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Partner onboarding best practices from channel leaders
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Here are examples of questions you should ask and answer: “If your company sells through multiple channels, how is channel conflict managed?” How is training delivered? Must partners be certified to sell your solutions? How long does training and/or certification take?
Best practice 5: Be upfront about your solution’s strengths (& weaknesses) “you must help your partners understand how you compare and what sets you apart.” Effective solution applications and use cases
Evolve IP’s Gagnon, for example, has found that live training works best if narrowly focused. “I like to set up multiple sessions with the team to help focus on one of our solution sets,” he says. “This keeps the sessions short and interactive, and the partners are more engaged.” “Providing effective self-service enablement via LMS in combination with a robust partner platform that facilitates sales and marketing engagement is fundamental for all partners to start selling quickly” Best practice 7: Work with master agents & distributors to collapse timelines
When done well, channel partner onboarding offers many rewards, including: “Productive partners who understand your value proposition and can sell independently” Quicker time to value and return on investment (ROI) from your partner program
Engaging sales opportunities together “get the sales team trained, engaged and excited about making money” Day 61-90: By day 90, our panel generally agrees that onboarding activities include:
“Onboarding is pivotal to your partners’ success in selling your business-to-business (B2B) services, so it must be a focal point of your channel development program and not an afterthought.” What is channel partner onboarding?
Do you offer market development funds (MDF)? If so, how do partners qualify to receive MDF? “Do you offer SPIFFs or bonuses? How do partners qualify for these incentives? Are incentives attractive, achievable? Will they motivate new partners to sell?” How will you and your partner communicate? Will you accommodate partner preferences or set standards across the board?
It’s important to understand that onboarding partners is not the same as onboarding direct business customers so they can use your cloud apps or set up hardware. Partner onboarding done well requires more than a couple of web meetings, portal logins and training links; it’s a months-long process that requires both of your organizations to get to know the other so that you can go to market as partners. “Partner onboarding begins in earnest after the agreement is signed.” When done poorly, partner onboarding can cost dearly, including:
When done well, channel partner onboarding offers many rewards, including: “Productive partners who understand your value proposition and can sell independently” Quicker time to value and return on investment (ROI) from your partner program
What is channel partner onboarding? “It sets the ground rules and the tone for your relationship.” It’s important to understand that onboarding partners is not the same as onboarding direct business customers so they can use your cloud apps or set up hardware. Partner onboarding done well requires more than a couple of web meetings, portal logins and training links; it’s a months-long process that requires both of your organizations to get to know the other so that you can go to market as partners.
It’s important to understand that onboarding partners is not the same as onboarding direct business customers so they can use your cloud apps or set up hardware. Partner onboarding done well requires more than a couple of web meetings, portal logins and training links; it’s a months-long process that requires both of your organizations to get to know the other so that you can go to market as partners. “Typically, it includes business planning, sales training, technical training, systems integration (if needed) and usually extends to marketing support, lead generation, co-selling and initial wins.” When done poorly, partner onboarding can cost dearly, including:
Channel partner onboarding is a multistep process to initiate and integrate new partners into your company’s partner program. It sets the ground rules and the tone for your relationship. Any major hiccups in this process can compromise your future with a new partner and send them into the welcoming arms of a competitor. “It’s important to understand that onboarding partners is not the same as onboarding direct business customers so they can use your cloud apps or set up hardware.” Partner onboarding begins in earnest after the agreement is signed. Typically, it includes business planning, sales training, technical training, systems integration (if needed) and usually extends to marketing support, lead generation, co-selling and initial wins.
Channel partner onboarding is a multistep process to initiate and integrate new partners into your company’s partner program. It sets the ground rules and the tone for your relationship. Any major hiccups in this process can compromise your future with a new partner and send them into the welcoming arms of a competitor. “Partner onboarding done well requires more than a couple of web meetings, portal logins and training links; it’s a months-long process that requires both of your organizations to get to know the other so that you can go to market as partners.” Partner onboarding begins in earnest after the agreement is signed. Typically, it includes business planning, sales training, technical training, systems integration (if needed) and usually extends to marketing support, lead generation, co-selling and initial wins.
“Onboarding is pivotal to your partners’ success in selling your business-to-business (B2B) services, so it must be a focal point of your channel development program and not an afterthought.” What is channel partner onboarding?
What is channel partner onboarding? “Any major hiccups in this process can compromise your future with a new partner and send them into the welcoming arms of a competitor.” It’s important to understand that onboarding partners is not the same as onboarding direct business customers so they can use your cloud apps or set up hardware. Partner onboarding done well requires more than a couple of web meetings, portal logins and training links; it’s a months-long process that requires both of your organizations to get to know the other so that you can go to market as partners.
When done poorly, partner onboarding can cost dearly, including: “Wasted time and effort” Lost partner confidence
Wasted time and effort “Lost partner confidence” Lost sales opportunities
Lost partner confidence “Lost sales opportunities” Unrealized revenue potential
Best practice 6: Provide multiple ways to learn about your solutions “Still, others are inclined to scour your partner portal and website for informative sales and channel marketing collateral.” Making multiple options available to your partners will cover your bases. Experiment with different formats and delivery methods to hit on the best curriculum.
Intermedia’s Sheehan also recommends offering different paths for partners based on their interests. “Having a well-defined onboarding process with ‘tracks’ that address both the long-tail and the high-potential partners – and communicating it to partners upfront – is key to proper alignment.” “According to Gagnon, a key factor in determining alignment is comparing the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) for both companies.” Maute suggests alignment with a new partner also means getting buy-in from the whole organization, not just the signatory on your contract. “It is an ongoing process that involves engaging each area in the partner organization (executives, sales, marketing, sales engineering, etc.) to understand how to best align and build mindshare,” he says.
How do partners get assistance? Are there support systems they need to access or personnel they need to contact? “How will you handle differing levels of mindshare, interest and engagement among your partners? Will you offer tiers of partnership with resources allotted according to their effort? Will all partners be treated the same?” Who is responsible for onboarding new partners? How many partners can they onboard at once? Can they keep up with the volume of recruits?
If your company sells through multiple channels, how is channel conflict managed? “How is training delivered? Must partners be certified to sell your solutions? How long does training and/or certification take?” Do you offer market development funds (MDF)? If so, how do partners qualify to receive MDF?
A mission statement is not enough; you need to demonstrate your people skills every day in many ways. When your software has a glitch, how do you handle incoming service calls? When your edge device gets shipped to the wrong address, how do you deal with that? Do you treat both your large enterprise and one-person shop partners with equal importance? Did you welcome and integrate your partner into your organization? “It is important the partner feels like part of a community, not just a one-on-one relationship with one channel manager.” Following these tips can put you a step ahead of your competition in building and maintaining revenue-generating partner relationships.
In Partnerships