#1. Define Your Tribe

Building a partner ecosystem isn't about collecting business cards. It's about finding the right tech-savvy companions to complement your strengths. So, make sure to define your tribe early on – selecting partners whose powers align with your vision. Remember, it's not about quantity but quality partners that can help you expand your reach and vice versa. Before you reach out to partners, prepare a list of objectives, and pros and cons of partnering up with each party. This should enable you to create a joint value proposition, while communicating mutual benefits and emphasising shared success of collaboration. Another essential element is to have specific and measurable goals that this partnership is expected to achieve. Not knowing the desired result is a sure way of wasting time on the wrong partnerships, or what’s even worse, not spending enough time on the right partners. From my professional experience, I see a lot of value in determining certain factors for success, i.e. geographic location, ideal customer profile (ICP) - including specific industry and client’s size or event opportunities for cross-selling to your partner’s existing clients.

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#2. Recruit and Onboard

Finding the right partners is no longer a guessing game as there are some fantastic business intelligence tools to help you get started. For instance, leveraging the insights from CRM integrations, Crossbeam or Reveal can do the ground research of shared clients and enable you to connect with your potential partners and even initiate warm introductions.Once that step is completed, then the real fun begins - ensuring that all your partners are fully onboarded. This requires cross-functional teams, including your tech, partner and marketers to be involved in developing a strategy plan, including any API connectors to enable the integration, sharing training and enablement materials. Sales  teams can assist in a joint business plan ready to share insights on potential deals, while partner marketing can help getting up to speed with marketing collateral ensuring the right communication is enabled. The last part can be easily facilitated through partner collaboration software, where your teams can work together in real-time sharing insights on leads and other marketing activities.

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#3. Speak API, Not Shakespeare

Communication is crucial when building up your partner ecosystem. At the end of the day, you have to get up to speed with a new team and get to know their offering. If your partner discussions sound like a Shakespearean play, you might be missing the tech boat. The ability to communicate seamlessly with partners software through APIs provides you with a proprietary formula that makes ecosystems thrive. API-First  simplify the integration process, enabling partners to connect their applications swiftly and efficiently. If your software is not ready to enable APIs integration, then you might be left out with a siloed software that is no longer sellable. The APIs connector is the bedrock of successful tech partnerships, reducing development time and eliminating compatibility issues. They not only connect systems but also weave a tapestry of collaboration, innovation, and efficiency.

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#4. Quality Over Quantity

Having more partners than lines of code in your software doesn't guarantee success. Even if that’s possible, it’s not about winning a popularity contest, so focus on quality relationships. It's better to have a handful of partners who deeply understand your tech than a horde who only scratches the surface. Another reason is that once the onboarding process is completed, this is just the beginning of the journey, you need the time and resources to keep your partners engaged and motivated in order to build your partner empire, develop deals and gear up for success. 

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#5. Diversity is Your Superpower

Prioritising diversity in tech partnerships isn't simply a social good; it's a strategic imperative for driving innovation, allowing you to reach new markets and future-proof your solutions. Diverse partnerships help you mitigate risks during recessions and increased economic volatility as they spread risk across different sectors, geographies, and markets. If one sector is heavily affected, other areas of your diverse portfolio may remain relatively unscathed, acting as a buffer against economic shocks.Partnering with companies of varying sizes, specialisations, and geographic locations creates a dynamic environment where different perspectives collide. This fosters a culture of innovation, leading to the development of more robust and adaptable technologies. Reaching new markets requires a nuanced understanding of regional needs and user preferences. Diverse partners bring in-depth knowledge of specific sectors and demographics, allowing for targeted solutions and efficient market penetration. Imagine a multinational AI company partnering with a local robotics firm – the combined expertise enables new possibilities in a particular region.Lastly, a diverse partner ecosystem allows you to tap into a wider range of expertise and resources. A cybersecurity firm partnering with a cloud provider and a data analytics company, for example, can create a more holistic security solution.

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#6. Establish a Partner Program 

A partner program is a business strategy vendors use to encourage partners to recommend or sell the vendor's products and associated services. Working for loyalty programs in the past, I am a fan of bringing in the spirit of incentives into the professional setting, not only because they are fun, but mainly because they bring tangible results. Revenue sharing, access to exclusive resources (training tools), and dedicated support are some of the incentives that can help build a tribe of loyal partners that believe in your offering and are there for the long run. If you want to make your partner program stand out, gamification, check out the next tip!

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#7. Gamify Collaboration, Not Work

One way to make your partner program stand out is to turn partner and sales collaboration into a game, not a chore. Gamification is a concept based on information and communication technologies, that uses game design elements to engage and motivate users to develop productive behaviours, in non-gaming settings. Gamification isn't just for app interfaces; it works wonders for partnerships too. For instance, creating a leaderboard for the most innovative collaborations or rewarding partners with virtual badges is a sure way to motivate teams and enable a ‘healthy’ competition. Make collaboration so fun that partners forget they're working and think they're playing a high-stakes game of tech chess. Gamification tactics have been used for a really long time in a B2B scenario, however when brought into the professional setting, it can solve a lot of issues faced by enterprises today - lack of employees motivation, especially after a pandemic scenario, which results in low performance, poor retention leading to a drop in  profitability.

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#8. Leverage your partner ecosystem for mutual success

This tip is something to keep in mind for the entire partner journey. It’s really about how much value can a particular partner bring into the table? But we can also rephrase this question to ask: how much value are we bringing into this partnership? I am highlighting this as it is important to have a win-win mindset when it comes to building up a sustainable partner ecosystem. The best advice would be to maintain a reciprocal relationship with your partners, encourage knowledge sharing and joint strategizing sessions to capitalise on each other's strengths. Another way to ensure mutual success is by developing a structured framework for collaboration, offering resources, training, and support. Ensure to regularly evaluate and optimise the partnership by seeking feedback and adapting strategies. Promote transparency and fairness in all dealings, fostering trust and commitment. Lastly, celebrate successes together, recognizing achievements and reinforcing the value of the partnership. This professional approach nurtures a symbiotic relationship, driving mutual growth and success within the partner ecosystem.

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#9. Data, the Silent Whisperer

Data is the silent whisperer in the tech jungle. Leveraging data in growing partner sales involves harnessing insights to enhance decision-making, identify trends, and optimise strategies. Firstly, utilise data to understand partner performance, customer behaviour, and market trends. Decision making based on insights should also be a driver for your marketing teams - utilise analytics to track the effectiveness of different marketing campaigns or sales tactics, allowing for continuous refinement and improvement. Additionally, establish key performance indicators (KPIs) based on data insights to measure partner performance and incentivize sales growth. Overall, leveraging data and analytics empowers partners with actionable insights, optimising their sales strategies and driving mutual success. It's like having a crystal ball that predicts the future – well, at least the tech future.

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#10. Measure ROI, Not Just Buzz

Return on Investment (ROI) is the true measure of your ecosystem's success, not just the buzz it creates. While buzz is nice, it won't pay the bills. Measuring ROI on a partner ecosystem involves tracking various metrics like revenue generated through partnerships, cost savings, customer acquisition costs, and partner-driven pipeline growth. 

For instance, calculate ROI by comparing revenue from partner-generated leads against the cost of the partnership program. Analyse the cost per acquisition for customers acquired through partners versus other channels. Consider cost savings from shared resources or operational efficiencies. Additionally, measure partner-influenced revenue by attributing sales that partners impacted but didn't directly generate. Evaluating these metrics provides a holistic view of the partnership's financial impact, aiding in ROI assessment and strategic decision-making.

Measuring the ROI of these collaborations is crucial for ensuring your company's ecosystem thrives. The ROI clarifies which partnerships deliver the most value, thus providing a way for strategic resource allocation (in simple words, putting money towards your best partners). Imagine a collaboration with a cloud provider. Measuring increased sales through their platform justifies continued investment, while a low ROI might signal a need to adjust the partnership or explore other options.

Having a ‘number driven approach’ allows you to make more data-driven decisions into the effectiveness of your partnership and empowers informed conversations with partners. For example, measuring co-marketing campaign results allows you to refine future initiatives together, maximising the impact for both companies.