Smart Partnering Method

SMART PARTNERING MODEL

Chaitra Vedullapalli

C h a i t r a v . c o m | 5 1 0 5 7 9 4 9 4 5

V = N(N-1)

Robert MetcalfeTechnology pioneer, co-inventor of Ethernet, and founder of 3Com(circa 1980)

“The value of a network is proportional to the square of the number of users of the system.”

What to expect today?

From Rookie to Rockstar

Smart Partnering Method

Partner Maturity – How?

Next Steps

What are your expectations?

Partner maturity is not a linear process

Maturing partners is a critical process

Spend smarter on support resources

Focus on engagement

Top Insights – Rookie to Rockstar Report

Evolution of Ecosystem

Old : Hub and Spoke Ecosystem• A few companies dominated the

landscape• Ecosystem managed on a relationship-

by-relationship basis

New : Networked ecosystem• Many more companies are

participating — not just “software” companies

• Ecosystem must be managed as a network

Lead The Change

DEFINE BURNING NEED

A COMPELLING VISION

ENGAGE YOUR COMPANY

Smart Partnering Model – 5 Key Areas

Focused Segmentation Give as Good as you Get

Focus on Maturity Focus on “Winning Together”

VISION ALIGNMENT

DECISION MAKERS

GO TO MARKETS

MAKE YOUR ASSETS WORK

INCENT THEM WELL

INVEST IN MARKETING

MATURE THEIR COMPETENCY

MAKE THEM SUCCESSFUL

KEEP THEM ENGAGED

RIGHT CUSTOMERS

RIGHT KNOWLEDGE

ONE EXPERIENCE

Focus Topics

D E F I N E P A I N T E N G A G E

B U R N I N G N E E DC O M P E L L I N G

V I S I O NE N T I R E

C O M P A N Y

I D E N T I F YC H A N G E L E A D E R S

LEAD CHANGE

S E C U R E D E F I N E L A U N C H

C O M M I T T M E N T J O I N T V I S I O N N E W

Create a Business Case

Build a Pitch Deck

Secure Executive Leadership Commitment

Identify the RIGHT people from key

organizations

Conduct Leading Change Workshop (1 week)

Agreement on Burning Need (WHY)

Define Collective Vision (WHAT) and Game Plan

(HOW)

Define Success KPIs

Program Brand

Partnering Model

Network Engagement

Incentives

Products

Services

B U I L D

G O V E R A N C E

Implement engagement rhythm

Track your KPIs every week

Implement personalized marketing and communication

Make decisions together on critical topics

LEADING CHANGE DELIVERABLES

PARTNER MATURITY MODEL

G r o w P a r t n e r N u r t u r e P a r t n e r

4 M a t u r i t y L e v e l s 1 0 B u s i n e s s F u n c t i o n s

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 410 AREAS

Joint business planning

Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation

Readiness & Certifications**

Market messaging

Geography

Resource Utilization

Customer Service

*IAMCP Model developed by Per WerngrenMethodology

Ideal LEVEL

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

10 AREAS

Joint business planning

Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation

Readiness & Certifications**

Market messaging

Geography

Resource Utilization

Customer Service **

Ad-hoc

Not at all

Activity based

A 12-month plan with monthly follow-up

Takeaways• Sit down with partners and just

explore opportunities• Identify the gaps in your offerings• Create a circle of trust and meet in a

rhythm• Quarterly good• Monthly great• Weekly is Nirvana!

Joint Business Planning

Pipeline

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

Ad-hoc sharing

No sharing

Sharing specific campaigns

Shared with defined rhythm + in-person meetings + Core

DNA of sales teams

Takeaways• Two way street

• Bad partnering is when someone takes and never gives

• Share pipeline on the web• Buy in from the top – VP of Sales

need to meet in a rhythm• Make partnering an agenda item in

sales team meetings

10 AREAS

Joint business planning

Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation

Readiness & Certifications**

Market messaging

Geography

Resource Utilization

Customer Service**

Agreement

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

No template, rely on handshakes or

contracts based on specific deals

No template

Basic template

A great contract that regulates all aspects of

the relationship

Takeaways• Foundation is trust• Good first step is to have Memorandum of

Understanding signed by senior people• Long haul, create a partnering agreement

that goes both ways• Identify all aspects• Review every year• Don’t make it exclusive

10 AREAS

Joint business planning

Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation

Readiness & Certifications**

Market messaging

Geography

Resource Utilization

Customer Service **

Leads

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

Adhoc, no structure

Do not Give

Some structure, give some but do not

measure outcome

A process that generate lot of leads to other and can

measure success

Takeaways• Commit to the same sales process! To

generate leads and make a joint investment in time and money

• The ‘Reversed Lead’ is worthless• Listen to the customer

• Identify opportunities, commit to connect

• Be generous – ‘Givers gain’

10 AREAS

Joint business planning

Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation

Readiness & Certifications**

Market messaging

Geography

Resource Utilization

Customer Service **

Sales Compensation

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

Adhoc, compensation

No compensation

Alignment of referral and project

based compensation

Rationalized & Campaign based compensation

Takeaways• Award your sales people the same for

partnering• Align your compensation models with

your partners• Be proud of sales done via partnering

• Invent ‘soft awards’

10 AREAS

Joint business planning

Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation

Readiness & Certifications**

Market messaging

Geography

Resource Utilization

Customer Service **

Readiness & Certifications

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

Takeaways• People are your brand ambassadors,

educate them well.• Teach your partners to ALWAYS see the

big picture from the customer point of view.

• Create value in your education & certification program, great monetization model if implemented well

10 AREASJoint business planning

Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation

Readiness & Certifications**

Market messaging

Geography

Resource Utilization

Customer Service **

Train one partner at a time

No Plan

Provides standard certification and

readiness curriculum

Scalable process to certify people, create awareness

in the marketplace, revenue potential

Market Messaging

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

Adhoc, only tell when people ask or

opportunity occurs

No messaging

Reactive, Adhoc messaging, basic recognition of

partners and capabilities

Fully Integrated Marketing within partner

circles – one effort

Takeaways• Even lawyers do it!• Fly each others logotypes on your website• Tell the story of partnering on your website• Business cards should tell about partnering• Consider naming your circle of trust

10 AREAS

Joint business planning

Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation

Readiness & Certifications**

Market messaging

Geography

Resource Utilization

Customer Service **

Geography

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

Only in the same city

Only in the same city

Use partnering to gain access to markets in

other cities/countries

Strategically use partnering for broader

geographical coverage in to the markets

Takeaways• Partnering takes you national and beyond• Identify where you want to go!

• Be selective – not the whole Earth at once• Go out and meet partners in other

geographies• Remember about the ‘reversed lead’…

10 AREAS

Joint business planning

Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation

Readiness & Certifications

Market messaging

Geography

Resource Utilization

Customer Service

Resource Utilization

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

Partner on a case by case basis when

there are opportunities

Some times being the subcontractor

Pre-defined rate cards for sharing resources +

Access to Architects for Sales activities

Pre-defined rate cards for sharing resources + Access

to Architects for Sales activities

Takeaways• Commit to a pricelist or revenue sharing

model - Goes both ways…• Be clever and narrow your own

specialization• Try to help out on bench sharing• Priority to your own circle of trust

10 AREAS

Joint business planning

Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation

Readiness & Certifications**

Market messaging

Geography

Resource Utilization

Customer Service **

Customer Service

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

Do 1:1 meetings with customer to understand

their experience with partner engagement

Not at all

Proactive measure customer satisfaction and collect references

Automate the process and provide insights to

partners to improve their experience with customers

Takeaways• Delighted customer are the only

advertisement everyone believes – Take it seriously

• Listen to your customer to innovate and build the right and lasting partnerships

• Customer Intimacy is very important to growing your business. Ensure your partners take it very seriously.

10 AREAS

Joint business planning

Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation

Readiness & Certifications**

Market messaging

Geography

Resource Utilization

Customer Service **

Assess your partners systematically

Assess your partnership with vendors

Assess your partner program

3 Uses of Partner Maturity Model

Partner Maturity Tracker - Demo

TRIVIA

Mobilize People

Win a Deal consistently

Sell Faster

What is the biggest advantage of Partnering

Maturing partners is a not a linear process

Inspire and Lead change

Give as Good as you Get

Final Takeaways

How to get connected?

Chaitra Vedullapalli

Sr. Director, Microsoft Corporation

Email : chaitrav@microsoft.com | Phone : 510-579-4945

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