Unfortunately we’re not in a utopia and the reality is that partner expectations have shifted. They’re no longer happy to take the initiative and navigate manual processes, sporadic emails, and outdated portals. Today you need a much more sophisticated approach, and it starts with overcoming five particularly common expectations that rarely match up with reality.
Partners will act as expected without prompting.
When you provide a partner with access to a portal, it’s by no means unsurprising that you’d expect them to use it. However, partners will always prefer the most streamlined digital experience that directly supports their goals. This may mean they forgo the portal. Partners don’t want to waste time figuring out next steps—they want clear, actionable guidance when they need it.
There’s a short solution to this: All you need to do is invest in the right specialized partner relationship management tools – tools that simplify the process and properly encourage partners to engage in ways that align with your expectations. A well-designed portal with intuitive features can make a significant difference in keeping partners engaged.
Partners will consistently update deal statuses.
You would think that partners would keep their deal statuses up to date, as this does directly benefit you. However, they typically don’t. Many partners juggle relationships with multiple vendors, managing a mix of primary, secondary, and tertiary partnerships. According to one study, the average partner works with five primary vendors and numerous others. This workload means your needs may not always top their priority list.
The responsibility falls on the vendor to make deal updates as frictionless as possible, and totally minimise the time required of them. This is where Vartopia’s EZ Update feature shines—allowing partners to update deal statuses from any device without logging into a portal. By reducing friction, you improve the likelihood of timely updates and maintain better visibility into your pipeline.
It’s easy to track how partners influence deals.
Tracking a single partner’s contribution to a deal is straightforward, but as we all know it gets much more complicated, quickly, when multiple partners are involved. Without the right tools, determining each partner’s impact can become nearly impossible, leading to inaccurate reporting and potential conflicts – and that certainly won’t endear your channel to you in the longer term!
Vartopia solves this challenge by enabling multiple partners to be associated with a single deal. This is straightforward functionality for both vendors and partners, but on both sides it provides all-important clarity on partner contributions, no matter how complex the deal. With accurate data, you can make informed decisions and strengthen collaboration.
Managing channel data is straightforward.
Many channel managers discover that organizing channel data is more challenging than anticipated – or, at least, relatively new channel managers do. The grizzled veterans know what an ongoing challenge it can be all-too-well. The key to effective management is consolidating all channel data into a single source of truth. This approach eliminates data silos, aligns stakeholders, and streamlines performance tracking. These are all things that you hear applied often enough to digital transformation strategy… they apply to channel transformation too.
For the best outcomes, choose channel technology that centralizes data and fosters collaboration between vendors and partners while offering robust analytics. Consolidated data empowers your team to identify trends, measure ROI, and make data-driven decisions.
Partners will always deliver exceptional results.
In a perfect scenario, every partner would meet or exceed expectations. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Some partners may fall short, consuming more resources than they contribute. Others may lack the motivation or tools needed to perform at their best.
Without pointing blame, you need to know who these underperformers are so you can focus on building the channel that does perform. This, again, comes down to having the right information available.
The right channel technology helps identify high-performing partners who consistently deliver value.
Building a Channel That Reflects Reality
Successful partner relationship management requires meeting partners where they are and equipping them with the tools and support they need. When partners have great experiences, they’re more likely to align with your goals, strengthening your channel and driving business growth.
It’s time to make your channel reflect reality. When you provide partners with exceptional tools and experiences, they’re more likely to achieve the results you expect. And that’s the key to building a stronger channel, growing your business, and boosting your bottom line.
To discover how Vartopia can help you overcome these challenges, request a demo today.
By rethinking partner relationship management, you can foster stronger partnerships, achieve better outcomes, and set your channel up for long-term success.
