You’ve decided that a partner marketing program is a fit for your organization’s growth strategy and you’re enthusiastic about rolling it out. Like many other proposals that ask for an organization’s time and resources, partner marketing needs to be sold internally first. To help prepare you for these conversations, we've outlined some tips on how to sell your partner marketing program internally below.
1) Align program to strategic objectives
An excellent way to gain internal buy-in for your partner marketing program is to piggyback the program's goals on organizational objectives your colleagues and manager cares about.
Is your company looking to expand its reach to a new customer base? Are there goals to tap into new geographic markets? Draw connections to show how strategic partner marketing will support current and future efforts. Bring real examples of how your customers and employees can help you reach these goals and tie it all back to your longer-term strategy. The channel marketing company you choose to work with should be able to help you with this.
Helping your team see that partner marketing is a way to achieve more than just a sales target will not only motivate them to approve your new project, but they may be moved to chip in additional resources to help you make it an even greater success.
2) Provide relevant case studies
For some, partner marketing can initially sound like a risky investment. There are resources involved in getting the program up and running and a lot of up-front planning is required to set your company up for partner marketing success not only this month but in the long term.
Reduce their concerns by sharing relevant success stories from organizations similar to yours that found success through partner marketing. PartnerStack has a number of case studies we can share with you to help you with this internal sale.
You can also talk with some potential partners (customers, employees, your digital community, etc.) you'd like to work with to learn more about what they want and need to help them market and sell your product across their networks.
3) Have a foolproof plan
When pitching your partner marketing program to your colleagues, there’s a chance a warning bell may go off for some when they think about the work involved. Not everyone is open to adding to their existing workload to support new initiatives and you should be mindful of that.
Walk into the meeting with a plan that showcases how you’ve fully thought through the plan, the execution and the resources required to make your new program a success. Go a few steps further and consider pulling together sales and marketing materials that you could share with partners in your asset folder.
If management feels like you have it under control, not only will they be more confident in the validity of the program, but they will also be less likely to push back on the timelines and resources you need to get your new partner marketing program off the ground.
Most importantly, educate your team and manager on the benefits of partner marketing. Saved time, money and resources for new distribution channels, sales and revenue! And as technology continues to advance and decreases the barriers to entry, the competitive landscape in many industries, including yours, will only thicken. Partner marketing provides an excellent way for your organization to remain competitive while growing at a much faster speed than your competitors could on their own. Don't be intimidated to sell your partner marketing program internally, follow the above steps and you'll have it off the ground in no time. Don't hesitate to ask us if you have any questions!
