What are the most common partner sales enablement mistakes and how can you avoid them?

- Not having clear goals and metrics. Set clear objectives for your partner program and have metrics to track progress. This allows you to measure success and make adjustments as needed. - Poor communication and training. Provide partners with regular sales and product updates, training, and marketing materials. Make information easily accessible in a partner portal. -

This typically includes a lack of tailored training, which can be avoided by customizing programs to fit specific partner needs. Overloading information dilutes key messages; instead, focus on delivering concise, prioritized content. Inadequate support and resources can hinder effectiveness, so continuous access to necessary tools is crucial. Poor communication weakens connections; establish consistent channels and seek feedback. Misaligned goals reduce motivation; ensure clear alignment. Neglecting relationship management weakens collaboration, so invest in trust-building and regular check-ins.

From my experience, common partner sales enablement mistakes include unclear communication, insufficient training, outdated resources, and ignoring partner feedback. To avoid these, I ensure expectations are clear, provide comprehensive training and up-to-date content, and regularly gather feedback for improvement. I also simplify the sales process to avoid overwhelming partners and offer strong incentives to keep them motivated. Lastly, I align goals early on through joint planning, ensuring both sides benefit from the partnership. This approach fosters stronger collaboration and better results.

Not having clear access to the learning material No enough material can be found Misalignment when it comes to learning goals No enough support if you struggle with one of the learning tracks Not following up with your partner and offer support

Aligning goals with partners is crucial for mutual success. In my experience, regular strategic meetings to discuss objectives and review KPIs help maintain alignment. For instance, a partner once shifted focus to a market segment that didn't align with our strategy, leading to a dip in performance. We realigned through collaborative planning and targeted incentives, resulting in a 10% uplift in aligned sales.

My motto on how, when and how often Partners should be coached/ trained: If you're educating your internal team, you should offer an option for your partner teammates to learn it as well. In my experience, it takes less time to "repackage" information than it takes to discuss whether Partners are being educated enough. Caveat: It should be easily found and accessible, not (always) required.

Adequate training is the backbone of effective enablement. I've observed a direct correlation between comprehensive training programs and partner sales performance. We implemented a blended learning approach, which boosted our partners' product knowledge and sales skills, leading to a increase in closing rates.

Another common pitfall is insufficient training and coaching for partners. Knowledge gaps can hinder effective sales. To avoid this, EasyWeGo invests in comprehensive training covering our products, value proposition, target market, and sales process. Tailoring training to specific partner needs and utilizing various formats, from webinars to feedback sessions, empowers partners to sell more effectively.

Inadequate training leaves partners ill-equipped to effectively sell your products/services. Invest in comprehensive onboarding, continuous coaching, and enablement resources tailored to partner needs. Leverage subject matter experts for hands-on training.

"Here's one of the most common mistakes in business partnerships: Failing to empower the partner with details, information, and even training on the products and services. This directly impacts the expected results, as well as the partnership relationship, potentially leading to a loss of interest in the opportunity on both sides."

Depending what stage of the partnership the partner is in, sales enablement sessions should be adjusted accordingly. 1) Big mistake is to assume the partners know YOUR language - aim to make content easily digestible. 2) Not using real-life example - look at your partners' clients list and explore how your product can help solve their issues - this makes it more relatable.

Treating partners as your extended sales team is the starting point of disaster. - Make your sales enablement content as consumable as possible, don't forget partners have their own product to sell. Break it down for them. - Your internal incentives might not suit their efforts. Understand & evaluate on how they would like to get incentivized. - Find interactive ways to run enablement sessions, remember one size doesn't fit all.

Limiting the sharing of content and collateral can impede partners' ability to engage prospects. EasyWeGo ensures a steady flow of relevant, up-to-date, and accessible content, showcasing our offerings. Regular feedback from partners refines our materials, contributing to effective sales conversations and conversions

Partners need easy access to up-to-date marketing materials and sales tools. Develop a centralized content hub with product info, customer success stories, battle cards, and co-brandable assets. Gather partner feedback to iterate.

Neglecting technology and tools can hamper efficiency and scalability. At EasyWeGo, we leverage partner relationship management (PRM) systems and portals. These tools streamline recruitment, onboarding, training, and communication. This technological optimization enhances our partner sales enablement operations, fostering growth.

Manual, disjointed processes hinder partner productivity. Implement a user-friendly partner relationship management (PRM) platform for deal registration, quoting, training, and performance tracking. Integrate it with your systems. If your organization does not have resources to spend on tech, use what you have: a Google sheet, a Google doc, Asana.. anything that can help you keep track of the different moving pieces.

Design a multi-tiered partner incentive program with accelerators aligned to your priorities. Supplement with non-cash rewards like gamification, leaderboards, badges and social recognition. Celebrate joint wins via partner marketing campaigns.

Recognition fuels motivation. Introducing a tiered rewards system, based on performance metrics, not only will incentivice your partners but also fostered healthy competition. Celebrating successes, big and small, in newsletters and annual events, further will reinforce their commitment and engagement.

Overlooking rewards and recognition can demotivate partners. EasyWeGo prioritizes acknowledging partners' efforts through transparent incentives, both financial and non-financial. Featuring partners in newsletters, blogs, and social media amplifies their contributions, boosting morale and loyalty.

"Prospecting is an extremely expensive activity. This is why commercial partnerships are well-regarded by companies that understand that indirect sales are an excellent business model for growing their customer base. To this end, financial rewards to commercial partners need to be compensatory so that they can not only offer their own services but also connect third-party services within their portfolio of services or products."

Your sales enablement strategy should be fluid and inclusive of several modalities to reflect the learning preferences of those you are training. In person training, online training with built in assessments, on demand webinars, podcasts, self-help resources that can be reviewed at someone's own pace, "snackable" segments that can be quickly consumed in between meetings, "office hours" to get questions answered, etc. all have a place in a comprehensive enablement strategy. You want to provide your trainees the option to learn the way they do best, so providing a diverse set of options for learning that reflect the diverse audience you are targeting can lead to greater stickiness and success.

A partner sales enablement strategy should align people, processes, and priorities through training, coaching, content, and communications. Incorporating various processes and techniques like in-person training, webinars, podcasts, and lunch-and-learns to cater to diverse learning preferences. Key areas to consider: Keep Partners Top of Mind: * Regular Communication: Engage with newsletters, updates, and success stories. * Deal Registration: Prioritize registered deals. * Joint Business Planning: Collaborate and celebrate wins. Stay Innovative: * Feedback Loop: Gather and adapt based on feedback. * Market Intelligence: Stay informed about trends and competitors. * Pilot New Approaches: Test methods like AI-driven insights and social media.

Failing to evaluate and improve partner sales enablement strategies regularly is a common oversight. EasyWeGo actively collects data and feedback from partners, customers, and internal teams. Regular evaluations through surveys, interviews, and research ensure our strategies remain relevant, effective, and efficient.

Continuously assess your program's impact through partner scorecards, surveys, and focus groups. Use data-driven insights to optimize onboarding, training, incentives, and tools for better enablement.

Sometimes not providing curated content or collateral also impact the sales enablement. There may be different types of sales persona that want enablement. A once size fits all strategy will not work. An exec will need very specific narratives that do not require him/her to have to dig into a whole bunch of trainings. On the other hand a pre-sales person may need a lot more information and details to craft his/her narrative. It is imperative as part of partner sales enablement to personalize the content as opposed to try to use same content and collaterals across various personas.

The primary error lies in determining if both partners are indispensable for the client or if only one suffices. Additionally, assessing whether the partnership fosters innovation and ultimately benefits the customer is crucial. Failing to address these critical questions may result in harm to both you and your clients. It would be best if you answered what this partnership brings.

In our journey, we found that fostering a collaborative culture is key. Encouraging partners to share insights and experiences creates a feedback loop that enriches our strategies. Additionally, remaining agile and adaptive allows us to respond swiftly to evolving market dynamics, ensuring sustained success in partner sales enablement.

Not meeting with and aligning to the key stakeholders/leadership of the employees you are training! They HAVE to be on board with everything you are teaching and training - and must be able to speak to it supportively themselves. A key to success is accountability of all involved - and it starts with those leaders!

Beware of opportunistic partnerships. Although a "done deal" may sound appealing, it often conceals details that a more carefully developed opportunity would reveal. In the long run, costs might outweigh earnings if you onboard the wrong partner.