Just a friendly reminder about PX

Businesses know that happy customers mean success. Think Apple and Amazon—they nailed “happy customers.”

But here’s the thing: behind those satisfied customers are partners making it happen.

For example, every Amazon package efficiently delivered to your doorstep got there because of a partnership between Mercedes-Benz and Amazon!

As our ecosystems get bigger and more interconnected, each partner will touch more and more stakeholders across the buyer’s journey.

If stakeholder experience matters, then partner experience matters.

Win budget for partner tech in 2024

Last year, we did an exclusive on how Sarah Hertzberg, the Head of Partnerships at Gem, won budget for partner tech despite the odds. 

I wanted to resurface the best points from this article and add a few more to help you do the same.

Here’s how to win budget for partner tech in 2024:

Map the internal landscape

Before building a pitch, you need to understand your situation:

• Who is in charge of budget allocation?

• Who would you have to pitch to get this approved?

• What’s your existing budget?

• If you get budget, where would it come from? Another department’s budget?

Master the tool yourself

Last year, companies ruthlessly cut nice-to-haves. They’re not looking to add to their stack unless the tool is necessary.

So, if you’re going to take the time to pitch new tech, you’d better do your due diligence:

• Are you confident that this tech is necessary?

• What would it take to maximize its ROI?

Sarah Hertzberg shared that when she evaluated Reveal, it became apparent that to maximize its ROI, she’d have to become someone the rest of the team could lean on for aid and expertise.

"I want to be really good at using this system so that I am the source of truth when I have rolled this out to my team." 

Run experiments with internal champions

Once you’ve mastered the tool (assuming there’s a free version), choose a champion inside the organization and see if you can uncover any initial value.

Your internal champions will be motivated by one thing—hitting their goals.

Your goal here is threefold:

1. To test the product for a company-specific use case
2. To get an internal champion who can evangelize the product’s value internally
3. To have an example of success when you pitch the tech

Initially, these experiments will require you to do a lot of heavy lifting. 

In Sarah’s case, this heavy lifting looked like her manually creating value inside of Excel spreadsheets.

”I would go into Reveal, pull 10 accounts, work with my partner at the other company, and we would go through and start to bridge the gap for both of our reps. We’d bring them together to talk about one account. And then those reps would be like, ’That’s great. How did you do that? Let’s start doing more of that.’”

For Sarah, this upfront work resulted in internal evangelists, more reps asking for the tech, and success stories to showcase in her pitch.

Answer 3 questions

Think like a decision-maker. 

Answer three questions for yourself, and if your answers are good enough, then continue to step 5. 

• Why anything: Present the problem and tie it back to revenue.

• Why now: Explain why the ROI of the tool is greater than the ROI of anything else you’d spend that money on.

• Why [this tech]: Address the problem it solves, why you’re choosing this tool over the others on market, and paint a picture your leadership can buy into.

Build your pitch

By now, you know that the tool is necessary and well-worth its cost. You know why this tool would be valuable to your company and exactly which problems it can solve. And you have some examples of successes you can point to. 

Your pitch should include your answers to the 3 questions

Why anything?
Why now?
Why [this tech]?

As you’re building your pitch, keep in mind the internal landscape—who you’re pitching and the state of budget company-wide.

Remember this

No one’s gonna be wasting budget in 2024.

Your leadership wants proof that this tech is worth its cost and that you understand what you’re getting yourself into.

Because here’s the truth—your leadership knows that buying tech isn’t like waving a magic wand.

Buying tech is the start of a new journey; a journey of onboarding and implementation.

If you determine the tool is worth it, use these 5 steps to win budget even when the odds are against you. 

Read the feature here. And click here to get the free version of Reveal.

The Bowtie gets Drake’s nod

Goodbye old funnel. We’re vibin’ with the bowtie.

Thanks, Chase Diamond for the meme!

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.

• 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 5th-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. 

Know someone trying to win budget?

How timely! Send this to them.