Keys To Building A Winning Partner Enablement Strategy

The Keys to Building a Winning Partner Enablement Strategy
February 11, 2010
William Gilsing, VP Global Strategies

www.hawkeyechannel.com

hawkeye’s Partner Enablement Series

Winning Partner Enablement Strategy
Our 2010 webinar series with Baptie focuses on partner enablement.
 Today – Keys to Building a Winning Partner Enablement Strategy
 April 22 – Enable Your Partners with Proven Solutions
• Deal registration
• MDF
• Global payments
 June 22 – Best Practices in Partner Rewards
• Best-in-class approach to partner
rewards
• Case study in implementing a
reward/incentive solution
 October 20 – Innovative
Communications and Training to
Enable Partners
• Communication solutions to engage
partners
• Training and certification

www.hawkeyechannel.com © 2010 hawkeye, all rights reserved. 2

Solutions for the world’s leading companies.

Why hawkeye?
You can depend on hawkeye to maximize your channel investments

2009 Hawkeye
introduces
2007 Hawkeye PartnerConduit and
expands into SaaS offerings
2003 Hawkeye Asia Pacific
expands into
Europe
2000 Hawkeye
acquires Cohesion

1998 Hawkeye
Group founded Channel focused. Strategic, experienced minds.
Rare insight into emerging channel trends with a
quest for game-changing opportunities.
1996 Cohesion,
Inc. founded Results driven. Flawless execution in translating
strategic concepts into real channel solutions with
a laser focus on results.

www.hawkeyechannel.com 3

Hawkeye Channel Practice
hawkeye’s mission is to develop and execute innovative, technology-
enhanced channel marketing strategies and programs that allow our
clients to deliver incremental channel growth in terms of mindshare,
channel solutions, and indirect sales.

Channel
Programs new!
Enablement Channel
Channel Strategy Performance Collaboration
Insight Measurement Growth
Assessment
Reach
Best Practices
Profitability
www.partnerconduit.com
Improving
the Value of
Channel
Relationships


Today’s Agenda

Pinpoint and enable partners worldwide to increase revenue and
penetrate new customer segments.

 Prioritize partner segments to
optimize channel investments
 Conduct channel performance
―health checks‖
 Leverage partner input
• Qualitative research
• Partner Advisory Councils


PARTNER SEGMENTATION AND ANALYTICS


Partner Segmentation and Analytics
Understanding Your Partner Base
Optimizing your channel investment starts with understanding two key
points about your partner base:
1. Identify partners currently contributing
significantly to your channel revenue
stream
2. Identify partners with potential to
contribute significantly to your channel
revenue stream


Segmentation and Analytics
Segmentation/Tiering exercises help you not
only understand current top-performing
partners, but segmenting out partners with
the potential to perform well.

Analytics provide you with more
detailed snapshots of partner group
performance and trends.


Partner Segmentation & Tiering

Population Wealth

20%

80%

80%

Wilfredo Pareto
20%

Use for “looking backwards” and “looking forward”
Use for understanding and prioritization of accounts independent of or
in conjunction with any other “tiering” or partner “labels”

www.hawkeyechannel.com © 2010 hawkeye, all rights reserved.

Tiering

Accounts % Accounts Performance
5%
Actual %
20% 15% Results
45% XX%
30%
XX%
XX%
80% 50% XX%

% Results
Expectation
50%
30%
We use a 4 level Pareto distribution 15%
rather than the usual 20% / 80% “rule” 5%
to provide better granularity and especially to identify XX%
45%
the lower level 45% of partners who are expected to 80% XX%
provide 45% of revenue.
20% XX%

10

Facilitating Partner Growth
Encouraging and enabling partners to grow to a higher tier requires:

 Coverage and capacity understanding
• Who are the value accounts with growth
True potential?
Partner  Programs
Value • Hard and soft benefits for moving up
• Revenue growth support (leads, MDF, etc.)
 Competency enhancement
• Practical means of supporting partners to sell
and support solutions and customer
segments
 Communication and engagement
• Effective indirect communications and
information access
• Prioritized and efficient direct ―touch‖


What You Do Depends on What You Want

Solution Goal

Expand Current Strategies and tactics to
Customer Types encourage and enable your
value partners to grow from
Target New
Existing Customer Size one tier to the next will be
Segment somewhat or considerably
Target New
different depending on:
Customer Vertical
Revenue Segment
Target  Is it an existing or new
Sell to Current
product, solution, or service?
Customer Types  Are you targeting the current
New types of customers you have,
Sell to New or new customer types – size
Customer
Types segment / vertical segment?


Road Map to Success
Partner Data Collection and Analysis

Identify and “populate” the partner data base with key attributes required for success with the product or solution

Coverage and Capacity Understanding

How many of what kinds of partners Which of your current partners have What is the priority for recruiting and
do you have that could sell the the characteristics required to sell engaging individual partners for the
service? the solution? existing solution?

Program Design Recruiting
Hard and Partner Skills Indirect
and / or and
Soft Benefits Enhancement Communications
Enhancement Activation

How do requirements of What different or What are best, easiest, What are best, easiest, What indirect
current partner program additional rewards need affordable methods for affordable methods for communications and
need to be modified or to be offered to insure partners to develop inbound and outbound “direct sales touch”
enhanced for this specific the desired behaviors? knowledge and skills to communications for the resources can be applied
solution / partner set? sell the solution? solution? to reaching the target
partners

Demand Generation

How can we generate, or better yet enable the partner to drive, demand for the solution?

Results Analysis, Action Plan Refinement, Expansion


The Role of Analytics
Analytics are key to helping you understand issues and
opportunities related to channel revenues and program
performance and prognosis for the future (based on trend
projections)
 Maximize revenue and ROI of
channel investment
 Identify ―opportunistic‖ groups of
partners for revenue growth
 Reduce / refine ―wasted‖ program
spend
 Identify effective programs /
actions for expansion
 Improved forecasting


Basic data most everyone has
 Sales out data
 Program performance data (participation activity and costs)
 Core partner attribute data (typically partner accreditation or ―tier‖
assignment)
 Sales engagement (―managed’ versus ―unmanaged‖)

Data that permits even more
robust drill down and insights Depth and breath of analytics and
 Account attributes like: actionable insights are limited only
by data availability
• Partner business models
• Customer size segments
targeted
• Solutions offered Two key challenges:
• Services offered 1. Buy-in & sponsorship of key
stakeholders
• Certifications held
2. Data accuracy & consistency
• Competitors carried


 Pareto level assignment  Continuing vs. new account
• Our breakout of the traditional 80% / 20% performance (―same store‖)
―rule‖ in to four levels for better partner • Are new accounts doing better or
opportunity understanding and prioritization worse than continuing accounts, and
what are the implications?
 Total ―performance‖
• Especially important when partner
• Total accounts base is being expanded
• Revenue, program participation, expense,
etc.  Program specific measures
• Program participation, utilization, cost
 Account activity frequency
• ―Attach‖ rates / cross sell
• How many partners are actually buying or
participating in a program in any given • Return on investment against
period or over time? incremental revenue

 Average performance per account  Comparatives
• How do accounts in different levels or
(APA) with different attributes, who do or do
• How much revenue and / or other not participate in different programs
performance measure does each partner or perform vs. other accounts, or those
groups of partners produce / incur in any who do not participate?
given period or over time?
 Account Base ―Churn‖ Top level and drill down to
• How many partners have been added, specific products and partner
how many have ―dropped out‖, and what attributes
has been the impact on revenue?


Analytics: Overall and by Partner Attributes
 Total and By Product / Solution
Groups
• Period to Period
• Trends / Trend Forecast
 Core Performance Measures
• Partners Participating / Not Participating
• Revenue
• Buying / Activity Frequency P2P % Change - All
• Average Performance per Account (APA) APA

 Additional Measures
$$$

Accounts

• Account Base Churn
Account Performance Churn By Classification -30% -20% -10% 0% 10%
50,000,000 Pareto Level 4 (Bottom 50%) New vs. Continuing
100% % Change from Previous Quarter
40,000,000 Pareto Level 3 (Next 30%) New vs. Continuing
90%
– Count Adds, Drops, Net Change 30,000,000
80%
100% 70%
90%
Pareto Level 2 (Next 15%) New vs. Continuing
60%
80%
– Core Performance Measures / Results Add, 20,000,000
10,000,000
100% 70% 50%
90% 60% 40%
Pareto Level 1 (Top 5%) New vs. Continuing
80% 30%
100%70% 50%
Drop, Net Change 0
90%60% 40%
20%
80%50% 30% 10%
20% 0%
70%40% 10%

• New vs. Continuing Accounts (Same Store)
(10,000,000) 60%30% 0% Continuing Accounts New Accounts
50%20%
(20,000,000) % A c c o unt s in Le v e l
Continuing Accounts New%Accounts o rm a nc e
Le v e l P e rf
Platinum Gold 40%10%
Business Distributor Unknow n
30% 0% % A c c o unt s in Le v e l % Le v e l P e rf o rm a nc e
(30,000,000)Accounts /
% % Revenue by Partner
20%
Classification
– New Count, Continuing Count 100% Drops
10%
Adds 0%
Continuing Accounts
% A c c oNet Change
unt s in Le v e l
New Accounts
% Le v e l P e rf o rm a nc e

– New Performance versus Continuing Core 80%
Continuing Accounts
% A c c o unt s in Le v e l
New Accounts
% Le v e l P e rf o rm a nc e
60%
Performance Measures 40%
20%

 Segment Data Associations 0%
P latinum Go ld B usiness
P artner
Unkno wn Other

• Above by Partner Classification and / or % Accounts % All Revenue

other partner attributes categories)
• Above By Partner Classification within
Pareto levels and / or ―Revenue Bands‖


Analytics Key Points

Complexity Executive Buy-in Consensus Practical Tool

• Don’t confuse • Obtain buy-in • The successful • Analytics are
analytics with from Finance, use of analytics more than an
descriptive Channel requires analytic
statistics. A Operations, consensus exercise; they
skilled business Channel within your are a practical
analyst with Marketing, and organization on tool that uses
business Channel Sales. the data sets to solid
industry use (sales, information to
knowledge can marketing, etc.) guide your
perform the and what you channel
required and want to report investments
sophisticated
number
crunching.


HEALTH CHECKS


Health Checks
What are Health Checks?
Hawkeye recommends partner program audits – ―health checks‖ – to
better help you understand your program offerings, processes and
business rules and to identify opportunities for improvement. The
results of a program health check are prioritized, actionable
recommendations.

Health Checks by Program Offering
Partner Forecasting & Prioritization Partner Communication
Channel Coverage & Capacity Incentive Management:
Planning Promotions, SPIFs, Rebates
Opportunity Management MDF & Co-marketing Programs
Partner Marketing & Sales Tools


Health Checks
General Health Check Approach
A health check review should be able to answer these kinds of general
questions about your program offering:
 Analysis of the program business rules and
processes
 Does the program motivate the desired
partner behavior?
 Is the program well integrated with other
programs and offerings?
 Does the program include metrics to measure
outcome/ROI?
 Is the program implemented globally with
appropriate regional localization?
 Does the program enable partners and align
with best practices for that type of program?


Health Checks
Key Issues - Checklist
Top Level RTM Partner Programs
 How do I determine if I should or could go  What do I need to enable my partners
after a particular segment? and how do I accomplish it?
 What are the right RTM approaches and  What are the most critical things – and in
mix of direct and indirect sales? what priority – do I need to offer different
 How do I organize and present my partner types?
channel ecosystem so that my entire  How do my hard and soft program
organization can understand and buy-in to benefits stack up against BIC and my
it? competition?
Channel Coverage & Capacity  How do I test and validate my program
value proposition?
 How target customers want and need to
 How do I optimize my channel program
acquire my products and solutions?
spend?
 How many of what kinds of accounts do I
 How do I best measure the performance
have and how are they performing?
of my partner programs?
 How many of what kinds of partners to I
need to achieve revenue / segment goals? Partner Communications
 What are the practical methods of valuing  What are the best practices for partner
and forecasting that I can realistically communications and sales engagement?
apply in my organization?  How do I efficiently and effectively
 What is the gap between what I have and manage the flow of the right messages to
what I need? the right partners through the right
 How do I build a target list of partners to media?
recruit?


Health Checks
Design & Implement Programs Based on Partner Lifecycle

Plan & Create
Recruit Enable Sell Service Retain
Demand

Partner Strategy/Tactics
 Provide value  Tools, systems  Marketing  Clear  Partner-specific  Partner
proposition to and training/ program and engagement technical development and
target and certification to resources to policies and resources and collaboration
recruit partners enable partners access new pricing assistance
and to fill to identify/ markets and  Partner
geographic and close acquire new  Profitable, communications.
market opportunities, customers. easy-to-execute
coverage needs sell and deploy transactions
solutions and fulfillment
Partner Programs/Treatments
 Profiling,  Leads/Oppty  Pre and post  Rewards and
Registration,  Training and  Co-op/MDF Mgmt sales support. incentives
Qualification Certification  Advertising  Joint sales calls  RMA policy and  Advisory boards,
 Self-service,  Demo/Eval  Matchmaking procedures product briefings
collaborative  Roadmap  Channel
PRM  Co-op/MDF customer sat

Performance Analytics


Health Checks
Health Check Example: Opportunity Registration
Audit checklist:
 Reduce administrative burden
 Review program participation – are the right Enter Review
Opportunity Opportunity
partners registering the right opportunities?
 Review program uptake/usage
 Consider ability to support different partners,
Approve Win
different kinds of deals/flexibility Opportunity Business
 Reporting
 ROI
 Reduce program complexity Review
Make Claim
 Audit reward levels – Competitive? Effective? Do Claim
they reward the right behavior?
 Analyze processes – Review opportunities to
streamline, automate Approve Payment
Claim Processing
 Trustworthy to partner?
 Integration with other applications, databases
 Payment process – Timely? Able to support multiple Reporting
currencies? Compliant with regulations?


Health Checks
Health Check Example: Partner Communication

 Extranets & Intranets
 Newsletters & RSS
 Partner Locator Tools Map messaging and
 Targeted Collateral methods to goals &
 Sales & Marketing Tools objectives
 Blogs & Forums

To Field
Measure, evaluate & Push the right To Partner
modify messaging and information to the right Thru Partner
communications users at the right time To Customer

 Measure page views, page Centralize all
hits, and click-throughs communications on
 Use surveys, interviews easy-to-use “self-
and/or focus groups service” portals


Health Checks
Health Check Example: Incentive Management
Audit Checklist
 Map rewards to behaviors
 Reward desired behaviors
 Review program flexibility
 For partner types
 For localization
 Provide end user tools & training
 Review program communication
 Evaluate ease of use
 Reduce administrative burden
 For partners
 For program administrators
 User guides, documentation
 Opportunities to automate, streamline
 Analyze program ROI
 Provide differentiation between tiers
 Effective reporting?
 Integration with other tools, databases
 Analyze payment process, regulatory compliance


Health Checks
Health Check Example: Incentive Management

Channel Programs
Channel Strategy
• Channel spend Analysis
• Program Economics
• Program Effectiveness Partners, Individuals,
Managers Teams

Earn
• Sales In Spend
• Sales Out (POS)
• Business Incentives
• Training/Certification
• Promotions
• Leads Referrals
• Rebates
• Customer Sat
• Reimbursements
• Business Process
• Training, etc.

Analyze: Improve Program Spend Effectiveness


RESEARCH & PARTNER ADVISORY COUNCILS


Research & Partner Advisory Councils
Beyond the Numbers
Enabling your partners involves more than looking at the data about
program offering usage – you also want insight into why partners adopt
some behaviors. Partners also have insights into your end customers’
needs as well as unique perspectives on trends and anticipated needs
to sell your solution.

Qualitative research and Partner
Advisory Councils help you understand
partner perceptions of your program.


Why Use Research
Research provides insights into programs and partners that helps you
understand partner behavior beyond program metrics and data
analytics.
 Assess partner satisfaction with
current programs and identify and
prioritize enhancements
 Develop and enhance indirect sales
strategies and partner programs
using information specific to the
individual program
 Understand how programs and
strategies stack up in the
marketplace and against the
competition
 Know what partners need to
enhance their business and
facilitate sales of solutions and
products


Qualitative Research “Do’s”

 Do engage in research that leads to change
– no ―research for research’s sake‖
 Do communicate back to your partner
community – don’t raise expectations about
a program by conducting research and then
ignore what your partners tell you
 Do update your partners on changes made
to your program as a result of research
learnings
 Do value your partners’ time – keep research
efforts tightly focused.
 Do coordinate research efforts across
business units so that you don’t ―research
your partners to death‖
 Do make research a regular part of your
partner enablement strategy as you continue
to make program adjustments and
enhancements


Talk With Your Partners
Qualitative research techniques rely on relatively small groups of
participants and are not analyzed statistically. Examples include focus
groups and interview studies.

Not another
survey!


Planning a Research Engagement
Research design is unique for each study and is developed through
scoping. Some of the items discussed:

 Ultimate goal of the research—  Will the study be blind or
what is the desired outcome? sponsored? Who at the
 What is the desired time frame? company will provide specific
 What is the geographic reach sponsorship if participants
for the study? Affects not only need to verify authenticity?
language/translation, but timing  Recruitment, contact lists
given holidays in various  Anonymity— assumed for all,
regions, identification of unless internal stakeholders
appropriate methodology since are to be identified
some techniques are not  Participants’ stake in the
successful in some regions. research, incentives
 Participants— who, how many (honoraria, sharing results,
 What other research has been etc.)
conducted similar to this or with  Budget
the projected participants?


Partner Advisory Councils
Why establish a Partner Advisory Council?

help you stay in tune with
partner needs as well as
market trends and even
end-customer needs.

PACs can give you a
significant competitive
advantage, helping you
to establish a clear
differentiation from your
competitors.


Advantages of a Partner Advisory Council (PAC)
A thoughtfully designed and implemented PAC can become the
cornerstone for establishing strong manufacturer-to-partner
relationships. PACs can help you continually fine-tune your partner
enablement by through effective dialogue with key, knowledgeable
partners.
 Provide a formal, highly visible feedback vehicle
 Build trust
 Provide prestige to the partners selected
 Give you valuable insight into market trends and the knowledge to maximize
your channel’s value


Planning a Meeting
A successful PAC meeting begins with the planning:
Recruiting
• Partners recognized as leaders, with significant information and expertise
• Select partners to represent your partner base
• Select a good working group size – about 15
• Ensure that partners can commit to at least one year of participation (no more than
5 years)

Structure
• Plan on meeting formally twice per year
• Duration – about 1.5 days of discussion
• Structured roundtable discussions
• Provide access to executives

Expectations
• Time commitment
• Communication
• Access to senior executives
• Results


During the Meetings

Make it Senior Minimize
meaningful Management evangelizing
• Partners are Participation • Focus on listening!
businesspeople – • Builds credibility
ensure their time on • Partners feel valued
the PAC is a if key decision
worthwhile makers are present
investment of their to act on PAC
time recommendations


Post-Meeting

It is essential to follow-up after PAC
meetings:
 Translate PAC learnings into action
• Program changes
• Product/solution enhancements
 Provide periodic updates to the
PAC


CONCLUSION


Conclusion
Keys to Your Partner Enablement Strategy
 Realign your partner segmentation strategy
• Use partner segmentation analysis to guide your channel investments
• Identify not only top performers but partners showing strong growth potential
 Perform regular channel health checks
• Use these ―audits‖ to measure whether programs and tools achieve your goals
• Obtain partner feedback before shifting priorities
 Research gives you insight into partner needs
• Be selective in your research efforts
• Ensure that partners know you have listened and acted on their feedback – circle
back!
 Strengthen ties with key partners with a PAC
• Use them as a sounding board for channel program strategies and tactics
• Share technology road maps
• Obtain buy-in for your enablement strategy

Free White Paper from hawkeye:
Partner Segmentation: Best Practices in Ranking and
Prioritizing Your Partners


THANK YOU
William Gilsing wgilsing@hawkeyeww.com
VP, Global Channel Strategies 425.656.5891


Keys To Building A Winning Partner Enablement Strategy

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Keys To Building A Winning Partner Enablement Strategy