Welcome to the Nearbound Daily Newsletter—the #1 partnerships newsletter in the world keeping thousands of partner professionals on top of the latest industry principles, tactics, and trends. nearbound.com is a project of Reveal.co aimed to bring about the decade of the ecosystem. Join the movement here.

PRINCIPLES

Learn to say "no"
 

Saying “no” is important as a partner leader.

People will push you as hard as they think they can even if that’s in the wrong direction.

Your execs might push you to prioritize quantity over quality partners.

Your partners might push you to carry the burden of the partnership.

Your GTM teams might push you to focus on the short-term impact of partnering versus the long-term impact.

Saying no is important.

But to say no, you need to understand what you’re saying yes to first.

So get clear on your strategy, know how you’re going to drive wins, and then communicate that with your stakeholders.

TACTICS

How to identify potential partners
 

Allbound, in their recent 2024 Year of Partnerships report, outlined 5 things you can do to identify businesses open to partnering:

1. Talk to your customers

Look for hidden partnership opportunities, right underneath you before you try to establish new relationships. Ask your partners who they’re talking to and using. Ask CS who your partners are talking to and using.

2. Explore prospective partners’ website

Do some old-school sleuthing to determine if you have shared customers, a strong JVP, and if they already have partners listed on their site.

3. Look at competitor marketplaces

Marketplaces can be a great place to identify companies that are open to partnering. Use these as inspiration.

4. Cold outreach

Sometimes you can just tell that a company is open to partnering. Find the right contacts and then send them a message! And if you want to take it a step further, use the 3 I’s play to get warm intros.

5. Attend industry events

Meet potential partners in-person at events that attract your same ICP. Nothing beats in-person connections.

Read the full report for insights from industry leaders and important data. See some of those stats below.

TRENDS

According to report, partnerships are indispensable
 

HubSpot recently released its State of Marketing 2024 report in partnership with Search Engine Journal, Litmus, and Rockcontent.

The report opens up with this strong statement:

We’ve shifted from the Age of Information to the Age of Intelligence.

It’s increasingly challenging to break through the noise and reach buyers the way they want to be reached. And everyone from execs at the highest level to ICs on the ground floor is impacted by it.

So how do you break through?

According to HubSpot’s Director of Marketing, influencer partnerships are a must.

"Our audiences want to learn from credible experts over institutional brands. This mix of owned and Creator media is helping propel our business forward.”

Here’s how partner pros can help marketers do this better:

• Come to the table with a nearbound marketing strategy.

• Challenge your marketers to bring more thought leaders, influencers, and champions into new and existing content.

• Challenge marketers to think through better-together narratives when they collaborate.

Use these stats if you need any help convincing your marketers to adopt a nearbound strategy.

Influencers and thought leaders have what your company doesn’t—proof they’ve sat in the seat of your customers.

Get the report here.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Stuff you don’t want to miss!

• TODAY—March 27th—Building an Ecosystem With Intention—Join Christopher Holley (Global Director, Technology Partnerships at Commercetools) and Scott Pollack (CEO at Firneo) where they will dive into the nuances of strategic ecosystem building in the tech industry. Register here.

• TOMORROW—March 28th—Official Partnership Leaders Meetup In Austin—Partnership Leaders members and non-members in partnerships from the Austin area are invited to meet up in Austin and spend an evening networking and learning. In partnership with Reveal and Impartner, we’ll be offering a specialized Partner Management Workshop for attendees prior to the networking event. Learn more here.

• 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.

You’re all caught up.

RECENTLY PUBLISHED ON NEARBOUND.COM

• What Top Revenue Leaders Really Think of Partnerships by Shawnie Hamer

• How Nearbound Can Help Keep and Win Back Customers by Delphine Le Person and Isaac Morehouse

• Howdy Partners #69: Why Fractional Partner Management? with Pat Ferdig

• Nearbound Podcast #157: 18 Months Until the End of SaaS? Jacco’s Prophecy with Jacco van der Kooij

• Partner Up or Perish: A Review of the Nearbound Book by Antonio Caridad

See you tomorrow.

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nearbound.com is a project of Reveal.co