Adapted from Chris Lavoie’s session
In 2023, only 35% of partnership managers achieved 76-100% of their goals. (Source: State of Partnership Leaders Report) The primary reason? Goal misalignment. This underscores the need for clear and shared objectives within teams.
Partnerships relies on the buy-in and cooperation from multiple other teams – marketing, sales, and product at the least. Getting that cooperation is not often easy, and it’s rarely something that is formally trained.
In fact, 76% of partnership teams rarely or never receive formal training, pointing to a significant gap in professional development. So, how can you do your part and make sure you contribute to your team?
This guide outlines the five personas you need to embody to become a top-tier partnership manager.
The Current State of Partner Management
Before we reveal the five personas you need, let’s look at the current state of partner management.
The role of a partnership manager is becoming more critical as companies seek new routes to market and ways to optimize existing relationships. According to the Chief Partnership Officer Report, 34% of companies expect to source more than 25% of their revenue from partners in 2024.
However, the partnership manager role faces several challenges before achieving this goal, including:
- Resource Constraints: Many teams are operating with reduced budgets, limited headcount, and insufficient technology, making it difficult to meet increasing demands without burning out.
- Skill Gaps: Several managers lack essential skills like strategic planning, advanced relationship management, data analysis, and technical proficiency with partner management tools.
- Goal Misalignment: This could lead to confusion and inefficiency, where partner managers might prioritize tasks that do not directly contribute to the company’s strategic goals. Or rely on time and work from teams who have differing goals to them.
- Market Pressure: The current macroeconomic environment, marked by inflation, budget cuts, and increased competition, puts additional pressure on the partnership manager to secure and maintain valuable partnerships.
Despite these challenges, the opportunity for partnership teams to drive significant business impact remains substantial. To maximize these opportunities, these are the five roles and skills you need to master:
Top 5 Roles Partner Managers Must Adopt
1. Relationship Wizard
You become an effective partnership manager when you master relationship-building. This skill is essential for gaining trust, collaboration, and long-term success. These relationships are important to build with your partners and prospective partners, but also with internal teams and colleagues.
Key Elements to Consider
- Personalized Communication: This means understanding the business objectives, cultural nuances, and preferred communication styles of your collaborator. For example, when dealing with a partner who values detailed data, provide comprehensive reports and insights. Conversely, if a partner prefers -high-level summaries, adjust your communication accordingly.
- Building Mutual Trust: Demonstrate reliability and consistency in your actions. Follow through on commitments and be transparent about potential challenges. Trust-building is a continuous process that requires time and dedication.
- Proactive Engagement: Don’t wait for problems to arise. Regularly check in with your partners to understand their needs and how you can assist them.
- Setting Explicit Objectives: Clearly defined goals and objectives help ensure that both parties are aligned and working towards common outcomes. Establish specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for each partnership. Ensure your objectives are clear and aligned with internal teams you rely on for success.
Practical Tips for Developing Relationship Mastery:
- Understand Your Partners’ Quota Models: Knowing what your partners are compensated on and their primary goals can help you tailor your approach to support their success, making your partnership more valuable.
- Align Your Goals with Key Teams: Your metrics may sound different, but you are likely to be targeted on revenue growth, like other GTM teams. Find the overlap, and focus on that when getting buy-in from your marketing, sales or product teams.
- Consistent, Transparent Communication: Keep your partners informed about progress, challenges, and any changes.
- Utilize Technology for Personalization: Use CRM systems and other tools to track partner interactions and preferences, allowing for more personalized and effective communication.
- Regular Review Meetings: Schedule regular meetings to review progress against goals, address any issues, and adjust strategies as needed.
2. Sales Dynamo
In partnership roles, the ability to sell is a critical component, even if you are not a traditional sales rep.
Key Elements of Sales Dynamo
- Creating Urgency: Develop strategies to motivate partners to act swiftly. This might involve highlighting limited-time opportunities or demonstrating the immediate benefits of collaboration.
- Solution-Based Selling: Understand both your product and your partner’s product deeply to create compelling joint solutions. This involves articulating how your combined offerings solve customer problems more effectively, and how to pitch this to customers.
- Lead Nurturing Techniques: Develop and implement strategies to nurture leads through the sales funnel. This includes building a systematic approach to track, engage, and convert leads into loyal customers.
Practical Tips for Enhancing Sales Skills
- Develop a Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Clearly define what makes your partnership unique and valuable. Use this USP to create compelling pitches that resonate with potential partners.
- Engage in Regular Training: Participate in sales training programs to continually refine your selling techniques and stay updated on best practices. This can include role-playing scenarios, attending workshops, and studying successful sales models.
- Leverage Data to Inform Sales Strategies: Use data to identify trends, track performance, and adjust your sales tactics.
- Build Strong Relationships with Sales Teams: Collaborate closely with your internal sales teams to ensure alignment and support. You can share insights, co-develop strategies, and ensure that both teams are working towards common goals.
3. Playbook Architect
Playbooks are detailed guides that outline repeatable procedures for various partnership activities, ensuring consistency and efficiency.
A well-crafted playbook can be the difference between a chaotic, ad-hoc approach and a streamlined, scalable process that drives success.
Key Elements of a Playbook Architect
- Modularity: A good playbook should be adaptable and modular, allowing you to tailor sections to different situations or partners without rewriting the entire document.
- Clear Goals: Each playbook should start with a clear objective, outlining what it aims to achieve. This ensures everyone involved understands the desired outcomes.
- Automation: Incorporate tools and workflows that automate repetitive tasks. This not only saves time but also reduces the chance of human error.
- Feedback Loops: Regularly collect feedback on the playbook’s effectiveness and make necessary adjustments. This helps keep the playbook relevant and effective.
Practical Tips for Creating Effective Playbooks
- Cheat (kind of): Use Partnership Leaders’ library of playbooks and templates to kickstart yours. There are dozens of playbooks that are free to members, ranging from building an AWS partner program to building the path to Chief Partner Officer.
- Start with a Framework: Outline the structure of your playbook with sections for objectives, key steps, required resources, and success metrics. This framework provides a clear path for detailed content creation.
- Document Key Processes: Identify and document critical processes that are essential to your partnership activities. Include detailed instructions, best practices, and any necessary templates or tools.
- Incorporate Real-World Examples: Use case studies and examples from actual experiences to illustrate best practices and common pitfalls. This makes the playbook more relatable and practical.
- Iterate and Improve: Regularly review and update your playbooks based on feedback and performance data. Continuous improvement ensures the playbooks remain effective and aligned with current goals and strategies.
Types of Playbooks Needed
- Onboarding New Partners: Step-by-step guide for bringing new partners into the ecosystem, ensuring they have all the information and resources they need to start effectively.
- Co-Selling Strategies: Detailed process for coordinating with partners on joint sales efforts, including roles, responsibilities, and communication protocols.
- Lead Referral Processes: Instructions for managing lead referrals between your organization and your partners, ensuring smooth handoffs and consistent follow-up.
- Integration Implementation: Guide for technical teams on how to implement and maintain integrations with partner systems, ensuring seamless operation and minimal downtime.
4. Data Maestro
Being a data maestro means not only collecting and analyzing data but also using it to make informed decisions that drive strategic initiatives and optimize performance.
You need this for understanding trends, measuring success, and making data-backed adjustments to your partnership strategies.
Key Elements of a Data Maestro
- Defining KPIs: Identify and track key performance indicators (KPIs) that are critical to your partnership goals. These might include metrics like partner-sourced revenue, deal velocity, and customer retention rates.
- Tracking Metrics: Consistently track and monitor these KPIs to gain insights into performance and areas for improvement. Use dashboards and reporting tools to visualize this data clearly.
- Data Analysis: Analyze complex data sets to identify trends, patterns, and insights. This involves using statistical tools and methods to understand what the data is telling you and to inform your decisions.
- Automating Data Processes: Implement systems that automate data collection and reporting. This reduces manual effort and ensures real-time access to critical information.
Practical Tips for Becoming a Data Maestro
- Learn Data Tools: Gain proficiency in data analysis tools like Excel and SQL, and data visualization platforms such as Tableau or Power BI. These tools are essential for analyzing and presenting data effectively.
- Set Up Dashboards: Create dashboards that provide at-a-glance insights into your key metrics. This allows you and your team to quickly understand performance and identify areas needing attention.
- Regular Data Reviews: Schedule regular reviews of your data to track progress against goals, identify trends, and make necessary adjustments.
- Collaborate with Data Teams: Work closely with your company’s data and analytics teams to ensure you are using the best practices and tools. They can provide valuable support and insights that enhance your data capabilities.
In partner management, data is used to evaluate and prioritize partners, optimize marketing campaigns, predict future trends, and generate performance reports. These insights help in effective planning, resource allocation, and identifying areas for improvement.
5. Evolution Virtuoso
The most successful partner managers are those who continuously evolve and recognize that their industries are constantly changing. So, update your skills, stay current with trends, and adapt to new challenges and opportunities.
Continuous evolution starts with skill upgrading, where a partnership manager acquires new knowledge through courses, workshops, and certifications. Conducting a gap analysis helps identify areas needing improvement, allowing for targeted development.
Building a network of mentors, advisors, and peers provides valuable support and guidance. Participating in structured training programs ensures managers stay equipped with the latest tools and best practices.
Become a Member to Access Cohort-Based Education, Playbooks, and More
And there you have it: the five skills you need to ace your partnership management role. However, these insights are just the tip of the iceberg.
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