So, you’ve reached the point in your company’s evolution where you need to differentiate your partners, influence behavior, align partners with your strategy and do this all in a cost effective way. After you’ve established your partner strategy, a comprehensive partner program guide is crucial for communicating and aligning with partners on how you will do business together.
At a high level, here are the key areas to focus on when structuring your guide:
✅Introduction– It’s important to communicate to your partner and prospective partners how you value partnerships and create alignment to your business strategy.
✅Partner Program Types and Tiers– Since there are many partner types (channel, ISV, OEM, Managed Services, etc.), it’s important to be very clear about what partner types are addressed in the guide as each will have key differences.
✅Benefits Matrix by Partner Tier-Create a clear and concise communication of what benefits are available at each tier to motivate partners.
✅Registration and Onboarding Process-Guides can be used in two modes: One is to communicate to existing partners the parameters of your program. The other is as a recruitment tool. If it’s the latter, then you’ll need to outline the onboarding process.
✅Training and Certification-A bedrock of your partner’s success will be how well they can both sell and drive the productive use of your solution.
✅Sales and Marketing Support-Important to clarify the benefits that are found in the benefits matrix per tier in your program.
✅Revenue Sharing and Compensation-Whether it’s margin, discounts, or rebate structures, this is an area that all partners want clarity on.
✅Technical Support and Integration-Just like the Sales and Marketing benefits descriptions, fully describing this key area of benefit will be vital to partner success.
✅Performance Metrics and Evaluation-Set expectations on business reviews cadence and what you are measuring.
✅Compliance and Legal Requirements-Specify any intellectual property and privacy policy details.
✅Conflict Resolution-This is where you want to spell out your Deal Registration policy and process.
✅Additional Resources-Link to any other relevant resources.
Key Takeaway: A well-structured partner program guide helps partners understand your offerings, expectations, and collaboration value. This is a living document: regularly review and update your partner program as your business grows.
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