Top 10 Tips for Setting Up a Partner Program

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We've been working with various partner programs for the last 20 years. Some very good... many NOT so good.

Today, setting up partnerships in business is a standard practice for many new companies.

It's a lot of work to do it right. Since so many companies now have partner programs, it's also very hard to compete with all the other companies pitching their programs.  So how do you stand out from the crowd? How do you get your partners to use your product over the competition?

Here are our Top 10 "Must-Have" Tips for setting up a successful partnership program:

  1. Give Partners a Free (limited, but usable) copy of your application - Establishing a "Freemium" model is very popular these days.  However, the "Puppy Dog" close is a better description of why you want to do this.  Salesforce.com used this technique to get started with partners and... well, look at Salesforce now. If you're not familiar with technique, the "puppy dog" close is a technique modeled after a parent bringing a child to a pet store to "just look" at the puppies.  The Store Owner offers to let you bring one of the puppies home for the weekend to "just see if your kid likes the puppy."  As we all know, your child will never let the puppy go back to the store on Monday... so the parent goes back to buy the dog.  It's worked for decades selling cats and dogs... and it works with selling partners as well.  Get them to start using your product or service every week.
  2. Create Marketing Automation Campaigns for your Partner Program - Establish four campaigns (over time):  prospect partners, new partners, experienced partners and one for your special top-rated partners. Include the following:
    • Monthly Partner Webinars - Build better relationships with your partners than the competition. Keep them updated and interested in your programs.
    • Monthly eNewsletters - Keep them up-to-date with your products, services, customers, industry updates and recognition.
    • Update Social Marketing Programs
    • Video Success Stories
  3. Set up a Special Phone Number and assign a Partner Specialist (even if you only have one person available).
  4. Build a Partner Dashboard / Portal including:
    • Reward and Recognize partners to win them over to you
    • Provide an easy way to share information, logos, collateral, success stories, etc.
    • Registration Forms for new partnerships
    • List the Top 10 Partners - Rank your Top 10 Partners each month, quarter and year.
  5. Make Joint Phone/Internet Sales Calls with your top ranked partners initially... and others when you have additional resources.
  6. Build a Marketing Template Library - Make it easy for your partners. Give them tools to build your sales.  Other companies are doing this.  Partners usually go to the easiest sale. If you're too difficult to work with, they will go to other easier options.
  7. Join or Set up a LinkedIn Groups - Regular groups that you actively promote and manage. The key is regular activity.
  8. Set up Your Own MeetUp Groups around the country.  Start with one Meetup Group locally and grow as your resources permit.
  9. Conduct Quarterly Partner Review Meetings with the Management Team. Keep them short initially.
  10. Plan an Annual Company Partner Meeting. Start small and let it grow as you grow.

As you know, there are many more projects and tasks needed to build a successful partner program. I hope this list starts some conversations going with your team. Feel free to add your comments or other tips below.

Photo credit: freedigitalphoto.com

Contact Us to help you set up a Partner Program for your company or start-up

What Happens When Your iPhone Gets Really Hot?

What happens when your iPhone gets too hot - This Screen Pops up Last Saturday was a very hot day in Silicon Valley.  It's the beginning of summer and it hit 87 degrees outside right before lunch. We're having a heat wave!

After a lunch meeting, I jumped into the car to drive to my next appointment, turned on the air conditioner and started making some calls (yes....using a headset). The iPhone was with me in the air-conditioned restaurant during lunch.

After leaving, I put my iPhone 5 on the center console before driving off to my next meeting.....The iPhone was sitting in the sun and I had 54% of the battery charge left.  After 20 minutes on the phone, the phone line suddenly went dead and this black and yellow screen to the right popped up.... I've had an iPhone for four years and have never seen this before.

It looks like the phone went from cool in the air-conditioned restaurant to overheated in 20 minutes. Wow, that was fast!

Once I realized what was going on, I quickly took the iPhone and held it by the air conditioning vent. It cooled down in less than five minutes and started working again. However, I did let it sit in the shade with the air-conditioning on it for another 15 minutes.

Here are some Simple Lessons Learned

  • Don't leave any smartphone sitting in the sun while driving on a very hot day... even for a short time.
  • The air-conditioner works great to fix the overheating
  • When you see the "Temperature Sign" above, you're screwed for a little while - however, every once in a while, it's OK not to talk on the phone while driving... right :)

 

Fun iPhone Facts

  • The iPhone operating temperature is: 32 to 95 degrees F (0 to 35 degrees C)
  • The non-operating temperature is: -4 to 113 degrees F (-20 to 45 degrees C)
  • Relative Humidity is:  5% to 95% non-condensing
  • Maximum operating altitude is: 10,000 feet (3,000 meters)

 

 The End

So that's it.   My iPhone 5 is working fine and I'm back to work.   Hope this helped. So what happened to your iPhone when it got really hot?

 

Inside Sales Teams - 5 Top Strategies for Small Business

Many Small Businesses are looking to increase sales this year by expanding or upgrading an Inside Sales Program.  In this article we outline the Top Five business-to-business strategies for implementing fast-selling Inside Sales Teams in a company. There are many factors that determine which strategy is best for your organization.  Although Social Networking and Marketing are very Hot Topics this year,  you still need a fast-moving, high quality sales team to grow a small businesses. The common benefits of adding or expanding inside sales programs include:

  • Shifting more experienced (and more expensive) Field Sales Reps to Higher-End Sales Opportunities
  • Reducing the Cost of overall Sales Resources
  • Establishing Sales Coverage around the US and World
  • Responding to Sales Inquiries Faster
  • Building a Sales Infrastructure that is flexible and can continue to quickly Grow Sales

Note: For this article we define Inside Sales Reps as staff with "Sales" Skills and Training.  Reps that only focus on Social Marketing, Lead Qualification,  Lead Generation and Demand Generation are NOT addressed in this article.

man on laptop and phone - Credit: Ambro @ freedigitalphotosnet

Strategy 1 - Close Low-end Sales

Less Experienced Inside Sales Reps can sell products from $100 to $5,000 over the phone.

They can either complete outbound sales calls and/or accept inbound calls through your Company's toll-free 800 (or 888) number. They usually can close low-end products within one to five calls and emails or social conversations.

Strategy 2 - Close Larger Complex Sales

Senior Inside Sales Reps can sell more complex products from $5,000 to $500,000 over the phone and internet.

These products and services need a one to 18-month sales cycle. The Reps work with your customers throughout the entire sales process.

Strategy 3 - Product Demo and Trial Period Follow-up & Close

Inside Sales Reps make follow-up calls to prospects testing your product. Prospects typically sign-up for a trial on your website. Reps then call during the trial, at the end of the trial, and after the trial period, to close business and make quota.

Strategy 4 - Established Customer, Reseller Sales & Account Management

Inside Sales Reps can be assigned to Existing Customers, Partners or Re-sellers. Their goals are to increase sales from existing customers, increase customer satisfaction and reduce your cost of sales. They also provide a great defense from your competitors' Sales Reps calling on your own customers.

Strategy 5 - Team Selling

Inside Reps can be teamed with Outside Sales Representatives in a territory.

Some Companies create a team territory between an Inside and Outside Sales Team. They share Commissions from the shared territory.  In one situation, you can assign Inside Sales to the bottom 80 percent of their Customer/Re-seller territory and Field Reps to the top 20 percent of a territory.

In another case, a Fortune 1000 Account Territory Team will have an Inside Sales Reps Assigned to new Division Contacts and a more Senior Account Rep assigned to short-term opportunities and key contacts.

So How Do You Decide on Which Strategy?

Very often, the "Boss" or "Decision Maker" decides the strategy based on their past experiences, a business associate or friend's recommendation (yes, this does happen) and the company philosophy. When you have a new Sales Executive join the company, they'll usually bring a strategy that they've used in the past,  like and have had success.

 

Building and growing an Inside Sales Team sounds like an easy concept.  However, it's the strategy and implementation details that will make the difference between average sales and significant sales growth.

 

Please share your comments on other Inside Sales Best Practices that worked for your Small Business.

 

Top 10 Small Business Tech Trends in 2013

 In 2013, there is a much larger opportunity than in the last few years for non-technology oriented Small Businesses to implement the latest technology. All of them will help you increase your sales and/or reduce your costs.   In addition, technology prices have dropped like a rock and they are so much easier to use (and learn) than ever before.  This article was written for the non-technical owner or manager of a Home or Small Business.

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Here are the 10 Key Small Business Trends: 

 

  1.  Marketing Videos are being Added to Websites to Increase Sales Leads These days, most prospects want to watch a short 30- to 90-second video about your products or services on your website.  Many don't have time to read a long white paper or product description during their first visit to your site. You can thank the use of YouTube and Smartphones for this change.  The good news is that the cost of creating videos has dramatically gone down in the last few years.  You can create them yourself or hire professionals to publish them. This will reduce your cost of Sales and Marketing and increase the number of your Sales / Marketing Presentations to prospects over the next 12 months.

     

  2. Lead Nurturing Programs are Increasing Sales Prospects while Reducing  the Cost of the Lead Process Send (or Scan) all Leads including: Trade Show Leads, Business Cards and Paper Lead Forms into your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System or a dedicated "Marketing Automation" system.   You can then use "Lead Nurturing" Campaigns to better qualify sales leads before sending them to expensive outside Sales / Account Managers. Sales and Marketing Productivity both go up.

     

  3. Smartphones are Replacing  Basic (Feature) Phones I know many Small Business Owners don't believe this.  However, a Smartphone is NOT a "Nice to Have" product anymore.  It is a "Need to Have" It's simple... If your competition have Smartphones and you don't, you will be less responsive to your customers and you will lose sales over time.   Thanks to eMail, Texting, Instant Messaging, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, you need to respond to your sales prospects and customers much faster than even two years ago.  You can also use a Smartphone to process credit card orders in the field.  There are several companies that provide Free Apps and Credit Card Readers.  Smartphones let you and your employees respond to Customers, Partners, Managers and Prospects as quickly as your Competition... or faster.

     

  4. Social Marketing is Reducing Telemarketing & List Buying Costs If you are still only using Telemarketing, Buying Cold Call Lists and Sending Paper Mailers, you are missing a lot of sales prospects, spending more money than the competition and falling behind in productivity. If you outsource your telemarketing overseas to save money, you very likely have other issues.   Your "under 40" prospects,  don't talk as much on the phone as before.  It's time to start learning and testing Social Networking... yes Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Facebook, Blogs and more....

     

  5. Small Business Applications are Moving from old Client / Servers to Web or "Cloud Computing" If you need to replace or upgrade an old application or computer system this year, you should seriously consider replacing the application with a cloud computing application.  The new Cloud Apps are designed to work with the new Smartphones and Tablets.  Sales Leads are delivered real-time to your Sales Teams and Channel Partners which will increase the number of sales contacts per day. As a small business, you can also save significant money over the next three years by moving to this newer technology. You can usually reduce your start-up, training and conversion costs for employees. If you are new to Cloud Computing,  this article and video should help explain this basics: ABC News Brief Article: "What is the Cloud?" YouTube Short Video:  Computer Basics: What is the Cloud?

     

  6. Web Training Programs will Increase the Professional Skills of your Employees Technology is rapidly changing almost all industries. Some companies are being turned upside down due to these changes.  You need to help your people keep up (and get ahead) of all the changes.... or you may NOT be in business in the future.  Web-based Training is ideal for remote sales teams working out of their homes or small offices.  Affordable Web-based training can now keep your costs down, your peoples' skills up and improve sales productivity.

     

  7. Web-based Meetings/Events Increase the number of Sales Calls, Demos & Seminars per month Web-based Meetings and Event technology is now used by most larger companies on a daily basis.  The cost of Web-based Meetings and Events has dramatically decreased and Small Businesses can now take advantage of this technology. It also reduces their cost of sales significantly. ROI is in months, not years.

     

  8. iPads are Increasing Sales Productivity A dirty little secret is that many Sales Reps still leave their laptops at home, in the hotel room or in the trunk of a car when they make sales calls.  The Tablet is  replacing the need to carry around a laptop for everyone. Tablets also lower the cost of training remote staff and laptop maintenance.  I recently traveled to Europe for two weeks with an Apple iPhone, iPad and a Bluetooth keyboard.  It's the first time I ever traveled without my laptop and I never missed it for a minute. One strategy is to keep your old desktops and laptops for another year. Invest in new tablets for your key people this year and run pilot tests on how to improve productivity.

     

  9. Web Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is Replacing  Old PC and Client Server CRM The modern Web-based CRM Systems were developed for the Web / Cloud and Mobile Apps.  Older systems just do not work as well with the new Smartphones and Tablets. This increases your maintenance costs and many of the real-time updates are just not available to your employees.

     

  10. Evaluate Replacing  or Supplementing MS Office with Google Office to Reduce Costs & Improve Collaboration Most employees only use 10-25% of the features in Microsoft Office.  As more Applications are moving to the Web / Cloud,  there is less and less need to buy and upgrade expensive Microsoft Office Applications for everyone in the company.   Note: Google Office is less polished and has fewer features when compared to Microsoft Office.  Many Small Businesses are moving to Google Office (@ $50 per person per year) or Zoho Office or other solutions to save money, and improve staff, client and partner collaboration.

     

 

If you have any questions or comments, please give us a call @ 650-866-5517 or comment in the field below.

Image above courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Please share your comments below on any other key trends that you think are important in 2013.

 

Top 10 Small Business "Windows 8" Upgrade Tips

Small Business Working on a laptop and Smartphone - Credit: freedigitalphotos.net In 2013, Microsoft significantly changed the Windows 8 and Office user interface. Your employees are going to have to re-learn how to use Office Applications after you upgrade your PCs and Laptops.  Here are a few key tips to help evaluate this upgrade for your Small Business.

 

 

Small Business "Windows 8" Upgrade Tips:

1. Read the Walt Mossberg article (see link below) on Windows 8 before you spend any money 2. Increase (or establish) a budget for employee Office Software training 3. Line-up extra help for your staff, including: phone and one-to-one coaching 4. Make sure your existing software will work with Windows 8 5. Identify and Implement any business process changes 6. Re-write any office manuals 7. Confirm who in IT Support actually knows anything about Windows 8. It's new to everyone.... 8. Check that all your existing PC & Laptop accessories will work 9. Budget lots of extra money to deal with the unknown 10. You may want to wait for the rest of the industry to come up to speed before you invest in this upgrade.

The bottom-line is that your Small Business Staff & Information Technology Resource "Productivity will likely go down" and your "PC Costs will go up" by implementing Windows 8 in 2013.

Hope these tips help....

 

Note: It's important for a Small Business Owner to read the Mossberg review below before you upgrade or buy a new Windows PC.  Microsoft will have a Windows 8 upgrade by 2014 to fix many of the problems created by the new design.

 

"Microsoft is giving Windows its most radical overhaul since 1995 and even its most devoted users won’t recognize the venerable computer operating system in this new incarnation, called Windows 8, when it appears Oct. 26."  Walt Mossberg

Windows 8 Review by Walt Mossberg - AllThingsD

 

Note: Photo Image courtesy of  FreeDigitalPhotos.net