Top Ten Partnership Hints

• 1. Vendors know which markets they have had success in and which ones they are yet to break into , so leverage this knowledge to save time and increase your win rates.

• 2. Leverage your vendors’ marketing materials and training resources. Figure out where the company marketing materials are and use them! Some of these can be co-branded with your company’s logo at no cost. Ask if the vendor has any pre-fabricated HTML pages for partners; these are easy to integrate into your own website and usually look very professional.

• 3. Take advantage of vendor sales and technical training. This is a free way to build the expertise of your sales and solution delivery teams.

• 4. Make the most of what is available. How does the new vendor fit with the other products in your kit bag? Are there other vendor products that allow you to build complimentary solutions? Discuss with the vendor what you have done previously and establish with them what you jointly bring to an end user.

• 5. Remember budgets are not as important as passion, innovation, commitment and a willingness to develop a business.

• 6. Make sure your company is listed on the vendor’s website.

• 7. Take advantage of your vendor's market knowledge when prospecting.

• 8. If the vendor has a quick reference guide that includes the basic sales pitch and simple product overviews, learn it.

• 9. Use social media to drum up leads: for example, get involved with LinkedIn groups and provide advice or recommendations when there are relevant questions. This will allow you to broaden your network of contacts and showcase your knowledge.

• 10. Use your vendor relationships to close deals. Establish a relationship with your vendor sales reps and bring them in for joint calls and solution designs; ask them to bring along their top technical people. Get the vendor to confirm your recommended solution to the customer, it builds confidence in both your recommendation and your company and will help separate you from your competition.

By Marcos Burnett, EMEA sales director at Coraid