Culture: Direct Sales Mindset Fighting a Partnering Mindset– What most Tech CEOs get wrong when Starting in Partnering #3

This post is #3 in the series, Starting in Partnering: What most Tech CEOs get wrong. Click here to read #2 “Not Aligning Partnering Strategy and Business Strategy – What most Tech CEOs get wrong when starting in partnering”

The great challenge Tech CEOs have with partnering is what they don’t know that they don’t know. They don’t even believe that there is a methodology, or a roadmap to guide them to success.

After working directly with 100s of tech companies starting their partner programs, I’ve tried to summarise some regular wrong assumptions and gaps.

Direct Sales Mindset Fighting a Partnering Mindset

I remember when I first encountered this challenge. A strong sales-focused tech CEO pushed monthly and quarterly sales targets hard, which led to a very short-term focus on the company’s development. The CEO’s view on partners was to drive them the same as their own sales team, then drop the partner when they got into the market. It didn’t work, due to a major culture clash with partners and internally between the partnering team and direct sales. From then on, we learned to detect this challenge very early, among other related cultural challenges to partnering success.

When starting in partnering, too often Direct Sales and Partnering Teams are set up to compete with each other:

• Firstly, distracting direct sales teams with them thinking the partnering team is out to steal their lunch
• Battling for internal resources; Sales Expertise, Marketing, Tech Teams, Management
• Management Thinking ‘Control’ is Important, Restricting Partners’ success with over-protectionist policies for their Direct Sales, limiting the company’s overall growth. Eg: Starting partners in different geographies so as not to compete, => New to Partnering + New Markets = Many Unknowns + Risks
• Depending too much on salesmanship rather than good sales process, then blaming the partners’ salespeople, rather than their own lack of process and partnering enablement
• Expecting partners to sell like their direct sales, pushing partners versus Enabling partners, and not understanding the fundamentals of partnering.

There is often a fundamental misunderstanding of ‘partnership’ when Direct Sales and Partnering culture clashes occur. The partner companies are independent companies with their plans and cultures, the partnership is alignment, not forcing one culture onto another.

The best teams seek to understand their organisational challenges to Partnering upfront, learning to partner with cultural differences and their organisational change from 100% Direct Sales, introducing and transitioning to a Partner focussed company.

Ease your Partnering Journey: Identify and Address Your Business Challenges to Partnering, and Partner Program Guiding Decisions, company policies & culture implications.

Read the next post in the series: Superficial Partner Type Selection Approach – Starting in Partnering: What most Tech CEOs get wrong #4.