partnering maturity model

Providing business leaders with the world’s leading conferences

Chaitra VedullapalliSeptember 29, 2009

Channel Management SummitExpanding Partner Networks and

Integrating Partner Programs

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Agenda

1. Introduction 2. Why Partner?3. Partnering Maturity Model (IAMCP)4. Case Study: Operitel Partner Maturity

Roadmap5. Key Takeaways

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New Ecosystem Approaches Are Developing

Old ecosystem approach• A few companies dominated the

landscape• Ecosystem managed on a

relationship-by-relationship basis

New ecosystem approach• Many more companies are

participating — not just “software” companies

• Ecosystem must be managed as a network

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Partner Ecosystems Are Networks

V = N(N-1)

Robert MetcalfeTechnology pioneer, co-inventor of Ethernet, and founder of 3Com(circa 1980)

“The value of a network is proportional to the square of the number of users of the system.”

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When you work alone? Customers will be under served – need to look elsewhere Opens up for the competition… technology might change Just a vendor and not a trusted advisor Less revenue, less profit…

• Go international, new industry/vertical• Grow without hiring, scale much faster• Grow 25% faster than the rest [IDC], future

revenue grows exponentially (renewal revenue)• Simply put, net new clients, provides credibility

Why Partner?

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How do we know:

Where are we in the Partner Program

Evolution?

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Partnering Maturity Model

10 Focus Areas

4 Evolution

Stages

Partnering Maturity

Model

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Partnering Maturity Model

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

STAGE 2

STAGE 1

STAGE 3

STAGE 4

10 AREAS

Joint business planning

Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation

Readiness & Certifications**

Market messaging

Geography

Resource Utilization

Customer Service **

*IAMCP Model developed by Per Werngren** Considered for Nov Revision

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Joint Business Planning

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

STAGE 2

STAGE 1

STAGE 3

STAGE 4

10 AREAS


Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation


Market messaging

Geography


Customer Service **

Ad-hoc

Not at all

Activity based

A 12-month plan with monthly follow-up

Takeaways• Sit down with partners and just

explore opportunities• Identify the gaps in your offerings• Create a circle of trust and meet in a

rhythm• Quarterly good• Monthly great• Weekly is Nirvana!

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Pipeline

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

STAGE 2

STAGE 1

STAGE 3

STAGE 4

Ad-hoc sharing

No sharing

Sharing specific campaigns

Shared with defined rhythm + in-person

meetings + Core DNA of sales teams

Takeaways• Two way street

• Bad partnering is when someone takes and never gives

• Share pipeline on the web• Buy in from the top – VP of Sales

need to meet in a rhythm• Make partnering an agenda item in

sales team meetings

10 AREAS


Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation


Market messaging

Geography


Customer Service**

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Agreement

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

STAGE 2

STAGE 1

STAGE 3

STAGE 4

No template, rely on handshakes or

contracts based on specific deals

No template

Basic template

A great contract that regulates all

aspects of the relationship

Takeaways• Foundation is trust• Good first step is to have Memorandum of

Understanding signed by senior people• Long haul, create a partnering agreement

that goes both ways• Identify all aspects• Review every year• Don’t make it exclusive

10 AREAS


Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation


Market messaging

Geography


Customer Service **

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Leads

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

STAGE 2

STAGE 1

STAGE 3

STAGE 4

Adhoc, no structure

Do not Give

Some structure, give some but do

not measure outcome

A process that generate lot of leads to other and can measure

success

Takeaways• Commit to the same sales process! To

generate leads and make a joint investment in time and money

• The ‘Reversed Lead’ is worthless• Listen to the customer

• Identify opportunities, commit to connect

• Be generous – ‘Givers gain’

10 AREAS


Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation


Market messaging

Geography


Customer Service **

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Sales Compensation

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

STAGE 2

STAGE 1

STAGE 3

STAGE 4

Adhoc, compensation

No compensation

Alignment of referral and

project based compensation

Rationalized & Campaign based

compensation

Takeaways• Award your sales people the same for

partnering• Align your compensation models with

your partners• Be proud of sales done via partnering

• Invent ‘soft awards’

10 AREAS


Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation


Market messaging

Geography


Customer Service **

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Readiness & Certifications

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

STAGE 2

STAGE 1

STAGE 3

STAGE 4

Takeaways• People are your brand ambassadors,

educate them well.• Teach your partners to ALWAYS see the

big picture from the customer point of view.

• Create value in your education & certification program, great monetization model if implemented well

10 AREAS


Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation


Market messaging

Geography


Customer Service **

Train one partner at a time

No Plan

Provides standard certification and

readiness curriculum

Scalable process to certify people, create

awareness in the marketplace, revenue

potential

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Market Messaging

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

STAGE 2

STAGE 1

STAGE 3

STAGE 4

Adhoc, only tell when people ask

or opportunity occurs

No messaging

Reactive, Adhoc messaging, basic

recognition of partners and capabilities

Fully Integrated Marketing within partner circles –

one effort

Takeaways• Even lawyers do it!• Fly each others logotypes on your website• Tell the story of partnering on your

website• Business cards should tell about partnering• Consider naming your circle of trust

10 AREAS


Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation


Market messaging

Geography


Customer Service **

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Geography

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

STAGE 2

STAGE 1

STAGE 3

STAGE 4

Only in the same city

Only in the same city

Use partnering to gain access to

markets in other cities/countries

Strategically use partnering for broader geographical coverage

in to the markets

Takeaways• Partnering takes you national and beyond• Identify where you want to go!

• Be selective – not the whole Earth at once• Go out and meet partners in other

geographies• Remember about the ‘reversed lead’…

10 AREAS


Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation

Readiness & Certifications

Market messaging

Geography


Customer Service

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BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

STAGE 2

STAGE 1

STAGE 3

STAGE 4

Partner on a case by case basis when there are opportunities

Some times being the

subcontractor

Pre-defined rate cards for sharing

resources + Access to Architects for Sales activities

Pre-defined rate cards for sharing resources +

Access to Architects for Sales activities

Takeaways• Commit to a pricelist or revenue sharing

model - Goes both ways…• Be clever and narrow your own

specialization• Some people that work for you should

perhaps work for others?• Try to help out on bench sharing• Priority to your own circle of trust

10 AREAS


Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation


Market messaging

Geography


Customer Service **

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Customer Service

BASIC

REACTIVE

PROACTIVE

DYNAMIC

STAGE 2

STAGE 1

STAGE 3

STAGE 4

Do 1:1 meetings with customer to understand their experience with

partner engagement

Not at all

Proactive measure customer

satisfaction and collect references

Automate the process and provide insights to

partners to improve their experience with

customers

Takeaways• Delighted customer are the only

advertisement everyone believes – Take it seriously

• Listen to your customer to innovate and build the right and lasting partnerships

• Customer Intimacy is very important to growing your business. Ensure your partners take it very seriously.

10 AREAS


Pipeline

Agreement

Leads

Sales Compensation


Market messaging

Geography


Customer Service **

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Partnering Maturity ModelBASIC REACTIVE PROACTIVE DYNAMIC


Not at all Ad-hoc Activity based A 12 month plan with monthly follow-up

Pipeline No sharing Ad-hoc Sharing specific campaigns Shared with defined rhythm+ in-person meetings + Core DNA of

Sales teams

Agreement No template No template, rely on handshakes or contracts based on specific deals

A basic template A great contract that regulates all aspects of the relationship

Leads Do not give Ad-hoc, no structure Some structure, give some but do not measure outcome

A process that generate lots of leads to others and that measures success

Readiness and Certifications**

No Readiness or Certification Plan

Train One Partner at a time Provides Certification Program and readiness curriculum

Process to generate lots of certified people and create awareness in the

marketplace, revenue potential

Sales Compensation No compensation for partnering

Ad-hoc compensation for partnering Alignment of referral and project based compensation

Rationalized + campaign based compensation

Market messaging No Reactive, only tell when people ask or when an opportunity occurs

Reactive, ad-hoc messaging/campaigns + basic recognition of partners and

capabilities

Fully integrated Marketing within Parter Circles – One Effort

Geography Only in the same city Only in the same city Use partnering to gain access to markets in other cities/countries

Strategically use partnering for broader geographical coverage in to

the markets

Resource Utilization Some times being the subcontractor

Partner on a case by case basis when there are opportunities

Pre-defined rate cards for sharing resources + Access to Architects for

Sales activities

Rationalized + Integrated Resource Planning covering multiple

Competencies

Customer Service** Not at all Do 1:1 meetings with Customer to understand their expereince with

partner engagement

Proactive Measure Customer Satisfactions and collect references

Automate the process and provide insights to partners to improve their

experience with customers

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Final Takeaways

1. Partnering needs to part of the company’s culture (DNA)

2. Be generous and people will give back3. Use Partnering Maturity Model as roadmap in

conversation with partners and employees4. Maturity in partnering takes time – be in it for the

long haul5. Talk to your customer about partnering – making you

the trusted advisor

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Resources

1. Request via email: [email protected] • IDC P2P Study & Insights• Upcoming book: #PARTNERtweet

2. Checkout IAMCP eMagazine3. Learn from Microsoft Partner Network4. Join communities on Linked in

• PinPoint, IAMCP, Partner Network5. Follow Channel Leaders

• Allison Watson, Dr. Petri Salonen, Per Werngren & more

mailto:[email protected]

http://msecosystem.iamcp.org/(S(joa0ey45mu2opa45wcmjtbmi))/default.aspx?bhcp=1

http://partner.microsoft.com/

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How can we get connected?

Chaitra Vedullapalli

Sr. Director, Product Management, Microsoft Corporation

Email : [email protected] | Phone : 510-579-4945 (cell)

Follow me on Twitter | Check out My Blog | Connect me on Linkedin

mailto:[email protected]

http://twitter.com/cvedulla

http://chaitrav.wordpress.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/0/267/061

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