Besides being high-profile, successful enterprises, Amazon, HubSpot, Microsoft, Oracle, and eBay have something else in common. They’ve invested in their partner programs with steadfast commitment to increase their partner revenue. In fact, 95% of Microsoft’s revenue comes from its channel partners.
If you are responsible for building a partner program at your company, follow these industry best practices to establish a robust and attractive partner relationship management (PRM) program.
Successful execution of your PRM strategy starts with building a comprehensive partner roadmap. This roadmap serves as your guide throughout the partner lifecycle, from initial engagement to post-sale support.
To help you build your partner roadmap, we’ve broken down the process into four steps:
Further Reading: Maximize Revenue Using These 4 Channel Partner Strategies
If you use a PRM platform, make sure it works seamlessly with your existing technology stack. Having an integrated PRM with automation has the following benefits:
As a business, having a solid onboarding strategy is essential for managing your partner relationships. After all, your partners are a key part of your success.
A successful onboarding program gives your partners a strong start and can be a key element in building long-lasting relationships with your partners. The onboarding framework for a robust channel partner program can positively influence your partners’ performance and productivity. For channel managers, it ensures compliance with internal policies and external protocols and reduces transactional workloads on your teams.
The most important component of an onboarding framework is a partner welcome kit. This kit should contain essential information to help your partners understand your business, products, services, and goals. Consider giving them a tutorial on how to interact with your partner portal. The training reinforces newcomers’ positive first impression and limits the number of one-off questions you have to answer.
Create your partner welcome kit with the following items to start:
Download Template | Channel Partner Onboarding Template
The welcome kit also gives you an opportunity to set clear expectations for your partner relationship. Make sure your partners clearly understand what you expect from them and what they can expect from you through the partnership to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts later. Update them often on your plans and objectives, and solicit their feedback regularly. Remember, communication is key.
By taking the time to put together a welcome kit for your new partners, you demonstrate your investment in and commitment to their success. It also sets you up to build a firm foundation for a prosperous partnership.
Further Reading: 7 Key Components of Channel Partner Onboarding
Finally, show your appreciation for your partners. A little recognition goes a long way in maintaining good relationships. One way is to offer rewards and incentives.
A reward program can have multiple facets. For example, you can offer financial incentives, exclusive access to new products or services, or simply show your appreciation through public recognition. Whatever form your program takes, rewarding your partners tells them you value their contributions and want to maintain a strong relationship.
Popular partner rewards include:
Of course, not all partners are motivated by the same things. That’s why you must take the time to get to know them and learn what incentives you can give them to continue selling on your behalf.
Follow these tips to help you build a successful partner reward program:
By developing a well-run reward program, you’ll strengthen your relationships with your partners and encourage them to sell more of your products or services.
To build and scale your partner program with partner-friendly solutions, start with Zomentum For Vendors. Zomentum For Vendors impacts and scales partner sales with an affordable, feature-rich solution that puts partners and revenue first. It integrates into your partners’ workflow, making it easy for them to recommend and sell your solutions. You become their favorite vendor by providing all the tools your partners need. Get started with Zomentum for Vendors.