Four partner myths

In partnerships, there are a lot of improper expectations that lead to frustration company-wide. Let’s save everyone the headache and do some myth-busting.

Myth: Hire one partner person and they’ll handle building out every partner motion.

Truth: One person cannot do it all. You have to make sure you hire the right person to run the highest-value motions for your company.

Myth: A signed partner deal turns into revenue.

Truth: Success in partnerships, like in anything else, requires work. A signed partner deal is just the beginning.

Myth: Wait until your partner deal is signed to get wins.

Truth: Why not start getting wins before the formal deal is signed? If you’ve already proven the value of the partnership, it makes the formal deal a no-brainer. Plus, you already have a head start.

Myth: Partnerships are initiated and sealed at the executive level.

Truth: Oftentimes, it’s better to start building relationships and driving value at the ground level to demonstrate tangible, joint successes.

Pick your lane, get quick wins, and don’t underestimate the impact of a grassroots approach.

The power of partner-led

Justin Gray and Josh Wagner (Co-founders of In Revenue Capital) went on GTM Unfiltered to have a conversation with Craig Rosenberg (Chief Platform Officer, Scale Venture Partners), Judd Borakove (Partner at Red Monkey Consulting), and Matt Amundson (CMO, Census) about the Power of Partner-Led.

I tuned in and loved it so much, I needed to share!

Fun fact — both Justin and Josh played a part in the construction of traditional outbound and inbound playbooks.

Today, they’re advocating for nearbound as an overlay.

We promote organizations to run a partnership motion because it’s a truly threaded approach (Marketing, Sales, CS). And I think when all of those engines are firing on all cylinders, it’s so much more efficient.

For them, it’s not about throwing any motion out but rather integrating them into one stronger approach to go-to-market.

It’s not that we have to abandon everything that we relied on as demand gen engines but…if you can bring relationships in as the x-factor there, that’s going to change all of those motions (inbound + outbound + nearbound).

In the episode, Justin and Josh shared three ways they’re getting their portfolio of companies to succeed through partnerships.

1. ICP

   Your customers will tell you who your best partners are. You don’t have resources or time to waste on bad partnerships.
   
    

2. Value Proposition

   People think about partners through industry verticals and skill sets. Really, it’s much simpler than that.

   
   The question to answer is this: What does your solution and their solution together, provide to your end user?

   
   And can you back that up with data?

   
   Translate your value prop across all of your teams—Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success—so they understand how to more effectively engage the folks they’re talking to.

1. Permissionless partnering

   Permissionless partnering is about finding gaps and filling them without being asked. It’s how you create opportunities for yourself when there are none.

   
   In the podcast, Justin and Josh emphasized a form of permissionless partnering: giving first.

   
   When you’re a small company trying to build momentum around partnerships, you have to be willing to give faster and more frequently than others. It’s the only way you’re going to get.

   Most people see the piece of paper signed and think ’Oh, they know about us.’ Then they sit back and wait for the money. That’s the worst approach to partner you could have.

   Whether you’re partnering on integrations or co-selling, partnerships aren’t set-it-and-forget-it.

   
   And the bigger the player,

   the less likely they are to co-anything with you. You’re basically leveraging the relationship…you’re a part of their ecosystem.

   If you’re trying to win with any partner, and especially if you’re trying to win with a larger partner, the best approach is to insert yourself.

   
   Just to be clear, I’m not saying to email your partner for leads every week—don’t be annoying.

   
   What I am saying is that if you think from your partner’s perspective, there are ways to create value and insert yourself into their minds.

   
   Here are a few examples from the episode:

   
    

   Justin’s everything approach

   Larger brands will say that they’ll do stuff but they don’t want to do it. They’ll show up and sign off…but the way I integrate the companies I work for into larger organizations is I just come out and say I’ll do everything.

   If a large partner is bought in enough to sign off, then offer to run the whole thing. You’ll get to build trust with the team, make a bigger splash in the market, and open doors to new opportunities.

   
    

   Josh’s give-to-get approach

   Josh was helping one of their portfolio companies get a partnership off the ground. The partner was all-in, and ready to sign the deal. Surprisingly to them, Josh asked them to pause the deal to uncover value before signing. Let’s just find a customer struggling with something and let’s get a solution going.
   
    

   *Crickets*

   
   So Josh took the initiative and emailed them a list of 15 companies in the portfolio company’s pipeline. “Are any of them your customers?”

   
   The result was a calendar full of customer calls to uncover partner value.

   
   Justin and Josh are legends in the partnerships space. They understand traditional inbound and outbound, and they’re helping others uncover the value of layering partnerships into your GTM strategy.
   
    

   Listen to the full episode or catch their session from the nearbound summit.

Not another partner pro trying to do everything, all at once... 

Stuff you don’t want to miss!

• Nearbound Summit 2023 Recordings—The future of GTM is Nearbound. Watch the recordings to hear how B2B leaders across departments unite with Nearbound strategies and tactics. Listen here.  

• TODAY—Dec 27th, 2 PM EST—You’ve Signed a Partnership Deal... Now What?—Join Philip Low (Former Head of Partnerships at Codat) and Scott Pollack (CEO at Firneo) as they unveil the often-overlooked steps post-partnership deal signing. Register now.

• January 25th— CEO Summit—Join Pavilion and many more companies to be part of expert-led educational sessions, covering top-of-mind issues for CEOs and Founders. Learn about the latest sales insights, building a pricing strategy, and co-selling. Register here. 

• Feb 5-7th in Miami—Impartnercon 2024—Partnerships are the future of growth. Join partner leaders to learn what it means to build the future of business, together.  Register here.

• March 19-20th—Affiverse’s Amplify Summit—Join them for a 2-day virtual event to help affiliate businesses amplify their performance. Learn about digital, partnership, and affiliate marketing. Register here.