Building Strategic Partnerships in Technology

A common partnership snafu is that companies want partnership success, but don’t provide the resources to get there. I heard of a case where a whole marketing team quit, the partnerships team was given no marketing support, and they didn't yet have an integration with product -- and yet, the CEO expected the partnership strategy to deliver instant revenue. Wild. But not uncommon. Partnerships can't thrive in a vacuum. They need cross-functional support—marketing, product integration, sales enablement—all aligned to succeed. Before you set revenue targets for your partnerships, ask yourself: Do we have the resources to support them? If the answer is no, you have to help your leadership teams to reconsider their expectations. To help create the cross-functional support needed for partnerships to thrive, here are four strategies: 1. Involve Cross-Functional Leaders from the Very Beginning Bring key leaders from marketing, sales, and product into the partnership planning phase. Early involvement gives them a sense of ownership and ensures they understand how partnerships align with their own goals. Strategy: Schedule a kick-off meeting with stakeholders from each relevant department. Create a shared roadmap that outlines how partnerships will impact each team and their specific contributions. 2. Tie Partnership Success to Department KPIs To gain buy-in, tie partnership goals directly to the KPIs of each department. Aligning partnership outcomes with what each team is measured on ensures they have skin in the game. Strategy: During planning sessions, ask each department head how partnerships can contribute to their targets. Build specific KPIs for each function into the overall partnership strategy. 3. Create a Resource Exchange Agreement Formalize the support needed from each department with a resource exchange agreement. This sets clear expectations on what each function will contribute—whether it's a dedicated product team member for integrations or marketing resources for co-branded campaigns. It turns vague promises into commitments. Strategy: Draft a simple document that outlines the roles, responsibilities, and deliverables each team will provide, then get sign-off from department heads and the executive team. 4. Demonstrate Early Wins for Buy-In Quick wins go a long way toward securing ongoing resources. Identify a small pilot project with an internal team that shows immediate impact. Whether it's a small co-marketing campaign or a limited integration, these early successes build momentum and demonstrate the value of supporting partnerships. Strategy: Select one or two partners to run a pilot with, focused on delivering measurable outcomes like leads generated or product adoption. Use this success story to demonstrate value to other departments and secure further commitment. Partnership success requires cross-functional alignment. Because partnerships don’t happen in a silo.

I’ve spoken to 100’s of partnerships teams across every stage, scale, industry, and partner type. This is what separates the best partnerships teams (driving 30+% of revenue) from the rest (floundering or fired): 1. They Start with the Customer, not the Partner Bad partner programs start with “Who can send us leads?” The best ones ask, “What does our customer need that we don’t provide?” That answer defines your Ideal Partner Profile (IPP). 2. They Build with Process, Not Hope Signing partners is easy. Activating them is hard. The best teams treat partnerships like a sales funnel, not a wishlist. They leverage Structured Onboarding (so partners know exactly what to do), Clear Enablement (so partners can actually sell), and Ongoing Engagement (so partners don’t disappear after signing). 3. They Track What Matters If you can’t measure it, you can’t scale it. The best teams know their win rates, ACV impact, sourced vs. influenced revenue, and retention uplift. They track partner health the same way CS tracks customer health. 4. They Give to Get The fastest way to earn partner engagement? Send them leads. Help them win bigger deals. Support their marketing. The best partnerships create value before they ask for it. 5. They Remove Friction The harder you make it to partner, the fewer will engage. The best teams meet partners where they already work - CRM, Slack, or email. They simplify deal registration, automate reporting, and reward consistently. 6. They Relentless Focus on Alignment Whether internal alignment (with executives and cross-functional leaders) or external alignment (with their partners), everyone knows where things stand and where the goal posts are. They proactively set expectations, remove doubt, and foster collaboration. Successful partnerships are like six-pack abs. Everyone wants them, but few are willing to put in the work. Most companies say they want a strong partnerships program. Few actually build one that drives massive revenue. Why? Because they treat partnerships like a side project. They sign a few partners, send a couple of emails, and wonder why nothing happens. They invest in great partnership leaders but then don’t let them cook. There are no shortcuts to building a world-class partner program. It takes time and focus. So, if you’re going to treat partnerships like a side hustle, don’t waste your time. But, if you want to build a huge revenue channel… This is how you do it.

Lessons Learned: How I’d Build a Modern Partner Org From Scratch (7 Key Hires) I’ve made mistakes in partnerships. Chased too many partners. Hired relationship managers instead of operators. Built programs before building a flywheel that actually works. Here’s what I’ve learned: You don’t scale partnerships through volume. You scale them through focus, GTM alignment, and fast iteration. Get to the partners who influence the ICP and persona of your customer. If I were building a startup partner org today, here’s who I’d hire—and why none of them are traditional relationship managers. 1. Partner Strategy & GTM Lead My right hand. Owns the playbook, partner segmentation, and full revenue alignment. Think GTM architect, not program manager. 2. Co-Sell Partner Manager (Product/Sales Focus) Drives pipeline with tech partners and alliances. Runs tight co-sell motions and works side-by-side with AEs. 3. Co-Sell Partner Manager (SI, agency & Private Equity Focus) Builds out service and PE partnerships that influence deals and expand customer value. Creates a flywheel for net-new and expansion growth. 4. RevOps & Marketing Enablement Lead Owns data, attribution, and campaigns. Makes sure partner activity shows up in the forecast and drives measurable GTM impact. 5. Technical Partner Enablement / Solutions Engineer Connects partners to product. Crafts joint value props and supports technical sales efforts with integration partners. 6. Ecosystem Marketing Manager Launches co-branded campaigns, fuels integration awareness, and creates pipeline-generating plays with top partners. 7. Services / Delivery Partner Lead Focuses on retention + expansion. Builds service-led motions that increase customer lifetime value and post-sale impact. Why This Team? Because partnerships only scale when they become part of the GTM engine, not a side project. This team builds flywheels that work and iterates fast to make them better. Partnerships grow through execution, not potential. What’s one mistake you’ve learned from building partner teams? Or one hire you’d make first?

A reminder to all CS practitioners and leaders alike. Never set up a call to “just check in” - make sure you have a plan! Below is an actual example of guidelines I've put out for a few of my teams. Feel free to take them and make them your own. What else would you add? ________________________________ The check-in call is a good time to review the status of the partnership and mutually created goals, update any action items, discuss challenges, and adjust plans accordingly. You should also use this time to share any product updates! They will likely hear about things from a marketing drip campaign, but you are their trusted advisor, so it's great to hear them directly from you as well. A few other helpful things that can help guide content for these calls are: - Use Google Alerts and see if there's news about the customer. Bring up anything good or positive you've learned and ask probing questions about how and if this impacts their function. - Twitter and LinkedIn are also helpful for looking for updates that are interesting. - Come with a key insight that you've learned about their industry from others you are working with. Try showing them that you know their account and their market and that you are a valuable partner. - Look at usage trends. Has usage changed recently? Talk about usage trends and anything interesting you are seeing. Are there any other folks that should have access? - Try to get connected with other departments that could benefit from using this service/solution. - Bring up the past EBR goals and keep them at the center of the conversation. - Be prepared to discuss open tickets as it is likely to come up. Best Practices: - Before your call, send an agenda (at least 1 day in advance). Always be respectful of their time. Ask: - Is there anything you’d like to add to the agenda? - Is there any person who should be added to the call? - Come with some probing questions ready for problem statements or progress you’d like to assess. Always have a few and work them in naturally. When you start the call, start with some small talk, but keep things on track. - Have one slide that shows the agenda. Prioritize items by importance. - Try and stay on the agenda, but also listen for topics that may drive strategy. - Be flexible and prepare to adapt to their needs. Mind your talk-to-listen ratio. - It’s important that you lead and share, but make sure you talk less than the customers. Of course, I am not suggesting you sit in awkward silence, but make sure you are aware of how much you are speaking compared to them. Listening actively. Pay attention to what’s being said, how it’s being said, tone, body language, and any other non-verbal cues. This will help you gain a greater understanding of the overall health of the relationship. Follow through and follow up! - Always follow up with a thank you email with any information or actions clearly documented. These emails should be sent within 24 hours of the initial meeting.

From my new Harvard Business Review article, here’s how to create the second of four pillars that innovative organizations need – capability to forge strategic partnerships: You don’t have to contain yourself to your team or the organization when it comes to innovation. Great innovations can come from collaborations with suppliers, customers, universities, startups, or companies using relevant technology in a totally different way. For example, the jeans company Levi Strauss has been collaborating with Google to figure out what “smart” clothing might accomplish for users like truckers. But doing so needs focused and dedicated work. That means you need to find people within the team to do the long-term work of building those relationships, having speculative conversations, and hunting for partner capabilities which may not be immediately apparent. You don’t want to be Yahoo, which declined to engage with an ambitious early-stage company boasting a different business model: Google. What to do instead? Put specialists in strategic technology partnerships on the lookout. Have them work in collaboration with core business teams who can use these partnerships to make innovation happen. For example, many pharma companies have these types of partnership offices near MIT, and it’s an approach that can be replicated by a broad range of industries. Johnson & Johnson’s university collaborations not only facilitate investments and research partnerships, but through JLabs they also provide lab space and support services for promising start-ups without requiring an equity stake. This can give Johnson & Johnson an inside track with the start-up when the timing is ripe. The fruits of the program have been substantial — as of 2023, 840 incubations of companies in this network had yielded more than 290 deals or partnerships with J&J. (Have you used other methods to forge strategic partnerships? Please add them in the comments!)

As a former Chief Information Officer, I've seen too many promising partnerships get bogged down in endless negotiations and competing priorities. Here's what I've learned about getting Legal, Procurement, and IT teams rowing in the same direction: - Start with crystal-clear business outcomes - help every team understand the strategic value we're chasing, not just their departmental checklist - Bring Legal and Procurement in early - they're strategic partners, not hurdles to overcome - As a leader, you need to be the "partnership czar" - your time investment signals this matters - Set up strong governance from day one - clear decision rights prevent future headaches After years of leading technology transformations, I'm convinced: the partnerships that succeed are the ones where leaders rise above silos to drive real collaboration. Link to the blog in the comments below. #Leadership #Technology #BusinessStrategy #StrategicPartnerships #AWS #AWSEnterpriseStrategy

Remember the childhood game of telephone? One person whispers a phrase, it passes through a chain, and by the end, it’s completely distorted. Funny as a kid. Disastrous in business. Recently on Friends with Benefits, we talked with Franz-Josef Schrepf about how this same dynamic plays out in partnerships. You have one vision, your partner has another, and by the time that vision moves through sales, marketing, and leadership, it’s often unrecognizable. This is how deals stall. How expectations misalign. How “strategic” partnerships turn into transactional ones. So, how do we avoid a game ofCall me maybe?"Over-communication and executive alignment. It’s not just about making sure your teams are on the same page, which can be a challenge in and of itself. It's also about making sure each stakeholder understands the partnership in a way that ties to their goals. 📈Executives care about revenue and growth. Frame the partnership in terms of impact on pipeline, market share, and competitive advantage. 🤝🏼 Sales teams care about ease and speed. Make sure they understand how the partnership helps them close more deals, faster. 👀Marketing cares about positioning and demand. Ensure they see how the partnership expands reach, adds credibility, or unlocks a new audience. Before you can communicate effectively, you have to deeply understand what each person values, the goals they're trying to reach and how they define success. Otherwise, you’re just playing a giant game of telephone where no one walks away with the right message. Great partnerships aren’t built on handshakes and hype. They’re built on clarity, consistency, and alignment at every level. If your partnerships aren’t driving results, ask yourself: • Do I fully understand what my partner (and their leadership) actually cares about? • Am I communicating their value in a way that makes sense to them?

I used to think a great partner motion was a triangle. SI + Cloud + Vendor. That’s it. But the teams scaling fastest right now are playing with a square. And the fourth side? It’s the product that makes the integration irresistible. Here’s how one GTM leader in healthcare tech broke it down for me: They were stuck in a long sales cycle. Their core platform was solid. Their partner relationships were strong. But deals still dragged. So they re-architected their partner approach with the power of 4: 1. SI (System Integrator) → Drove trust + implementation confidence 2. Cloud Provider → Opened enterprise doors + provided budget alignment 3. Complementary Product → Created integration magic (and use case urgency) 4. Their Platform → Delivered the outcome and became the system of record The integration wasn’t just technical. It was strategic. - The SI positioned the story - The Cloud team validated it - The complementary product made it easy to say “yes” Now they don’t just sell features, they sell outcomes, ecosystems, and velocity. This 4-part alliance turned their platform from “one of many” into the center of gravity. Curious - which corner of the square are you under investing in today? #LinkedInTopVoice #Partnerships #Channel

We generated $1BN+ revenue across the three partnership businesses I led. These are my simple observations for building a strategic partner organization: 1. Understand from the CEO what the most important metric/thing for the business to achieve is and focus on impacting that. 2. Set simple quarterly goals which clearly align to 1, if the top priority for the company is growing revenue your goal should be delivering additional revenue etc. 3. Build an immediate plan which prioritises the partners who are going to drive 2 with you, don’t get distracted from it. Form a long term vision over time as you learn, but execute on the quarter immediately. 4. Write an ‘elevator pitch’ which articulates 1, 2 and 3 clearly. Tell it to everyone you talk to at your company, tell it to your partners too. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat…. 5. Build rituals for celebrating partnership wins. Send out a bi-weekly summary to leadership, post a celebratory Friday post shouting out the AEs and CSMs who did good stuff with partners, secure a slot at SKO/All-Hands/Board meetings etc. 6. Hire into wins, not opportunities. Seeing success with Solutions Partners? Hire a partner manager to work on it full time and spend your time on the next partner type/category/geo until you find something else that works and then hire again. Partner Manager exceeding quota? Hire another partner manager and split the territory etc. Hiring a team based on bets is an unnecessary risk. 7. Get in front of the process. Have your headcount and budget ready for finance before annual planning starts, increase your own quota, proactively performance manage your team. Build a reputation for being on top of your sh*t, prepared, and reliable. Doors will open much more easily for your team when you need them to. 8. Own your performance. Your team should be able to perform despite low resources, alignment with other teams, executive buy-in etc not because of it. If you’re crushing without support, imagine how good it’s going to be when you get it. 9. Hire above the mean. Every new hire should increase the mean capability of your team, instill this culture across your organization. Aim to hire people as good or better than your top performers, not your bottom performers. 10. Be the easiest to partner with. Send leads to your partners, even if it’s only 1 or 2 a quarter. Be super responsive. Remove process. Remove admin. Remove blockers from engaging with your team. This is my checklist for ensuring I’m on the right track with my partner organization. What would you add? #partnerships #goals

Partner Strategy is NOT - Listing in marketplaces - 1000 person webinars - In person-events Those are Partnering Tactics. Partner Strategy is building systems for outcomes. This looks like - Overlap data utilization - Pre-deal activities you value that lead to outcomes the business needs - Playbook (here's how to make money with me) adoption - Pipeline - Revenues - Ecosystem expansion - Ecosystem recomp (more active and enabled than deadweight) There's 100 ways to do it but this all comes down to one mission: Trust transfer at scale. Build the systems for these outcomes and you'll end up with a partner program that you'd better hold on to! How? 1. By creating partnerships that can stand on their own merits from a business benefit perspective. 2. By pushing segmented and personalized joint value proposition for all the partners willing and able to access contacts in your ICP in owned audiences. 3. By enabling your partners and their sellers to customize on-brand content that's AI edited and QA'd. 4. By automatically reporting on your ecosystemic data with insights that help your partners grow their businesses. Scale the volume of campaigns around your ecosystem, scale the referral volume with automated lead routing, scale the audiences your having a variety of conversations with around their pain points that your JVPs solve. If you want to see how we're rolling out microsystems for partner and partner marketing programs let me know. #ecosystemledgrowth #partnersmarter #growthstory