Everything You Need to Know About Partner Enablement

In the fast-paced world of business partnerships, staying ahead of the game is crucial for success. That’s where partner enablement comes in. It’s all about empowering organizations to work effectively together and achieve immense growth. Instead of just managing partnerships, partner enablement gives partners the tools, resources, and knowledge they need to excel.

This detailed guide takes a deep dive into partner enablement. It covers this field’s basic principles, best practices, and future trends. By embracing partner enablement, businesses can tap into the collective wisdom of their partner network. It fosters innovation and helps them gain an edge over competitors.

Throughout this transformative journey, you’ll learn how to build strong partner networks, support valuable collaborations, and adapt to the ever-changing business landscape. So get ready to unlock the full potential of partnerships. It’s where collaboration meets empowerment, and a future full of exciting possibilities awaits.

What is Partner Enablement?

Partner enablement involves providing your partners with the tools, training, and information to sell your product or service and generate leads effectively. It includes sharing technical resources, branding materials, and sales-related items with various outlets and channels, such as resellers, distributors, and managed service providers.

Partner enablement can be challenging because each channel partner has different levels of technical expertise and sales skills. Some partners may excel at sales but need help with product functionality, while others may have deep product knowledge but require assistance with lead generation. This diversity can make it tricky to align everyone’s efforts and goals.

Partner Sales enablement requires careful coordination and attention to each partner’s needs. Success lies in providing adequate support and resources for everyone involved. To implement a successful partner enablement program, you must understand the specific type of channel partner you require and tailor your approach accordingly.

Lastly, partner enablement aims to equip your partners with the right tools and knowledge to excel in selling your product or service. It requires understanding each partner’s unique strengths and challenges and providing the necessary support to ensure collective success in driving sales and generating leads.

Let's Explore Different types of Channel Partnerships

Channel partners play a crucial role in expanding market share and driving business growth. Your extended sales team can include various types of partners, such as:

Reseller

Value-added resellers, or VARs, are solution providers who enhance existing products, services, or technologies. They can operate at a regional or national level. For instance, a VAR may buy equipment, develop a customized app, and sell it as a complete package. The added value lies in the software they provide. VARs may also offer customers tech support, training, and installation assistance.

Original Equipment Manufacturer

An original equipment manufacturer is a channel partner that used to be known for building products to be customized, rebranded, and resold. However, the concept of OEMs has evolved. OEMs either rebrand or resell products as they are or enhance them by adding extra features or bundling them with other items before reselling.

Distributor

Distributors act as intermediaries who store, transport, and sell products or services to installers, dealers, and end-users. They are preferred because they accelerate time-to-market and have an established distribution network. Distributors play a vital role in promoting specific brands and products. They may also offer customer service, training, marketing, and other additional features that enhance the product or service’s value.

Managed Service Provider

MSP is a reselling channel that takes care of your IT infrastructure. It benefits companies without IT staff and allows larger businesses to free up their IT department for strategic tasks. MSPs handle product installation, network monitoring, hardware management, and data storage/security. They provide essential IT services so you can focus on your core business without worrying about technology management.

Reasons You Should Pay Attention While Considering Channel Partner Enablement

Empowering your channel partners brings significant advantages across essential areas that executives care about, including:

Shorter Sales Cycles Impact Competitiveness

An effective enablement program helps partners learn faster and reduces the time it takes to qualify and provide sales quotes. It leads to quicker contract signing and faster deal closures. It’s all about streamlining processes to achieve more immediate sales results.

Higher Conversion Rates Drive Success

Incorporate interaction in your blended and hybrid learning course. Avoid a one-sided class where trainers send material and users learn alone. Use tools like Poll Everywhere to engage learners with icebreakers, comprehension checks, and Q&A sessions. Make learning a two-way conversation for better engagement.

Scale Your Influence within Partner Networks

Just like your sales team seeks guidance from top performers, partners also look for success stories and support. Your company gains visibility and influence by enabling your partners to work effectively, leading to faster product adoption within partner organizations. It’s all about empowering partners and fostering a strong presence to expand your network reach.

Lower Attrition for Sustainable Partnerships

By providing a robust enablement program to your partners, you keep them involved and committed for longer. It is because you help them become more effective at closing deals. Supporting their business growth is a powerful way to build loyalty among partners. It’s a win-win situation where both parties benefit from collaboration and mutual success.

Essential Components of a Partner Enablement Program

When bringing sales partners on board, including partner enablement in your program is crucial. We’ve identified six key elements that can enhance your partner’s skills and the strength of your partnership. By focusing on these areas, you can foster growth and success together.

Effective Partner Onboarding and Enablement

When onboarding partners, it’s essential to include their learning alongside the learning paths for your internal employees. Start by introducing your company, brand, and teams, covering company history, values, and product portfolio. Leverage existing employee onboarding materials, making necessary adjustments. Clearly outline the partner enablement program, including resources, training, milestones, and support.

Education on Products, Services, or Solutions

Ensure your partners have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed by providing comprehensive training. To enable their learning, offer different training methods like in-person sessions, workshops, and online courses. This partner enablement training will help them understand all the details and features of your products, services, or solutions, setting them up for success.

Enhance Partner Sales and Marketing Training Skills

When creating a program to empower your partners in sales, it’s essential to educate them beyond just the features of your offering. Teach them how to effectively market and sell your products by providing positioning statements, competitive insights, guidance on identifying customer needs, and strategies to address sales objections. This comprehensive training equips your partners to excel in promoting and closing deals.

Equip Partners with Essential Tools and Resources

Ensure you give your partners the right tools to care for their needs. These tools can be ways to communicate or a place where they can find helpful information about the products, sales, and marketing. Talk to your partners and ask them what they think they need to do an excellent job in the partnership.

Continuous Evaluation Process for Partner Success

Helping your partners succeed is a continuous effort. It’s crucial to regularly assess your program to make sure it’s achieving the partnership’s goals. Use your goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress quantitatively. Also, ask for feedback regularly to understand the qualitative perspective and make necessary improvements.

Advance Programs through Continuous Improvement

Take a look at the feedback and key indicators to figure out what needs to improve. Start by making minor adjustments and improvements to your program in those areas. Also, remember to keep providing updates and new resources whenever they’re ready. This way, you’ll keep getting better and better over time.

Build an Effective partner enablement strategy in 6 Simple Steps

When you’re setting up a plan to help your channel partners succeed, it’s essential to follow these steps carefully:

1. Deliver Onboarding and Support That Accelerate Partner Performance

For the success of your business, it’s essential to familiarize your channel partners with your company and the people who work there. It helps them establish relationships that can drive more sales. That’s why the onboarding process is crucial. Provide them with information about your brand and the essential knowledge they need for the sales process. Treat your channel partners as part of your team because they work for you. It’s your responsibility to prepare them for their role and support their success in every way possible.

2. Set Clear Objectives That Define Goals and Key Performance Indicators

To have a successful partnership Enablement, aligning goals and expectations is essential. What are the main things you want to achieve together? Define specific metrics and targets for your channel partners. It helps set boundaries and ensures accountability. Provide a roadmap with performance-based guidance so partners know what to do. Consider their needs, measure their progress, and establish learning and business goals. Define the content, support, and timeline for implementation. Treat your partner enablement strategy like any other training initiative.

3. Provide Regular Training Sessions That Sustain Partner Competence

Equip your channel partners with the necessary training and education to excel in their roles. Ensure they understand your products/services well to communicate with customers effectively. Familiarize them with partner marketing strategies, preferred messaging, and the sales process. Training can include webinars, seminars, videos, demos, templates, white papers, social media, and gamification. Cover compliance, brand messaging, sales best practices, customer profiles, and pain points. Give your partners everything they need to close deals successfully.

4. Develop Relevant Content and Deliver Valuable Resources to Partners

Now it’s time to collaborate with your designers and experts to create valuable content. Avoid using outdated materials; tailor the content to each partner’s needs instead. Ensure it’s easy to read and understand, keeping it concise and using visuals. The videos are great too! Organize the information in learning paths and group-related content. Add quizzes, interactive games, and incentives to make learning enjoyable. Consider using a learning management system (LMS) to automate content delivery and customize the experience.

5. Establish Regular Feedback Sessions That Drive Partnership Growth

Staying in touch with your partners is essential. Ask them how things are going and listen to their feedback. Are they happy with what they’re getting? What are the main problems they’re facing? It’s also an excellent time to look at the numbers and see if you’re progressing towards your goals. By monitoring the metrics and checking in regularly, you can ensure both sides are working well together and heading in the right direction.

6. Ensure Partner Relationship Retention for Prolonged Success

Regularly check in with your partners to find ways to improve and ensure goal alignment. Assess if your partnership has generated new revenue and your chosen communication methods and content are effective. Seek customer feedback and identify any recurring patterns in lost deals. Determine if there are areas for improvement in training. Understand preferred delivery methods and identify the most helpful topics or courses. Gather this information through one-on-one meetings or surveys. Remember, partner feedback is an ongoing process that may require revisiting earlier steps.

Why Paradiso LMS Is Worth Considering for Channel Partner Enablement

Partner enablement equips channel partners with the tools and knowledge to sell your products or services. It involves onboarding, goal setting, sales training, relevant content, feedback, and relationship management.

Paradiso LMS is a partner sales enablement tool that simplifies partner onboarding, program setup, and lead tracking. It helps you scale campaigns and onboard new partners quickly. With Paradiso LMS, you can create courses using existing documents and presentations, making course creation faster. In just a few minutes, you can create online, in-person, and blended training content like class materials, presentations, webinars, and videos.