Echo chambers cause collapse

Partnerships are at a pivotal moment.

On the one hand, companies around the world are adopting a Nearbound strategy, realizing that the power of partnerships lies not in a siloed department, but as a motion in every department. 

On the other, leadership is still isolating Partnerships on their lonely little island, forcing them to focus on the new to prove value: new customers, new solutions, and new money. 

This kind of thinking is short-sighted. Leadership isn’t thinking holistically, and the result is boxed-in Partnership teams trapped in never-ending loops:

• Partnerships are stuck in their own bubble (vs. collaborating and learning from customer-facing teams) 
• Partnerships are pigeonholed as an afterthought (vs. being a key resource for surrounding the sales funnel)
• Partnerships are trapped in the early adopters phase (vs. seeing opportunities for impact across the entire customer journey)

As Chris Murray explains, partnerships are in a “Crossing The Chasm” moment: 

Break through the blah

R.J. Filipski Global VP of Business Development and Ecosystem at Clari, explains that you need to do two things to break out of both internal and external echo chambers:

1. Getting Nearbound buy-in from your team, and
2. Using Nearbound to break into new markets

But you have to do the first one before you can do the second.

Here’s how:

How to get Nearbound buy-in from internal teams.

Once you have buy-in, it’s time to enable your teams by actioning Nearbound data. 

Here’s the step-by-step guide to expanding into new markets: 

1. Choose 1 or 2 members of your Marketing team who are curious enough to learn how to improve their marketing strategy.

2. Give your team access to your account mapping platform—a.k.a. Reveal.

3. Help your team identify which partner has the highest market and persona overlap.

4. Start account mapping. Filter according to the country or “new market” you want to break into. To quickly identify your partners in those markets filter also by account type and choose “partners”.

Using the 3 I’s of Nearbound to break into new markets.

5. Once you have identified those key partners who are in the markets you want to enter, you can start leveraging the trust they have built in that market. You can even ask that partner for an intro.

6. Once you have the right partner, you will be able to get the right intel, and you will be able to deliver the right message to the right people to boost partner revenue. Leverage the Who Economy and ask them for Nearbound intel such as: 

• What other tech are they and their market using?
• Who are the people inside those organizations that can help you understand the strategies they used to enter this market? 
• Who are the system integrators they have already worked with?
• Who are the local influencers?
• Who can you co-market with?

Nearbound breaks you out of silos and loops by giving your teams access to the intel, intros, and influence needed to drive revenue growth together. 

Even robots need fresh inputs

“Just as we’ve strewn the oceans with plastic trash and filled the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, so we’re about to fill the Internet with blah,” says Ross Anderson of the saturation of AI-generated content online."

TechTarget and The Hustle report that generative AI models are already in danger of deterioration. Why? Because as more and more AI content is generated, the more the model is learning from itself. 

Like AI, Partnerships can’t just learn from themselves. They need a steady flow of outside inputs.

Partners and customers alike need human connection, collaboration, and creativity to thrive. 

Nearbound operationalizes the acquisition of fresh, human data, as well as how to action it. 

Stuff you don’t want to miss!

• TODAY! September 7, 4-10 PM EST – INVITE-ONLY EVENT – Nearbound at Night – We’re partnering with HubSpot for some major fun on the green. Only a 5-minute walk from HubSpot’s Inbound 2023 conference. VIP guest list. Toasts from industry leaders like Scott Brinker, Harbinder Khera, Tyler Calder, and more. Request an invite here.
• September 13, 2 PM EST — Successful Tactics for Product Partnerships —Join Patrick Hu, Head of Product Partnerships at Amazon (New Initiative) and Scott Pollack (CEO at Firneo) as they tackle what it means to develop successful product partnerships today
• Apply by September 22nd for Firneo’s Certified 8-WeekCohort — Learn the frameworks and tactics to excel in every facet of your partnerships role. Apply here.
• September 28, 12 PM EST - Game Changers: Isaac Morehouse — Isaac will join Oana Manolache to talk about how to use content creation to define a category. He’ll share the 3 elements to help you build brand awareness, drive pipeline, and unite your team. Register here.

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