Dave Taylor: Why Next Era Partnering is Here to Stay

Channel Journeys Podcast

There’s a lot of buzz around ecosystems and the next era of partnering. Is it just a fad driven by the tough economy? Dave Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer at Impartner, explains why this next era is here to stay. Find out how you can weave partnering into your go to market strategy and improve the overall business health of your company.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Here’s what I learned from Dave on this next era of partnering:

• Inefficiencies in the direct sales model in a tough economy are driving a shift to a new era of partnering. Like the shift to remote work and hotel cleaning service every other day due to the pandemic, it’s here it stay.
• The conversation has changed from saying “how efficient is our channel” to “how efficient is your business?” The old question was can I win the deal better with a partner. The new question is my overall business healthier with partners.
• End users have become more sophisticated in purchasing a solution, not a product. They are looking to partners pre-sale for information and consultancy. And partners have more trust built up with customers than vendors.
• Where do you start? With a comp neutral strategy, where reps get paid the same whether a deal goes direct or indirect. And where your partner program is more lucrative, balancing the margin between the vendor and the partner.
• Building partnering into your go-to-market strategy starts with building your partner program and clearly defining your rules of engagement.
• If you want to get your C-Suite and Board on board with you, you have to speak their language. Speak to them in terms that they care about.
• Buyers are a dozen steps down their journey before they ever come talk to your sales rep. You want to enable your partners to make sure those first dozen steps go really well. Train your partners to say what you want them to say about your solutions.
• The most important element of partnering is having a reward program that recognizes all types of partner contribution, including origination, referral, influence, and other assistance.

LINKS & RESOURCES

• Connect with Dave on LinkedIn
• Hear Janet Schijns on the Top 10 Skills of Ecosystem Leaders
• Check out Dave Taylor on How to Build a Shadow Channel Program

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