Talk Business Opportunity first, then Product Demo and this is why

Thanks all for sharing your comments and questions on our last email, article, and video.

When you present an opportunity, you may convince any partner company to start reselling your solution. And you can travel to meet partners to get your ‘big opportunity’ across, but this is challenging to make successful and expensive.

When you find the right partners, they have the right customers to start selling to right now and bring the fastest value for them and you.

In my first article of this series, I made the case that everyone dealing with partners needs to understand Partner Fit. I also proposed a focus on partners who can best meet your objectives, and where you can help the partners meet their objectives. And, the largest resellers are not always the best target partners. I also highlighted some initial qualification questions for prospective partners.

In my second article, I shared a story about SolutionCo, which had a fantastic win in securing a partnership with GiantCo. Then how the partnership nearly killed SolutionCo, due to a misalignment with GiantCo’s sales process.

In this session, I want to first address some concerns.

I regularly get pushback from clients (software product companies / ISVs ) that you can’t subject a prospect partner to such rigorous questioning so early in the process. It looks too much like an interrogation. It seems like it’s all about your needs and not the partners. It doesn’t seem mutual. Some people raised that it doesn’t need to be so rigorous.

Which is it? Do you do a product demo first and then talk about the business opportunity OR the other way around?

Is the Partner seeking a product demo so early in the discussion, because:

1) They see how your proposition fits, and now want to see the product
If they are clear on the opportunity, what is it? Have they explained it?

You need to have a clear view of the opportunity too and verify it.
2) They like what they heard and don’t have a process for evaluating, so this is their next step.
Then help them, by providing a mutual Partner Fit Evaluation process.

Partner Fit involves discussing the Business Opportunity first and then getting into a product discussion. If then, after the business level evaluation call and we find the opportunity doesn’t fit, it has saved time for all of us.

Are you seeking to demo your product as soon as possible because:
1) You are proud of your product and believe it speaks for itself.
You think this is the best way to get the message across.
2) That you have to tell the Partner everything, as you don’t know what’s important
You are hoping the Partner tells you what’s important after seeing the product.
In this, you are most likely in sales mode with the prospective Partner and not assessing the joint opportunity.
3) You don’t have a process, and you are being proactive

Partner Fit is about understanding the Partners Business first, and then how your proposition can fit into their business. It is similar to a customer discovery call where you want to get a clear understanding of the customers’ world and needs so that you then start discussing a solution.

As with Customers Discovery, the customer has their objectives to meet, so too has the Partner to meet their objectives. In Partner Fit, you are getting an understanding of their objectives, and then how you can help them meet their objectives.

Over the years, we have received praise from our client partner companies on the mutual approach to Partner Fit. When Partners don’t have a process, then you can offer them a clear and mutual evaluation process that they will appreciate.

The success gains become clear:
• when every one of your team understands the initial Partner Qualification Questions can start a Partner Fit discussion.
• when everyone speaks the same language in identifying the opportunities and challenges within your partners, and prospect partners
• when your partners appreciate the Partner Fit approach, as it saves everyone time and has their business interests at heart also
• where you capture an understanding of your partner’s business from target customer, needs, solution areas, decision-makers, marketing activities, sales process, their business objectives, and their capabilities to meet your goals.

THEN how does your proposition help your partners meet their business plans?

In all, you better understand what business you can achieve through the Partner and how much you will need to help them for that joint success.