This post is #5 in the series, Starting in Partnering: What most Tech CEOs get wrong. Click here to read #4 “Superficial Partner Type Selection Approach – Starting in Partnering: What most Tech CEOs get wrong”
Your Partner Proposition is the second greatest success factor in partnering, with Partner Fit/Alignment being the number one success factor. You must be engaging with the ‘right’ partners for your offer to make sense.
A typical conversation with so many Tech CEOs would go as follows:
Me: “Why would a potential partner consider selling your product?”
Tech CEO: “for Licence Revenue Share, and, expanding their product portfolio.”
Me: “Why would Consulting Partners refer your solution?”
Tech CEO: “For the referral fee revenue.”
Every business leader has unlimited opportunities for generating revenue. Why should they consider your Partner Proposition?
Yes, additional revenue is in the partner’s interest in improving their business, but consider that Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, SAP and other global tech leaders have over 20 parts to their partner propositions. That’s over 20 ways global tech leaders have to improve their partners’ businesses.
When tech vendors approach potential partners, partners see it that they are being asked to Work-for-Free, and some future reward. Partners are being asked to take the risk, to invest their time, and money, in a vendors’ product.
How would you respond if another software vendor contacted you today offering you an opportunity to bundle and resell their product, how would you respond? Aren’t you already busy? What might make their opportunity more appealing than any you have already planned?
The reality is that, the majority of Tech Vendors starting in partnering are failing to contest with the Partners’ current revenue opportunities.
Even if a tech company has a well-established direct business and a well-proven customer value proposition, the partner proposition is often poorly thought through.
The Partner Proposition is different from the Customer Proposition. The Customer Proposition is the first part of the Partner Proposition, but contains a few other critical elements.
The best teams seek to understand the true value they bring to their partners’ businesses, through alignment and making it as easy as possible helping their partners meet their business goals.
How many parts do you have in your partner proposition? Can you come up with six or more?