OR why partner success is an essential job-to-be-done and why this role should be one of the first crucial #partnerships hires
In contrast to sales, partnerships only start with a handshake.
For example, On Deck thinks that partner success “is a huge piece” of successful partnerships.
💬 Here’s their process, from our fireside chat with Lauren Hoffman, partnership leader from On Deck:
Early in their partnership lifecycle they brought onboard Andrea Sofia Torres “who joined basically as the first additional partnerships hire and wound up spinning up our partner success function.
We pretty quickly realized that there were two separate motions going on.
✔️ There was the vetting and acquisition and scoping of agreements with new partners.
✔️ And then there was the implementation of our existing partnerships.
She's an amazing business development thinker - was like “we needed to get this taken care of” and built our partner success function from 0 to 100.”
💜 But what exactly is the partner success process?
“bringing that partner success lead in during onboarding, or even before in the final stages of closing a deal. So that partners get to know them, and know that they have this point of contact.
It's running a really tight onboarding process with these templatized emails that we're then customizing for every partner,
as well as a series of meetings that we're setting up,
and a partner success plan that we're documenting, which pulls directly from the contract we established with them.
And making sure basically that through onboarding expectations are really, really clear. And that we know exactly who are our internal champions at a partner company and who will be delivering on their end of the deal.”
In addition, their team is doing quarterly business reviews and check ins with partners.
“We're meeting with our partners at least quarterly, many of them more frequently, and exchanging intel and keeping each other up to speed on conversions, data on fellow feedback, etc.”
💡 Ultimately, partner success may help you to evolve your partnerships into something bigger.
“I think it really is about involving our partners in as many ways as possible in our community, so that we don't see them as only partners, and instead have lots of reasons to engage with them.”
👇 Watch/read the full conversation with Partner Insight.