A partner program is a centralized platform that gives vendors' partners access to product content, deal registration, training, marketing funds, and pricing tools. Ninety-three percent of organizations see measurable revenue from channel partnerships, and 61% view partners as equals.
As a channel manager, you know that when all of your information is in different systems, it is bad for productivity and it's bad for business. Partner Programs bring all of that together and are the key last mile when it comes to driving lasting customer success. But what is a Partner Program? It is a collection of ready-to-go solutions for your partner community. It gets you leads, streamlines communications, and engages various partners. It is built around 7 main functions: Content, Deal Registration, Incentive Program, Training, MDF, CPQ, and Partner Locator. Content deals with product knowledge, product specifications, price lists, and new updates from the vendor. Deal Registration is straightforward. Partners submit deal registration forms through the partner portal. The vendor reviews the opportunity and, if approved, gives priority to that partner to close the deal. Incentives are not only part of the partner program, but an it is the mainstay too. It has the ability to drive desired goals and uses rewards to motivate channel partners. Dashboards can help analyze real-time performance and make success real for the partners. Training is usually in the form of e-learning. Remember all of those product specs? The training is but a quiz on that. It ensures that partners have a deeper understanding of the vendor's offerings. Support has 3 key aspects. MDF is used to pay for marketing materials and activities to help enhance Vendors reach locally. CPQ enables special pricing and automated quote approval for the partners. And Partner Locator gives partners more visibility on digital platforms so that customers can find them based on specific search criteria. Remember that every action of a channel partner is based on a behavior, and you can incentivize those behaviors. But why should you have a partner program? Well, according to Crossbeam, 93.1% of organizations say that channel partnerships have created a measurable impact on revenue. 61.1% of those organizations say that they look at their channel partners as peers. So if you are interested in building one, check out our free ebook to get you started or visit Fielo.com.
