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. Join the movement here. And ask NearBOT a question here.
PRINCIPLES
They buy results
I was reading through Max Traylor’s Agency Survival Guide (a great resource for anyone building or interested in building an agency) and he explained:
TRUTH: People don’t buy your services, they buy the results.
This is true about agencies and it’s also true about software.
People buy results which is why partners are so important: they directly impact results.
Integration partners make it easier for customers to build workflows.
Services partners make it easier for customers to implement solutions.
Co-selling partners make it easier for customers to buy.
People buy results, and partners help drive some of the strongest results.
TACTICS
What to do as a partner pro at a new company
Sun Tzu once said,
“The wise warrior avoids the battle.”
When you first step into a partnerships role at a new company, the temptation is to move fast and take action. You have ideas and you’re excited.
However, the best thing to do is take a step back and observe.
Get a feel for the company you’ve entered, its internal politics, and priorities.
Avoid the internal partnerships battle so many partner pros have to face. Instead, find where you can overlay into existing motions as a value-add, not a detractor.
Here are a few questions to answer before you do anything else:
Who is my company’s ICP?
What are the company’s top objectives this year? What are their long-term goals?
Do my goals align with and support of those objectives in a realistic way?
If they aren’t realistic, how can I work with leadership to ensure we aren’t set up for failure?
What is the current status of my relationship with key leaders, especially my CRO or CFOs? How are those relationships impacting how I can do my job? How can I help each of these key leaders win?
What is the company culture?
What are my constraints (resource, time, headcount)? What are the constraints in other departments?
Share this quick list of reflection questions with a new partner leader.
Experienced partner pros know the pain of walking too far, too fast in a direction that’s not going to pay off. To avoid making that mistake, don’t get ahead of yourself. Tiptoe into the waters.
As Greg Theriault (Director of Strategic Clients at Alteryx) explains,
“Partnerships go too fast and in too many directions. When you slow down and focus, you see the impact. Stop changing directions so much. You have to let things evolve for at least a year, including pay structures.”
Read a full plan for making the most of your first 60 days in a new role.
FROM THE ECOSYSTEM
Neurodiversity, an overlooked issue in our field
Chris Messina (CEO at Thrum.co) believes there’s a large elephant in the ecosystem: there are a ton of leaders with ADHD and on the spectrum of neurodivergent.
He shares his experience with ADHD, explaining,
"My journey with ADHD began in 2019 when I was diagnosed, prompting an extensive exploration into its causes, effects, and management. This deep dive helped me recognize my own patterns, especially how my communication style failed to persuade others. It incited defensiveness, intensifying my frustrations and stalling the progress of our strategic initiatives."
Then he challenges the ecosystem to have these conversations and think about how acknowledging this truth might impact the future of work.
"Neurodiversity is our ally in navigating the complex challenges of the modern, interconnected economy, yet it also presents significant challenges to our advancement."
Read Chris Messina’s full story here.
UPCOMING EVENT
Recruitment to revenue
Partner professionals thriving in today’s market are focusing on two things:
Winning new revenue for their companies, and
Retaining current revenue by driving value to customers
But what many partner managers don’t realize is that the road to accomplishing both with partners is a long and windy one.
How much revenue you drive with partners and how much value you drive to end users all start with the relationships you decide to build.
So, how can you ensure you’re recruiting and nurturing the right partnerships at the right time to drive impact?
Join Will Taylor (Head of Nearbound Partnerships at Reveal), Nelson Wang (Founder of Partner Principles), and Margaret Adam (Head of Product Marketing at Allbound) on May 23rd, 2024 at 12:30 pm ET/ 6:30 pm CET to learn to win new revenue for their companies, and retain current revenue by driving value to customers.
Register for free here.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Stuff you don’t want to miss!
TODAY—May 15th—How to Partner with AWS—Join Aaron Verstraete (Vice President of Strategic Alliances at Forethought) and Scott Pollack (CEO at Firneo) where they will share insider insights on navigating the AWS ecosystem, ensuring you leave with actionable knowledge. Register here.
May 23rd—From Recruitment to Revenue: How to Turn Your Ideal Partner into ARR—Join Will Taylor (Head of Nearbound Partnerships at Reveal), Nelson Wang (Founder of Partner Principles), and Margaret Adam (Head of Product Marketing at Allbound) to learn to win new revenue for their companies, and retain current revenue by driving value to customers. Register here.
May 30th—Driving Revenue Through Technology Partners—Learn from Kelly Sarabyn (Head of Product Partnerships Advocacy and Enablement at HubSpot), Asher Matthew (CEO at Partnership Leaders), and Robbie Ptaszynski (Director of Strategic Pursuits and Priority ISV Co-sell at Microsoft) as they discuss the revenue impact partnerships teams can have and evolving from re-selling to co-selling. Register 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
How Sendcloud Achieved an 80% Increase in New Leads Sourced From Partners Using Reveal
The Elephant in the Ecosystem by Chris Messina
The Era of Ecosystem Orchestration is Finally Here by James Hodgkinson
How Fullstory Builds their Tech Partnerships Program with Reveal’s Help to Increase Their Renewal Rate by 14%
Nearbound and the Rhythm of Business by Jared Fuller
Rhythm of Business Checklist by Jared Fuller
How Pigment Increased Win Rates 5-10% with a Nearbound Overlay & Reveal by Shawnie Hamer
How to use Reveal for Co-marketing Events
Unleashing the Power of Nearbound: The Stats You Need to Know by Andrea Vallejo
Howdy Partners #72: Psychology of Team-Wide Buy-In: The Answer to Partner Program Success with Maurits Pieper
Mastering the Nearbound Rhythm of the Business: Key Takeaways from the Nearbound Book by Andrea Vallejo
A Deep Dive Into the Nearbound Book, with Mike Midgley, Part 3
What’s an IPP—and (when) do you need one? by Martin Scholz and Bernhard Friedrichs
The Future of Sales Enablement: Integrating the Nearbound Strategy in Your Cold Outreach Efforts by Jeremy Chatelaine
See you tomorrow
If this email was forwarded to you, sign up here to get the newsletter every week.
nearbound.com is a project of Reveal.co
This is a test comment.
This is a longer test comment to see how this looks if the person decides to ramble a bit. So they're rambling and rambling and then they even lorem ipsum.