This post is #4 in the series, Starting in Partnering: What most Tech CEOs get wrong. Click here to read #3 “Culture: Direct Sales Mindset Fighting a Partnering Mindset– What most Tech CEOs get wrong when starting in partnering”
Tech CEOs’ great challenge with partnering is that they don’t know what they don’t know, as much of the free partnering content and guidance on the web has limited depth, leading to CEOs not finding a robust approach to many aspects required in the Partner Type Selection process.
Being of a deep techie background and a former Tech CEO, my focus and Tenego’s focus is on helping Tech CEOs get started and grow through partnering with methodologies, training and guidance on the full path. After working directly with 100s of tech companies starting their partner programs, I’ve summarised some regular wrong assumptions and gaps.
Superficial Partner Type Selection Approach with limited Partner Fit Thinking
Selecting the wrong partner company types leads to a great waste of time and energy, resulting from a lack of depth in the process.
Action-driven team members want to get started giving limited airtime given to dissenting voices. With no methodology to highlight the gaps in their plans, the ‘doers’ want to get on with it. While the more analytical team members have no methodology to highlight any gaps, and no solid basis to challenge the loudest opinions.
In the Absence of Methodology, the Strongest Opinion Wins:
• The balance between Headless Action and Analysis Paralysis is Just Enough Analysis. Confident does not mean informed, see The Dunning Kruger Effect (The less one knows the more confident they are). The objective is to start talking to prospective partners as soon as possible, with hypotheses of what will work, and finding the balance of Just Enough Analysis can save much effort.
• Prioritising the wrong target partner types, leads to false starts and broken confidence in the partnering plans. Omissions or mistakes in the partner profile sends much activity in the wrong direction.
• Lack of clear requirements on what the company wants from partners, and the options available leads to poor decisions.
• Not considering all the possible partner types and variations before deciding on priorities leads to new opinions coming to the table, and disagreements in the team. With no methodology drawing out all the possible company types and depersonalising opinions, company types and opportunities are missed.
• Positive and Negative biases dismiss possible company types from even being considered.
• The different terminologies, understandings and ill-informed on the business models of company types, leads to confusion in selection. Even disagreeing on some company types being seen as customers or partners. eg: Managed Service Providers, Outsourced Service companies.
• Targeting partner types for unproven target customers, sectors or regions to avoid conflict with current business. In some mad moment, senior management teams think going after customers, sectors and regions they know least about seems like the best plan.
• ‘Drinking their own Kool-Aid’: An inability to see things from the target partners’ point of view. Not considering how your solution would or wouldn’t fit into the target partners’ current business.
• Good salespeople make bad partner managers and Strong Sales Leaders need balancing with analysis and partner understanding. See the previous post in this series on culture.
The best teams seek out and use methodologies to identify gaps in their approach and thinking. They seek to be challenged on their assumptions across the team, and from specialists, thus leading to better outcomes on partner company type selection and partnering strategy. As all techies know, every hour in design saves 10 in development. What’s the design of your Partnering Strategy?
Read the next post in the series ‘Poorly Pondered Partner Proposition – Starting in Partnering: What most Tech CEOs get wrong #5’