Opensend Director of Partnerships, Bradley Johnstonon Partner Enablement

Consulting partners need sales materials that help them effectively communicate your product’s value, differentiate it from competitors, and address client concerns. Here's a breakdown of key materials: 1. Overview Deck: presentation explaining the product’s value, features, benefits, use cases, and pricing, while also tying in the company's story/expected longevity. 2. One-Pagers: concise summaries of key features, integrations, pricing, expected results, and FAQs. 3. Case studies and testimonials: whether hosted on your site, or dedicated review sites like G2/Capterra, provide consultants with examples of how the product added value/solved problems for relevant clients. 4. Resource hub: a location that showcases how how to onboard and optimize your solution(s)/service(s). 5. Partner playbook: step by step guide on how to sell your product, and when to engage with your team. Battlecards, pricing, team contact info, etc. 6. Co branded marketing: customizable collateral.

1. Deepens Expertise and Confidence - Enhanced Knowledge: Partner training ensures that your partners have a comprehensive understanding of your products, services, and solutions. With this knowledge, they can engage with clients/prospects more confidently, answering questions and addressing concerns effectively. - Validated Expertise: Certification offers a formal recognition of a partner’s expertise. Certified partners are seen as trusted advisors, providing reassurance to clients and credibility to the partner. 2. Increases Sales Effectiveness - Sharpened Sales Skills: partners learn how to position your offerings more effectively, handle objections, and align the solution with client needs. This results in more productive sales conversations and improved close rates. - Faster Conversion: partners will be equipped with best practices and proven techniques to accelerate the sales cycle. Their deep product knowledge leads to quicker decisions and greater customer trust. 3. Drives Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty - Improved Client Support: partners can provide a higher level of service, guiding clients through both pre-sales and post-sales stages. This ensures smoother implementations, faster resolutions to issues, and better overall client experiences. - Stronger Long Term Relationships: when partners understand your product inside and out, they can help clients fully leverage your solutions, leading to stronger client retention. 4. Strengthens the Partnership - Building Trust: fosters a deeper relationship built on mutual trust. As partners gain expertise, they feel more confident in representing your brand and positioning your solution as the right choice for clients. Same goes for you introducing your clients to partners who can help them optimize your solution. - Long-Term Collaboration: creates a formal framework for success, helping both you and your partners set clear expectations and working together toward shared goals. This builds a more resilient and productive partnership. 5. Differentiates Partners in the Market - Competitive Advantage: partners stand out from the competition. With recognized credentials, they can showcase their expertise to clients, giving them a significant edge in crowded or competitive markets. 6. Keeps Partners Up to Date - Always Ahead of the Curve: ensures partners stay on top of the latest product updates, industry changes, and best practices. With this knowledge, they’re always ready to pivot and keep delivering the most relevant solutions to clients. - Growth at Every Step: keeps partners motivated, prepared, and equipped to handle whatever comes next. Continuous learning means they’re always ready to meet new challenges head-on, driving success both for themselves and for your clients.

To align partners with your sales pitch and enable them to succeed: 1. Clarify value proposition: ensure partners understand and can communicate your product’s unique benefits. 2. Sales enablement: share a sales playbook, demo scripts, objection handling guides, and industry-specific content to help partners pitch effectively. 3. Customizable materials: provide co-branded, industry-focused collateral that partners can personalize for their audience. 4. Joint training: conduct workshops to align pitching techniques and build partner confidence. 5. Ongoing support: offer continuous communication, dedicated partner managers, and feedback loops to refine the pitch. 6. Promote collaboration: foster co-selling opportunities and shared success stories. This approach ensures your partners are well-prepared, aligned, and motivated to pitch your product effectively.

Assessing the effectiveness of your partner enablement strategy is essential to ensure that your partners can successfully sell and support your product, while also achieving shared growth and success. 1. Partner engagement and activity: high attendance rates at training sessions and certification programs indicate that partners are invested in learning and improving their skills. Regular engagement with enablement resources shows that partners see value in the materials you’re providing. 2. Increased sales/revenue: one of the most direct indicators of success is the increase in sales generated through your partners. If partners are closing/helping you close more deals or driving you higher-value opportunities, it's a sign your enablement strategy is working. 3. Partner satisfaction: gathering regular feedback from your partners is crucial. If partners are satisfied with the training, support, and resources provided, it’s a good sign that your enablement strategy is on track. 4. Retention of priority partners: if top performing partners remain loyal and engaged, it's an indication that your enablement efforts are strong. 6. Higher conversion rates from leads: if partners are continuously driving ICP opportunities that convert at a high rate, it indicates they're effectively leveraging the sales enablement tools you’ve provided. 7. Successful collaborations: smooth client onboarding and adoption suggest your enablement program is effectively preparing partners to handle these phases. By tracking these key performance indicators (KPIs) and continually gathering feedback from your partners, you can assess whether your partner enablement strategy is successful.

We at Opensend are fortunately in a unique position where we can offer our B2B product to our referring partners, at no charge, allowing us to immediately offer value at the start of any partnership. If you are able to replicate this in any type of way, I strongly suggest you do. That being said, here's some ways to ensure you are giving, to get: 1. Lead sharing: give partners quality leads or referrals. 2. Training: help partners get up to speed with product demos and guides. 3. Collateral: share ready-to-use pitch decks, case studies. 4. Exclusive access: offer early product access, higher rev share, or discounts for customers. 5. Marketing support: provide co-branded campaigns and promotions. 6. Technical support: offer direct access to support and resources. 7. Investment: support their initiatives. This actions will ensure partners feel supported and motivated to reciprocate.

To successfully go-to-market with service partners, here’s what you need to provide: 1. Onboarding training: clear training materials, an easy to follow onboarding guide, and certification programs to ensure they’re equipped for success. 2. Sales enablement: give partners the tools they need to confidently sell your solution (sales playbooks, pitch decks, and competitive insights). 3. Marketing collateral: offer co-branded assets, compelling case studies, and authentic customer testimonials that they can use to build credibility and engage prospects. 4. Partner Portal: create a resource hub with everything they need, including deal registration, support options, and more. 5. Incentive programs: motivate with clear, attractive commission structures and tiered rewards to fuel their drive. 6. Co marketing plans: set them up for success with joint marketing templates and lead-generation campaigns that align with your goals. 7. Customer success support: equip partners with optimization kits and defined escalation paths to ensure smooth customer journeys. By arming your service partners with these resources, you're setting them up for long-term success while creating a foundation for strong, effective partnerships.

Countless mistakes can be made. Continue to make them until you've refined your process/approach. 1. One-size-fits-all approach: All partners are not the same. Prioritize them while tailoring enablement material and offering team support accordingly. 2. Lack of data/metric-backed goals: Define what success means upfront for both partners. Work together to track while holding one another accountable. 3. Failure to incentivize partners: Whether it's in the form of rev share, demo bounties, customer introductions, marketing collaboration, or more, you must compensate partners for their advocacy. 4. Ignoring your partners: frequently collect feedback from partners to define your approach (product, GTM, etc.) 5. Poor communication: make it so it's easy to communicate/inquire with your team. 6. Not meeting your partners where they are: show up to the events, cities, etc. where your partners are. In person engagements are still exponentially more meaningful than digital ones.