters then have a conversation and figure out why. Make sure your partner doesn’t come to you after 6 months asking why you haven’t reciprocated. Reputations get around, and sales people talk talk talk. Your best partners are probably keeping score on you.

5.  Have a strategic plan for partnering
Figure out what your goals are for partnering in general in your territory. I’ve had a few – from creating regional partnerships with small companies in each section of my territory, to only having one partner per solution type, etc. Whatever your strategy is it needs to make sense within the broader goals you have. Write it down, and run it by some other reps.  Know what you want, how many partners you are willing to cultivate, and how you plan to use them before you start.

6.  Have a tactical plan for each partner
Once you find a good partner make sure you have a basic tactical plan on how to use them: how often to contact them, how to bring them in, when to avoid them, etc. This will develop as you learn more about their capabilities.

7.  Understand the ‘Partner Cash’ concept
This is extremely important. This concept will help you get more out of your partner relationships than anything else (in my opinion). One of the best things we can get as sales people is good intel. Intel on a customer, a competitor, or a project can mean the difference between success and failure in a deal. Your partner is the same way. He or she is also working to paint a picture of the customers you talk to on a weekly basis. “Partner Cash” is information about relevant stuff.

If you are alert then you can create partner cash in every single meeting you have whether its with a prospect, a current customer, or any other partner. Ask your customer or prospect about other related projects and efforts. Are they planning on replacing desktops anytime soon? What other priorities are battling with your effort for resources? The answers to your questions always uncover something of value to someone. I guarantee it.

Being aware and taking advantage of these situations means noting the customer’s answers, and then later thinking about what partners might be interested in that information, and which ones need some feeding. That information you’ve gathered is Partner Cash, and its everywhere. You just have to be paying attention. Remember that by introducing a great partner to your customer is a real value to that customer. We all know that there are plenty of weak service providers out there. You don’t want them in your customer’s account.  Keep them out by introducing strong service providers that are friends.

8.  Don’t have too many partners and avoid partner overlap
You can only keep up with so many partners. Maybe 4-6 depending on how involved you are with it. If you pick the right 6 partners though you can gain tremendous insight into your territory that you wouldn’t have otherwise. In addition I try and keep as little overlap as possible in my partners. Remember that your partners may have limited geography. Use that to your advantage as well.

9.  Provide value to your partner, and do it first!
This starts with understanding what your partners wants out of the partnership. It might surprise you. It might not. It’s likely they want anything that will help them to close more deals. Just like you! Remember that you’re going to come to any new partners with some great Partner Cash – your existing customers.  Your customer relationships should put you in a serious position of value to partners.  You should know more about what your customer is up to than anyone, but use this information wisely.  Only introduce a partner to your  customer once they’ve shown that they have integrity, treat customers as well or better than you do, and don’t have overlap on any services. Surrounding a customer with friendly partners is a great way to keep out competitors and protect your customer base.

You can provide value to your new partner immediately by telling them what you heard about them from other partners and what your customers said about them. Hearing some candid external feedback is valuable, and establishes the fact that you care about their business. Keep providing value. If you did your homework and picked the right partner you’re going to get value back quickly.

Feel free to share this content via the social network of your preference.  If you want to get updates on TMM postings, be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed.