Alliance management is in many ways a young profession, yet there is a set of defined processes and practices that have been shown to be effective in creating and operating successful collaborations. Research has shown that companies that approach collaboration through ad hoc practices rarely succeed and those that apply a disciplined approach can consistently realize over 80% success rates. [...]
Success Begins at the Top It is hard to overstate the importance of a champion at the senior levels of the organization. Many alliances fail or falter when they lose the executive champion and the role is not back filled with a strong leader. The role of the champion is many fold. They represent the [...]
Partnering and building alliances is the preferred model of business growth for many CEO’s. Collaboration has a multiplier effect; it leverages the expertise, resources, and talent beyond the walls of a single organization. “Collaboration is the number-one trait CEOs are seeking in their employees, with 75 percent of CEOs calling it critical” in IBM’s most [...]
No one graduates from school with a degree in Alliance Management and most of us have found ourselves in the profession quite by accident. I’ve asked people how they have come into the profession and there is quite a spectrum. Many come from technical or scientific disciplines when products are created through a collaboration of [...]
“Collaboration is the number-one trait CEOs are seeking in their employees, with 75 percent of CEOs calling it critical” in IBM’s most recent 2012 study surveying 1700 CEO’s. But this skill is in short supply. Collaboration has fallen into the skills gap. It should be a time ripe for opportunity for partner managers as experienced collaboration managers. [...]
General Colin Powel was quoted “no plan survives contact with the enemy”. Well, in our experience no plan survives contact with the partner either, nor should it! We’ve conducted and attended many partner planning exercises that did not include the partner. Not surprisingly when our Magnum Opus was presented to the partner, it didn’t resonate or at [...]
Do you use Team Charters to kick off your alliance or new alliance initiative? What is a team charter? It is the Cliff notes of what is important for your alliance. It summarizes the vision, key objectives, and value proposition(s). A charter defines and documents the measures by which you judge success. It establishes the [...]
Providing training to your partners is a major component of partner enablement. However one size does not fit all. Training must be relevant to your partners’ needs, delivered when they need it and in a format they find consumable. The challenge becomes exponential when you consider the number of engagement models, multiple products or services, [...]
Training, Certification and Specialization How do these investments pay-off? Is volume or value more important in developing your partner strategy? Do you reward and recommend partners based on the volume of goods and services they sell? Or do you recognize those that provide the most value to your customers? Is having more partners extending your [...]
Most channel programs see the 80/20 rule in effect around partner engagement. Meaning, only 20% of your partners are actively selling and promoting your products and services. So how do you increase active selling? Recruit more partners? Or find a way to capture more interest with the partners you already have? Capturing interest and motivating partners [...]