Article
The GTM guide to building SaaS channel partnerships
bvp.com
Quoted on this wiki
Every place a page here uses this source, in the order the words come in it.
It’s also important to set your new partner(s) up for success with infrastructure and resources that will support your program. This means creating partner enablement materials, defining incentives, and setting up systems for lead tracking, reporting, and payments. “This team should have a mix of sales, strategic, and operational expertise to effectively recruit, onboard, and support partners throughout the program.” Finally, you need to offer compelling incentives and benefits to attract and retain channel partners. "When you're doing a Channel Partner program, you're essentially asking someone else to go out and sell your product or service on your behalf,” says MP. “If you think about a partnership, the most fundamental question is, 'Why would anyone want to work with you? What are you bringing to the table for the partner?'"
Access to new customer segments: Partnerships can help you tap into new customer segments or industries that you might not otherwise have access to. For example, working with a financial services consultancy can provide access to new banking clients. “For example, you can partner with a technical services partner to provide custom integration development and implementation, which can help unlock big enterprise deals — allowing both you and your partner to cross-sell to each other's customers and provide more value.” Niche expertise:Partnering with niche experts in a particular domain or industry can add credibility and domain-specific knowledge to your offerings, making them more attractive to potential customers in that niche. For example, partnering with a healthcare consultancy who has deep knowledge around HIPAA and local regulations can help you penetrate that industry.
Finally, you need to offer compelling incentives and benefits to attract and retain channel partners. "When you're doing a Channel Partner program, you're essentially asking someone else to go out and sell your product or service on your behalf,” says MP. “If you think about a partnership, the most fundamental question is, 'Why would anyone want to work with you? What are you bringing to the table for the partner?'" “Taking the time to define a clear value proposition for working with you — which could include things like competitive margins, marketing support, training, and resources — can help lay the foundation for a strong partner relationship.” Ultimately, by ensuring that all of these components are in place first, you create the ideal conditions for a successful and mutually beneficial channel partner program that expands your reach and drives business growth.
2. Identify potential target partners “Identify potential partners that align with your offering and have influence over your target customers and begin to make a shortlist.” 3. Begin outbound partner recruiting
3. Begin outbound partner recruiting “Clearly explain your value proposition, what you're offering, and how the partnership can benefit both parties.” 4. Pitch your partnership program
Most companies don’t start out with the intention of building a channel partnerships program. “I came into partnerships unintentionally and I would say that’s the case for most people,” says MP Eisen, a sales and go-to-market leader whose background includes stints at Asana and NerdWallet, and now Glean, the Gen AI SaaS company. “But somewhere along the way, the channel becomes a compelling proposition — either because a go-to-market opportunity emerges organically, or because your business is actively seeking new revenue streams.” The channel can be a source of new revenue streams.
In Partnerships
For MP, it was the former. In her first role in International Expansion Strategy at Asana, she was figuring out how to expand Asana geographically: what regions to prioritize, where to open up offices, and where to invest the team’s marketing dollars. “In doing that work, we realized that there were certain markets that we didn't necessarily want to invest in or open up an office in, yet we were seeing a ton of traction,” This kind of program can be an incredibly useful tactic in your overall go-to-market strategy. But whether a channel partnership program is a good fit for your business depends a great deal on the nature of the opportunity in front of you, the resources you have, and what kind of need you’re trying to address.
In Partnerships
MP: It depends on partner type and motion. For VAR’s, it’s typically a 20-30% margin but can be higher if in a market with high taxes (e.g. India or Brazil). For resellers, it’s closer to 5-10% — this is because they’re simply processing the transaction, whereas VAR’s are expected to provide post-sales support. “But typically in a referral partner program where the partner is not actually billing the end customer and is not on the hook for the renewal, you would give a one-time payment.” Q: How do you compensate your sales reps for deals sold through or by a channel partner?