The greatest bottleneck in business is often the strength of the Customer Value Proposition. Why should a customer consider buying your product? What benefits are you offering your customers and how clear is your messaging?
The additional challenge with Sales Channel Partner Recruitment is that your Partner Proposition contains your Customer Value Proposition and much more. The partner needs to see that they can sell the solution and how it benefits their business. Then, the greatest bottleneck in Partner Recruitment is the strength of the Partner Value Proposition.
Consider how HubSpot grew its Inbound Marketing Product sales. HubSpot’s Partner Proposition provided marketing services companies with an inbound marketing services business template on the back of their product sales. They not only provided the opportunity to resell software and some services revenue, but they also helped 1000’s of partners build thriving businesses.
Microsoft’s dedication to the sales channel is another great example of the importance of a compelling partner proposition. With 100,000’s partners all over the world, The Microsoft One Commercial Partner program focuses on helping their different types of partners to build and sell technologies, with supports around making the partner’s businesses successful.
There are many stories of IBM, HP, SAP, and other software companies / ISVs helping their partners leverage their existing capabilities and build a market story and successful businesses with their sales channel partners. Becoming a selected sales channel partner with some of these companies may not be easy, but many successes demonstrate the business case.
How compelling is your partner proposition; will partners instantly think “This looks really interesting”?
The Benefits of a Compelling Partner Proposition:
1) Easier Partner Recruitment
The success and challenges of a partner recruitment campaign hinge on the strength of the partner proposition. A better proposition gets faster engagement from prospective partners.
2) More Choice, Better Partner Selection
With a stronger proposition getting greater interest from the channel, it allows you to be more selective about the partners you work with, thus allowing you to select more suitable, more proactive, and more effective partners.
3) Faster Partner Market Engagement
Better partner selection of more suitable and effective partners leads to faster market engagement.
4) Faster Pipeline Traction
Faster market engagement produces faster opportunity development and progress through the pipeline.
5) Faster Market Growth and More Lucrative Channel Network
A better Partner Proposition ultimately leads to more effective sale channels, market expansion, and revenue growth.
Having a compelling Partner Proposition may not be easy but it can be achieved. If you find you are short in one part, you can bolster your proposition in other areas to balance any shortcomings.
The Components of a Compelling Partner Proposition:
(from the Sales Channel Partner’s point of view)
1) How easy is it to sell?
Clear Customer Proposition: The partner needs to see that it’s a proposition that they can sell and compete in the marketplace
Market Need: They need well-developed marketing and sales materials and strong reference customers
Competitive Positioning and Materials: There must be a clear fit with the partner’s existing business focus of target customer types, decision-makers, and domain expertise for the proposition to be credible
2) How easy is it to test the market and start?
Clear Path to Market Engagement: The partner needs to quickly see that they have relevant customer relationships and market credibility for them to execute against and engage the market.
3) Is it worth it at the deal level?
Clear Financial Benefits on a Deal Basis: The partner needs to see that the Licence Pricing is at an appropriate level that suits their market, and the resulting services fit their capabilities and business model. The share of licenses can vary according to the mix of the overall effort and benefit to the partner. For example, the partner may be much more interested in the ongoing services than the license share.
4) What investment is needed and the time to revenue?
Clear Business Growth Benefits: Is it a growth market? Will the partner be provided with new business leads? Will the partner be providing new marketing funds that will benefit their broader business also?
5) How big is the opportunity?
Strong Market to help Partners meet their business needs: Will your product feature in the partner’s growth plans or sold as an optional item on other larger sales? Will the partner be able to sell to many of their existing customers? Will they execute dedicated marketing campaigns for your product based on the market opportunity? Will partners see partnering with your company making a strategic difference to their business, such that it will potentially positively impact their growth for years to come?
6) Does this partnership build value for the partner?
Partner Supports / Partner Program: When you consider the elements of a mature partner program, the training, support, and overall business opportunity are much more than the license share and services revenue. The new capabilities and credibility brought to the partner may have an impact on other areas of their business to generate growth all around.
How much of a growth bottleneck is your Partner Proposition and what steps do you take to improve your proposition?