Articles About Better Partnering
Complex versus Complicated?
I was recently asked if partnering is complex or complicated. This had me stumped because I had always thought of these terms as synonymous. So I did some homework. I found a great article from MIT Sloan that gave me a good working idea of the differences. Here it is in a nutshell: "Complicated problems can be hard to solve, but [...]
Are You Easy to do Business With?
Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) is frequently cited as a key element in successful partnering. In my business, I often find that partners cite that they partner with the Big Brand Gorilla in their market because they have to—customers demand it. But if they're given a choice, they will lead with the Challenger Chimp, a second-tier competitor, because they [...]
Nurturing Business Ecosystem Maturity
Digital business models are revolutionizing how leaders conduct business. This is not just a technology industry phenomenon but one that reaches across industries. With your car having more computing power than your phone from ten years ago, is there any doubt that many industries are heavily technology dependent? Understanding how digital business works makes it clear how Southwest Airlines’ [...]
Are You a Trusted Advisor?
As published in Forbes.com In the world of ecosystem partnering, everyone clamors to be "the trusted advisor," often without fully understanding what that means. Not every partner in your ecosystem can lay claim to that role—a role that, as it turns out, can be multifaceted. It’s possible to claim that role at a strategic level in advising clients about [...]
Do you have a Recession Strategy for Alliances?
Is there a recession on the horizon for 2023? Some economists say we are already in one and many others are predicting one for the coming year. Still, other economists point to a growing GDP. I'm not an economist and would not be foolish enough to enter my prediction. Though I do like Fortune magazine's prediction that the economy [...]
Why Partner Experience Should Be Part Of Your Customer Experience Equation
As Published in Forbes.com Great customer experience (CX) fuels revenue growth. This statement sounds like common sense—plain, simple and supported by many studies over the years. However, it takes on new meaning in today’s world as analysts, sales leaders and executives alike agree the customer journey has forever changed. CX is the crucial element that enables brands to survive [...]
How Do You Know If Your Partner Ecosystem is Healthy?
as Published in Forbes.com As companies move inexorably to ecosystem business models, this drives many changes in how we conduct business. One of the more elusive aspects of these new models is evaluating how we know they are working. How do we measure success, and what KPIs indicate a healthy ecosystem? Traditional metrics used for one-to-one partnerships or even [...]
Do you know why you need a Repeatable Delivery Model?
Getting to scale means creating repeatability in the business and for your partners In our continuing Partner-Ready Series, my colleague, Gary Lam and I have repeatedly underscored the importance of creating a repeatable sales model. Here, we give you more in-depth information on the impact of a repeatable delivery model for your software. We also share actionable insights that [...]
What Your CEO Should Know about Partner Ecosystems (but didn’t know to ask)
As featured in Forbes.com - I have been building partnering programs since the ’80s. What surprises me over my career as a partnering professional, and now as a consultant, is that I still have to explain why partners are crucial to business growth and viability. In fact, I can recount times I was grilled by C-level executives to justify [...]
Post Pandemic Partnering or “Are we there yet?”
as Published in Forbes.com - Even before Covid-19, many leaders often commented that we were experiencing a disruptive business climate. Oh, little did we know. This climate has often been called VUCA: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. The phrase started with the U.S. Military to describe the new world order or rather disorder after the Cold War. We got [...]
Do You Have a Lighthouse Reference Account?
Welcome back to our Partner Readiness series, where Gary Lam and I share actionable insights to help you develop your partner program. In the previous article, we discussed the importance of creating a repeatable sales model. This makes it a perfect segue for our next topic: Lighthouse reference Accounts. What are they? Why do you need them? And how [...]
Creating a Repeatable Sales Model in a Targeted Vertical
Previously on this #partnerreadiness blog series, Gary Lam and I discussed the importance of creating a partner program, and how to ensure your company’s culture is indeed partner-friendly. In this article, we focus on the next element in partner readiness. Are you ready to elevate your sales model and target a specific business vertical? In this article, you will learn how [...]
Leading The PAC With Strategic Listening
As recently published in Forbes.com According to Forrester, 75% of world trade goes through or involves a partner before it is delivered to the end-user. This underscores that partners are an increasingly important route to market. For some businesses, it is your partner who provides the customer experience. So how can you be sure your partners have what they need to [...]
Partner-Friendly? or Partner-Phobic? What is Your Company Culture?
Welcome back to our Channel Jumpstart blog series! After discussing the importance of creating a partner program in our previous article, @Gary Lam and I have once again joined forces to address one of the least asked questions in the industry: Is your company culture partner-friendly or partner-phobic? In this article, we will cover: Why you need a partner-friendly company culture How [...]
Are You Ready to Create a Channel Partner Program?
Are you an ISV partner looking to create a channel program to accelerate revenue? If so, this article is for you. I’ve partnered with Gary Lam, an expert in partnering with Salesforce ISVs. We’ve co-authored this blog and because there are a lot of moving parts in the process of creating a successful channel partner program, we will be [...]
The Power of Ecosystems or Can you go it alone?
Since we are talking ecosystems, I think there is a very Darwinian answer. Those businesses that adopt an ecosystem model will be more successful in serving customers and more resilient during uncertain times. They will survive and respond better to emerging opportunities than companies that still believe they can go it alone. However, to be successful within an ecosystem, you [...]
Do you need an Ecosystem Code of Conduct?
Not only are we in an age of ecosystems, but we are also in an age of growing awareness of corporate social responsibility. With this is a commitment to treating all workers with respect and dignity, ensuring safe working conditions and conducting environmentally responsible, ethical operations. That commitment commonly extends to expectations in the supply chain ecosystem for your [...]
The Leadership Style of Collaborative Ecosystems
Businesses are coalescing into ecosystems and becoming more interconnected, dynamic and interdependent. This trend began well before the pandemic but has accelerated in the past year. The trend is driving a reexamination of how we manage our businesses, employees and partners as we adjust to this environment. An ecosystem business model requires a more agile, collaborative and inclusive approach [...]