ZINFI Technologies, Inc.

The partner portal is possibly the single most important tool for a vendor selling through channel. While channel programs, policies and people are all very important ingredients for partner relationship management, in our digital world a properly built, state-of-the-art partner portal can make the difference between a successful channel program and one that fails. However, the majority of partner portals today never realize their full potential of serving the needs of the channel partners and enabling a vendor to scale its business globally. Why is that? Let’s examine some of the primary reasons behind this failure.

* Portals are not localized. Most companies that are selling globally today may have some localized web content, but typically the user interface of the partner portal is not localized. As a result, partners that are more comfortable doing business in English are absolutely fine, but in countries where English is a secondary language or where partners are simply not comfortable using English, those partners can be very hesitant to use the partner portal. At ZINFI, we have observed that localizing the portal consistently increases utilization by 30% to 40% on a worldwide basis.

* Lack of mobile responsiveness. We know most partners are out and about seeing their customers. While some of the technical staff may be using the partner portal via the web on a desktop computer, most individuals at partner organizations today access the partner portal via a mobile application. Therefore, the partner portal needs to be—at the very least—mobile responsive. Ideally, vendors will provide a mobile app that delivers some core functionalities tied to things like partner onboarding, training, lead management, deal registration, incentives management and some basic reports. While the goal is not necessarily to replicate the entire partner portal in mobile form—an unrealistic and ultimately be overwhelming objective—there are several core features and functionality that it makes sense to deliver via a dedicated mobile app.

* Confusing content distribution. A typical vendor that generates a few hundred million dollars in revenue selling through a partner base may carry anywhere from ten to several hundred product lines. Each product or solution is associated with specific content in the form of product data sheets, service sheets, pricing guidelines, competitive positioning, and so on. How is this content actually categorized, tagged and distributed? That’s an incredibly important variable. Another crucial consideration is how new content within the partner portal is tagged and separated from older, less immediately relevant material. For example, if there’s a new launch of a specific product or service, all of the content related to that should be promoted through the partner portal so it’s easy for partners to find as soon as they log in, and is both web responsive and mobile responsive.

* Lack of robust search capabilities. When partners come to your partner portal, they are already busy.

Selling via an indirect sales channel is never easy, especially if you are trying to do it at a global level with multiple product lines catering to all kinds of verticals. The complexity of managing such a channel can be overwhelming, and that complexity can also make it really hard for partners to do business with the vendor. This is where purpose-built partner relationship management (PRM) software can help. In this article, we will explore how PRM software can significantly enhance the ease of doing business for a vendor’s partner base.

Before we discuss the benefits of PRM software, however, let’s explore some of the core challenges partners face as they do business with a vendor selling through the channel.

Complex program and partner relationship management requirements – Most vendors selling through the channel have built their channel program over the years, and the cost of change and/or the fear of change have prevented vendors from simplifying their channel programs. The combination of program complexity, a patchwork of partner portal applications, and a lack of purpose-built PRM software can make doing business very complex.

The portal is not mobile-friendly – The partner portal is the first and last handshake a partner has with the vendor. However, if you are not using purpose-built PRM software, it’s likely your portal is not fully mobile-responsive and the patchwork of applications you use to manage your partner relationships is really hard to navigate via a mobile interface. This is a critical hurdle that partners must struggle to overcome every time they log on.

Hard–to-find content – A primary purpose of your partner portal is to allow your partners to self-serve and access the many vendor-provided channel programs that are in place without calling the vendor for assistance. Without a purpose-built partner portal powered by world-class PRM software, however, searching for and finding relevant marketing assets, programs, sales materials, and other content can be very difficult.

Complicated navigation – If your partner portal has evolved over the years and has become a patched-up quilt of discrete applications, chances are most of the applications (partner contracts, training, incentives, deal registrations, etc.) come from different vendors and there is little navigational consistency. The multiplicity of interfaces can be downright confusing. This is where purpose-built PRM software that encompasses end-to-end channel management can make a big difference, providing users with a clean, consistent, logical interface that remains the same wherever they are within the portal.

Lack of dynamic alerts – Keeping partners informed in a way that is useful to them is critical. That’s why partners need to be able to configure and manage alerts for their own unique purposes—whether the alerts have to do with deal registration, incentives approval, or training certification expirations. Unfortunately, most partner portals do not allow this to happen. If you deploy purpose-built PRM software, however, you can absolutely overcome this issue and enable partners to manage their alert-based workflows much better and faster.

All in all, doing business is hard, even frustrating, for your partners if have not properly deployed and configured PRM software to power your partner portal and programs. So now let’s explore in more detail how state-of-the-art PRM software can help your partners overcome these challenges.

Streamline partner onboarding – Partner engagement starts with the recruitment of new partners into current programs and existing partners into new programs. Properly built PRM software can significantly augment and automate the partner onboarding process.

Make agreement management easy – The first step in getting a partner onboarded is signing agreements. For many organizations, this is a painstaking, manual process that is difficult to keep track of. However, when a vendor deploys state-of-the-art PRM software, the agreement management process can be automated and streamlined, thereby increasing partner satisfaction substantially.

Dynamic business planning – Business planning is a very important activity for mid-market and enterprise-level partners, as well as large-scale dealers and wholesalers. Again, for many of today’s organizations, this is still a manual process, and there is no automated way to track performance. Deploying a dynamic business planning module from a reputable PRM software vendor can significantly streamline the planning process and make tracking easy and efficient.

Integrated demand generation – Demand generation is a core area where vendors have a strong incentive to enable partners. Today, most vendors lacking state-of-the-art PRM software must provide co-branded asset capabilities via slow, awkward workarounds like downloadable ZIP files. Best-in-class PRM software will provide integrated demand generation capabilities (tools and tactics) right out of the box.

Make incentive management easy – We have all heard the cliché: “Salespeople are coin-operated.” Well, there is a reason the channel is called a reseller channel because it is primarily made up of salespeople. Yes, there are some marketers involved, but most channel partners are resellers, including big-box retailers. They can push vendor-branded content but are rarely able to generate excitement on their own. However, with the right tools, a partner’s sales organization can be incentivized properly to align partner and vendor goals and drive results. Using state-of-the-art PRM software, a vendor can automate this process, track results and adjust programs based on real-time business intelligence.

Creative competition –Making it easy for partners to do business is a very important aspect of any channel program, but making it fun is also important. State-of-the-art PRM software should provide gamification features such as leader boards across various functions and programs to make competing with other individuals and partner organizations and achieving success enjoyable.

Provide intelligence – Knowing what works and why it works is incredibly important for a channel program to grow and succeed. However, without the right PRM software, it is almost impossible to figure out the keys to success and make correlations between investments and returns—something all channel professionals want.

As you can see from this summary, running a large, diverse channel can be very challenging, but making it perform at a higher level is even harder. However, there is hope. There are several companies, like ZINFI, who provide state-of-the-art PRM software that can change how you interact with your channel overnight with very little investment. Breaking even and even doubling your investment dollars typically happens not in months or years but in days. If you are constantly hearing from your channel that it is hard to do business with you…yes, be sure to systematically evaluate your channel programs, policies, and people, but also make sure that you carefully evaluate the PRM software you are using—or should be using—to move your channel into the digital age.

If you want to learn more, please go to our website.

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Selling via an indirect sales channel is never easy, especially if you are trying to do it at a global level with multiple product lines catering to all kinds of verticals. The complexity of managing such a channel can be overwhelming, and that complexity can also make it really hard for partners to do business with the vendor. This is where purpose-built partner relationship management (PRM) software can help. In this article, we will explore how PRM software can significantly enhance the ease of doing business for a vendor’s partner base.

Before we discuss the benefits of PRM software, however, let’s explore some of the core challenges partners face as they do business with a vendor selling through the channel.

* Complex program and partner relationship management requirements – Most vendors selling through the channel have built their channel program over the years, and the cost of change and/or the fear of change have prevented vendors from simplifying their channel programs. The combination of program complexity, a patchwork of partner portal applications, and a lack of purpose-built PRM software can make doing business very complex.

* The portal is not mobile-friendly – The partner portal is the first and last handshake a partner has with the vendor. However, if you are not using purpose-built PRM software, it’s likely your portal is not fully mobile-responsive and the patchwork of applications you use to manage your partner relationships is really hard to navigate via a mobile interface. This is a critical hurdle that partners must struggle to overcome every time they log on.

* Hard–to-find content – A primary purpose of your partner portal is to allow your partners to self-serve and access the many vendor-provided channel programs that are in place without calling the vendor for assistance. Without a purpose-built partner portal powered by world class PRM software, however, searching for and finding relevant marketing assets, programs, sales materials and other content can be very difficult.

* Complicated navigation – If your partner portal has evolved over the years and has become a patched-up quilt of discrete applications, chances are most of the applications (partner contracts, training, incentives, deal registrations, etc.) come from different vendors and there is little navigational consistency. The multiplicity of interfaces can be downright confusing. This is where purpose-built PRM software that encompasses end-to-end channel management can make a big difference, providing users with a clean, consistent, logical interface that remains the same wherever they are within the portal.

* Lack of dynamic alerts – Keeping partners informed in a way that us useful to them is critical. That’s why partners need to be able to configure and manage alerts for their own unique purposes—whether the alerts have to do with deal registration or incentives approval or training certification expirations. Unfortunately, most partner portals do not allow this to happen. If you deploy purpose-built PRM software, however, you can absolutely overcome this issue and enable partners to manage their alert-based workflows much better and faster.

All in all,

Selling via an indirect sales channel is never easy, especially if you are trying to do it at a global level with multiple product lines catering to all kinds of verticals. The complexity of managing such a channel can be overwhelming, and that complexity can also make it really hard for partners to do business with the vendor. This is where purpose-built partner relationship management (PRM) software can help. In this article, we will explore how PRM software can significantly enhance the ease of doing business for a vendor’s partner base.Before we discuss the benefits of PRM software, however, let’s explore some of the core challenges partners face as they do business with a vendor selling through the channel.* Complex program and partner relationship management requirements – Most vendors selling through the channel have built their channel program over the years, and the cost of change and/or the fear of change have prevented vendors from simplifying their channel programs. The combination of program complexity, a patchwork of partner portal applications, and a lack of purpose-built PRM software can make doing business very complex.* The portal is not mobile-friendly – The partner portal is the first and last handshake a partner has with the vendor. However, if you are not using purpose-built PRM software, it’s likely your portal is not fully mobile-responsive and the patchwork of applications you use to manage your partner relationships is really hard to navigate via a mobile interface. This is a critical hurdle that partners must struggle to overcome every time they log on.* Hard–to-find content – A primary purpose of your partner portal is to allow your partners to self-serve and access the many vendor-provided channel programs that are in place without calling the vendor for assistance. Without a purpose-built partner portal powered by world class PRM software, however, searching for and finding relevant marketing assets, programs, sales materials and other content can be very difficult.* Complicated navigation – If your partner portal has evolved over the years and has become a patched-up quilt of discrete applications, chances are most of the applications (partner contracts, training, incentives, deal registrations, etc.) come from different vendors and there is little navigational consistency. The multiplicity of interfaces can be downright confusing. This is where purpose-built PRM software that encompasses end-to-end channel management can make a big difference, providing users with a clean, consistent, logical interface that remains the same wherever they are within the portal.* Lack of dynamic alerts – Keeping partners informed in a way that us useful to them is critical. That’s why partners need to be able to configure and manage alerts for their own unique purposes—whether the alerts have to do with deal registration or incentives approval or training certification expirations. Unfortunately, most partner portals do not allow this to happen. If you deploy purpose-built PRM software, however, you can absolutely overcome this issue and enable partners to manage their alert-based workflows much better and faster.All in all, doing business is hard, even frustrating, for your partners if have not properly deployed and configured PRM software to power your partner portal and programs. So now let’s explore in more detail how state-of-the-art PRM soft...

Partner Relationship Management software provides significant business benefits by automating and streamlining channel operations. It helps companies manage partners more effectively. This leads to increased revenue and efficiency.

Modern businesses often rely on a network of channel partners. These partners help sell products and services. Managing this ecosystem can be complex and time-consuming. However, a dedicated software solution simplifies this entire process. A robust Partner Relationship Management (PRM) platform offers tools for every stage of the partner lifecycle. From onboarding to sales enablement, it creates a unified experience for everyone.

Implementing a PRM solution is a strategic investment in your channel's success. It replaces manual spreadsheets and disjointed communication methods. This technology provides a single source of truth for your partner program. As a result, companies see improved collaboration, greater productivity, and scalable growth. Understanding these advantages is key to unlocking your channel's full potential.

Key Benefits of Partner Relationship Management

TL;DR

Streamlines partner onboarding and activation processes for faster ramp-up times.

Improves partner communication and engagement with a centralized partner portal.

Enhances partner training and enablement with integrated learning management systems.

Aligns sales and marketing efforts for consistent messaging and lead management.

Provides powerful analytics for data-driven decisions and performance tracking.

Increases channel ROI by improving efficiency and partner productivity.

Supports scalable growth by automating key partner management functions.

How Does Partner Relationship Management Improve Onboarding and Engagement?

First impressions are crucial in any business relationship. A smooth onboarding process sets the stage for a successful partnership. Manual onboarding often involves endless paperwork, emails, and delays. A strong Partner Relationship Management system automates this entire workflow. It creates a seamless and professional experience for new partners.

With automated systems, partners can complete digital contracts and access welcome kits instantly. This significantly reduces the time it takes for a partner to become active. The platform guides them through initial training and setup. This efficiency means partners can start selling much faster. Better onboarding leads directly to quicker revenue generation from the channel.

Engagement is another critical area improved by a top-tier Partner Relationship Management platform. The software provides a central hub for all communications. Instead of scattered emails, partners access a dedicated portal. This portal contains news, product updates, and program announcements. Companies can use tools like ZINFI's Alerts Management to deliver timely information.

This centralized platform fosters a sense of community. Partners feel more connected to your brand and its goals. Consistent engagement keeps your company top-of-mind. It ensures partners have the information they need to succeed. Effective engagement, powered by a solid Partner Relationship Management solution, builds loyalty and boosts performance across the entire ecosystem.

Can a PRM System Boost Partner Enablement and Performance?

Well-trained partners sell more effectively than untrained ones. Your partners are an extension of your sales team. They must have deep product knowledge and selling skills. A Partner Relationship Management system is essential for delivering comprehensive training. It ensures every partner receives consistent and up-to-date information.

Many PRM platforms include a sophisticated Partner Learning Management System (LMS). This allows companies to create structured training courses and certifications. Partners can access learning modules on-demand, at their own pace. Progress can be tracked to ensure completion and comprehension. This systematic approach to training elevates the capabilities of your entire channel.

Beyond formal training, ongoing enablement is vital for peak performance. A PRM platform acts as a central repository for all sales and marketing assets. This feature is often managed through a Content Library Management module. Partners can quickly find product data sheets, presentations, and case studies. Having easy access to these resources empowers them to handle customer inquiries confidently.

This boosts their credibility and improves their sales effectiveness. A robust Partner Relationship Management tool ensures content is always current. It removes the risk of partners using outdated or incorrect materials. Ultimately, better enablement translates directly into better sales outcomes. Partners are more prepared, confident, and successful.

Why is Partner Relationship Management Crucial for Sales and Marketing?

Aligning partner sales and marketing efforts is a major challenge. Inconsistent branding and messaging can confuse customers. A Partner Relationship Management platform unifies these functions. It provides tools that ensure partners market and sell your products correctly. This alignment is critical for building a strong brand presence.

Co-branded marketing is a key benefit of modern PRM systems. Partners can easily customize marketing materials with their own logos. This is managed through tools for Co-branded Assets Management. This maintains brand consistency while allowing for local market personalization. Campaigns can be launched quickly and effectively across the entire partner network.

Sales process automation is another powerful feature of Partner Relationship Management. Systems for Deal Registration Management prevent channel conflict. They provide clear rules of engagement for new opportunities. This protects partners' investments in developing leads. It fosters a fair and trusting environment, which is vital for long-term success.

Furthermore, managing leads and referrals becomes much simpler. You can route leads to the right partners based on geography or expertise. This process is streamlined with a Referral Management solution. This efficiency ensures that potential customers receive prompt follow-up. According to Gartner, AI-guided selling is becoming a major force. Integrating PRM aligns with this trend, making your sales process smarter.

Managing financial incentives is also a core part of Partner Relationship Management. Market Development Funds (MDF) encourage partners to invest in marketing activities. A PRM platform automates the entire MDF lifecycle. From proposal and approval to claims and payments. This visibility and control are offered through solutions like MDF Management. It ensures funds are used effectively to generate demand and drive sales.

How Does PRM Deliver Actionable Data and Performance Analytics?

You cannot manage what you cannot measure. A primary benefit of a Partner Relationship Management platform is its analytical capabilities. It moves companies away from guesswork and toward data-driven strategy. The software collects data from every partner interaction. This provides a holistic view of channel performance.

Dashboards and reports are central to this function. Executives and channel managers can see key performance indicators (KPIs) in real-time. This includes metrics like partner-sourced revenue, deal registration volume, and training completion rates. With a solution for Business Intelligence & Reports, you can customize views for different roles. This visibility allows for quick identification of high-performing and underperforming partners.

Advanced systems offer more than just historical reporting. They incorporate performance analytics to uncover trends and patterns. You can analyze which marketing campaigns are most effective. You can see which training modules correlate with higher sales. Insights like these are invaluable for optimizing your channel program. They help you make informed decisions on where to invest resources.

The future of channel management includes predictive analytics. These tools use historical data and AI to forecast future outcomes. For example, they might predict which partners are most likely to succeed. They can also identify partners at risk of becoming inactive. This foresight allows managers to intervene proactively. Effective Partner Relationship Management turns raw data into a strategic asset.

What Role Does Partner Relationship Management Play in Driving ROI?

Ultimately, every business investment must deliver a return. A Partner Relationship Management system drives return on investment (ROI) in multiple ways. It achieves this by increasing revenue and decreasing operational costs. The efficiency gains alone can provide a significant financial benefit. Automating manual tasks frees up channel managers to focus on strategic activities.

Increased revenue comes from a more effective partner channel. Better onboarding means partners start selling sooner. Enhanced training and enablement make them better at selling. Aligned sales and marketing efforts generate more high-quality leads. All these factors contribute to a direct uplift in channel sales. The right Partner Relationship Management platform is a powerful engine for indirect revenue growth.

Cost savings are another major component of PRM's ROI. Automation reduces the administrative burden of managing a partner program. Tasks that once took hours can be done in minutes. This includes managing partner profiles, distributing content, and processing incentive claims. Efficient management of programs like Partner Rebates also prevents overpayment and ensures compliance.

Furthermore, a robust PRM solution provides the foundation for scalable growth. As you add more partners, the system manages the increased complexity. You can expand your channel without proportionally increasing your administrative headcount....

The concept of partner relationship management software has been around for a couple of decades. However, most of the platforms really haven’t taken off for some pretty specific reasons. The primary reasons have revolved around the cost and complexities involved in deployment. However, over the last five or 10 years or so, several companies offering partner relationship management software have made considerable progress—not only in reducing cost but also in modularizing the software functionalities in a way that allows vendors to deploy the software in a logical and sequential order that makes sense for their own organization. In this article, we will talk about the six main benefits of deploying partner relationship management software.

Streamline partner onboarding: If you are in a company with a large channel or if you are in a company that is trying to expand your channel, chances are you’re trying to recruit new partners. If you’re trying to recruit new partners into your channel programs and they’re using a manual process, you are wasting a lot of internal resources by doing things manually that properly configured partner relationship management software can do much more efficiently. You’re also creating friction within each engagement and with the partners that you are trying recruit. Properly configured partner relationship management software can significantly streamline your onboarding process. It reduces costs, it increases partner satisfaction and it also increases visibility into the entire partner onboarding process.

Realize new efficiencies from automating the learning management and certification process: Today most vendors selling to the channel have some kind of learning management system (LMS) in place. However, typically these systems do not connect properly with other subsystems. Therefore, the LMS is often managed as an island by the training and learning team, and is rarely fully integrated into the overall channel management process, especially when it comes to channel account managers or business manager infrastructure. Properly configured partner relationship management software can significantly increase the efficiency with which you manage your partner base and the learning and certification processes associated with it.

Speed up distribution of co-branded assets: Today most vendors have a partner portal which they use for communicating with the partners about programs and about the progress that the vendor is making with the business. But as a part of the process they also distribute co-branded assets. A properly configured partner relationship management software platform will significantly increase the speed with which these assets are distributed from the agency that is creating them to the partner marketing team that is going to use them. But that's not all. The partner can also log in and co-brand an asset online, which increases partner satisfaction. It also allows vendors see which partner is downloading which assets, and whether they are working or not.

Reduce the labor and complexities associated with lead management: If you are selling to the channel—say, the mid-market and enterprise markets across all verticals—chances are you have some sort of a deal protection program in place. If your partners are accessing your CRM, or some other homegrown online tool,

Companies selling to the channel need to understand some of the core principles of partner relationship management. In other articles we have discussed why partner relationship management fails, and why it is important to avoid those failure modes. It is even more important to avoid a few core mistakes that many organizations make either intentionally or unintentionally. In this article we’ll explore the five core mistakes that we see vendors across the channel making consistently. These are mistakes that can easily be avoided with some thought and pre-planning.

Overdistribution: If your organization is focused on partner relationship management and you want to drive high-level partner satisfaction, it is essential to make sure your partners know you care about their business and not just your own. It’s common for vendors to send the wrong signal to their partner base by announcing a recruitment and expansion program. While this makes perfect sense if you are trying to expand territories where you have no presence and want to add geographies or countries where you don’t currently do business, it is incredibly important to make sure in a market where you already have a presence that you don’t send the wrong signal and undermine your partner relationships. One of the best ways of avoiding this kind of mistakes is to perform partner profile and potential analysis. For example, if you’re selling into large countries like the US, Germany, France or the UK, and have been doing so for a while, chances are you already have a decent infrastructure for partner relationship management. If you have data that describes your partners in a great degree of detail--who they are, what their competencies are, what they do--then you can analyze your partner profiles to determine the potential of that base. Instead of recruiting more partners to go sell into those markets, you may be better off making investments with existing partners to help them sell more and become more engaged. Or you may want to focus on the partners that have potential to sell more but still haven’t lived up to that potential in actual sales. You can make these distinctions by actively analyzing your partners’ profiles and their potential, which will help you avoid the mistake of over-distribution.

Overpromise and underdeliver: This is a deadly sin when it comes to partner relationship management. Just like you, partners are busy. If you make a promise, they’re going to rely on you to deliver. If you or your organization is not capable of delivery—whether it’s a bug fix in the technology or improvements in B2C segments or a revised incentive structure that customers have asked for—don’t try to avoid a near-term conflict by agreeing to improvements even though you know that you are unlikely to be able to deliver. Just like in any relationship, in partner relationship management overpromising destroys trust instantly. Therefore, it is better to take the bullet now rather than get completely drowned later on in mistrust and issues associated with it. You are friends with your partners. Tell them honestly why you cannot address certain problems immediately. As long as they understand that you have empathy and you have a business reason for prioritizing specific ideas and needs over others you are currently working on, they will understand. They are business people—just like you. Now, in the process you may lose certain partners, which is okay. But in the end, you’re going to end up having a loyal partner base that values your open communication style. So follow the “underpromise and overdeliver” mantra--not the other way around.

Complex incentive programs: We see these mistakes related to incentives programs being made in partner relationship management again and again. This can be avoided with an annual review of your incentive structure to make sure what partners have to do to earn incentives is in alignment both with your business objectives and your partners’ business objectives. You can perform this review by conducting proper surveys, hosting focus groups, and by having detailed discussions with partners to understand what’s working and what’s not. Of course, you need detailed tracking of the results of your incentives management program to gain insight into what worked last year and what didn’t work, and when something didn’t work, it is also be helpful to ask partners why. Managing incentives properly is a significant requirement and also an enabler. Rolling out complex rewards, rebates or market development fund (MDF) programs that ultimately diminish your ability to excite partners sends a message that you may be trying to avoid paying them by creating all these hurdles. You can easily avoid these mistakes simply by doing less—which will ultimately prove to be more. Limit yourself to a few simple incentives management programs under your partner relationship management infrastructure or framework and you will drive partner engagement significantly.

Condoning unethical behavior: This is a major issue in today's channel. If you know of a partner who is side-selling or trading confidential information or spending your market development funds in an improper way, you must step in. As soon as you are aware of an ethical problem, you are responsible. Believe me, you do not want these issues. Get proper legal engagement on your company site and have a formal discussion with the partner, presenting the facts that you have gathered; do not rely on hearsay. Then lay out what the offending partner needs to do to rectify the situation. If you see things are not being addressed properly, take appropriate legal and financial actions. This is an issue you cannot ignore. It can impact you personally, your entire organization and your reputation in the channel. Companies that make short-term trade-up by overlooking unethical practices sooner or later end up losing it all. We have seen that happen several times over the past couple of decades, including the failure of three large businesses because of improper practices.

Insufficient channel infrastructure investment: We live in a hypercompetitive world. Just like you, your partners want to move at the speed of digital. For them to do that, they require on-demand infrastructure that they can tap into whenever they need it. If your organization today is supporting your partner base manually—whether it's partner onboarding, partner training, lead management, deal registration or incentives management—chances are, you are not only wasting a lot of internal resources but also creating significant friction as you do business with your partners. Do not make this mistake! Is better to make an investment of $100,000 a year only to save millions and generate hundreds of millions of additional revenue with a highly satisfied partner base than to rely on antiquated, paper-based infrastructure that doesn’t scale, doesn’t allow you to expand your reach at a reduced cost, makes it difficult to control the brand experience, and prevents you from increasing partner satisfaction.

While these are not the only mistakes in partner relationship management that a company can make, based on what we have seen over the years these are the five fundamental mistakes that get repeated again and again and can be easily avoided with a little bit of thinking and planning ahead. Keep these mistakes in front of you and make sure that both existing employee channel employees and newly hired employees go through an orientation program to understand these how to avoid them. Apart from the tactical investment in channel infrastructure, these are guiding principles that cost you nothing, and they will undoubtedly lead to better partner relationship management across the channel.

Want to learn more about partner relationship management? Please go to our website.

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Companies selling to the channel need to understand some of the core principles of partner relationship management. In other articles we have discussed why partner relationship management fails, and why it is important to avoid those failure modes. It is even more important to avoid a few core mistakes that many organizations make either intentionally or unintentionally. In this article we’ll explore the five core mistakes that we see vendors across the channel making consistently. These are mistakes that can easily be avoided with some thought and pre-planning.* Overdistribution: If your organization is focused on partner relationship management and you want to drive high-level partner satisfaction, it is essential to make sure your partners know you care about their business and not just your own. It’s common for vendors to send the wrong signal to their partner base by announcing a recruitment and expansion program. While this makes perfect sense if you are trying to expand territories where you have no presence and want to add geographies or countries where you don’t currently do business, it is incredibly important to make sure in a market where you already have a presence that you don’t send the wrong signal and undermine your partner relationships. One of the best ways of avoiding this kind of mistakes is to perform partner profile and potential analysis. For example, if you’re selling into large countries like the US, Germany, France or the UK, and have been doing so for a while, chances are you already have a decent infrastructure for partner relationship management. If you have data that describes your partners in a great degree of detail–who they are, what their competencies are, what they do–then you can analyze your partner profiles to determine the potential of that base. Instead of recruiting more partners to go sell into those markets, you may be better off making investments with existing partners to help them sell more and become more engaged. Or you may want to focus on the partners that have potential to sell more but still haven’t lived up to that potential in actual sales. You can make these distinctions by actively analyzing your partners’ profiles and their potential, which will help you avoid the mistake of over-distribution.* Overpromise and underdeliver: This is a deadly sin when it comes to partner relationship management. Just like you, partners are busy. If you make a promise, they’re going to rely on you to deliver. If you or your organization is not capable of delivery—whether it’s a bug fix in the technology or improvements in B2C segments or a revised incentive structure that customers have asked for—don’t try to avoid a near-term conflict by agreeing to improvements even though you know that you are unlikely to be able to deliver. Just like in any relationship, in partner relationship management overpromising destroys trust instantly. Therefore, it is better to take the bullet now rather than get completely drowned later on in mistrust and issues associated with it. You are friends with your partners. Tell them honestly why you cannot address certain problems immediately. As long as they understand that you have empathy and you have a business reason for prioritizing specific ideas and needs over others you are currently working on, they will understand. They are business people—just like you. Now, in the process you may lose certain partners, which is okay. But in the end, you’re going to end up having a loyal partner base that values your open communication style. So follow the “underpromise and overdeliver” mantra–not the other way around.* Complex incentive programs: We see these mistakes related to incentives programs being made in partner relationship management again and again. This can be avoided with an annual review of your incentive structur...

Companies selling to the channel need to understand some of the core principles of partner relationship management. In other articles we have discussed why partner relationship management fails, and why it is important to avoid those failure modes. It is even more important to avoid a few core mistakes that many organizations make either intentionally or unintentionally. In this article we’ll explore the five core mistakes that we see vendors across the channel making consistently. These are mistakes that can easily be avoided with some thought and pre-planning.

* Overdistribution: If your organization is focused on partner relationship management and you want to drive high-level partner satisfaction, it is essential to make sure your partners know you care about their business and not just your own. It’s common for vendors to send the wrong signal to their partner base by announcing a recruitment and expansion program. While this makes perfect sense if you are trying to expand territories where you have no presence and want to add geographies or countries where you don’t currently do business, it is incredibly important to make sure in a market where you already have a presence that you don’t send the wrong signal and undermine your partner relationships. One of the best ways of avoiding this kind of mistakes is to perform partner profile and potential analysis. For example, if you’re selling into large countries like the US, Germany, France or the UK, and have been doing so for a while, chances are you already have a decent infrastructure for partner relationship management. If you have data that describes your partners in a great degree of detail--who they are, what their competencies are, what they do--then you can analyze your partner profiles to determine the potential of that base. Instead of recruiting more partners to go sell into those markets, you may be better off making investments with existing partners to help them sell more and become more engaged. Or you may want to focus on the partners that have potential to sell more but still haven’t lived up to that potential in actual sales. You can make these distinctions by actively analyzing your partners’ profiles and their potential, which will help you avoid the mistake of over-distribution.

* Overpromise and underdeliver: This is a deadly sin when it comes to partner relationship management. Just like you, partners are busy. If you make a promise, they’re going to rely on you to deliver. If you or your organization is not capable of delivery—whether it’s a bug fix in the technology or improvements in B2C segments or a revised incentive structure that customers have asked for—don’t try to avoid a near-term conflict by agreeing to improvements even though you know that you are unlikely to be able to deliver. Just like in any relationship, in partner relationship management overpromising destroys trust instantly. Therefore, it is better to take the bullet now rather than get completely drowned later on in mistrust and issues associated with it. You are friends with your partners. Tell them honestly why you cannot address certain problems immediately. As long as they understand that you have empathy and you have a business reason for prioritizing specific ideas and needs over others you are currently working on, they will understand. They are business people—just like you. Now, in the process you may lose certain partners, which is okay. But in the end, you’re going to end up having a loyal partner base that values your open communication style. So follow the “underpromise and overdeliver” mantra--not the other way around.

* Complex incentive programs: We see these mistakes related to incentives programs being made in partner relationship management again and ag...

If you are selling through the channel, it is probably safe to assume that you have a partner portal. There’s nothing ground-breaking about that. However, this is 2016. Do you know when your partner portal was built and with what technologies? Why does it matter? Well, do you still use a typewriter? I doubt it—typewriters are obsolete. So why would anyone want to use a partner portal built on obsolete software? I’ll have more to say on that later, but before we get into the weeds here, let’s step back for a second and look at the history of partner portals and how they have been built over the years.

Past (1985 to 2000)

If you were selling through the channel in 1990s, chances are you had an extranet whose purpose was to provide your partners with access to price lists, datasheets, collateral, etc. so that they wouldn’t have to wait for printed materials to arrive. The partner portal software was very basic. Actually, it was essentially a website with external login capabilities connected with some sort of a directory systems that mapped users. That’s about it.

Now, during this phase a few companies like Channelware (which actually coined the term “partner relationship management”), Channel Wave and Blue Roads raised millions of dollars in funding to create more sophisticated and functional portals, but they eventually went out of business due to lack of business adoption, lack of complete solution sets, high prices, complicated deployment and a lack of a full web services infrastructure. So despite the fact that several organizations had the right idea, the market was not ready for widespread adoption—or one could argue these companies couldn’t supply what the market needed at that point with their versions of a partner portal software solution.

Present (2000 - 2015)

Most companies who started in the late 1990s to build and develop partner portal software were not successful and shut down by early to mid-2000s. However, with the explosion of Internet-related businesses in the dot-com boom and the proliferation of enterprise application companies, point solution products tied to incentives management, rewards, rebates, etc. started to evolve. Companies selling through the channel realized that they could use their customer relationship management (CRM) platform to automate some of the workflow as well. So naturally, due to lack of any integrated end-to-end solutions, companies started to patch together partner portal software of various types.

However, this patchwork of discrete point solutions created complexity, made the partner experience less than desirable, and made the total cost of ownership unbearable for organizations selling through the channel. Also, due to long buying cycles—and given the past failures of other vendors—very few new vendors for partner portal software entered the marketplace. Most players in the partner portal software space today are left over from the second wave of patched-up solutions and very few have a truly complete vision of what the future of partner portal software will look like.

Future (2015-2030)

Nils Bohr, a Nobel laureate in physics, was once quoted as saying, “Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” Well, we have also heard that the best way to predict the future is to create it. So I’d like to talk about what we at ZINFI believe about the future of partner portal software and what we are doing to create that future. We believe the future of partner portal software requires seven MAGICAL elements. The partner portal software of the future will be…:

Modular: That’s because enterprises are not going to rip and replace their entire infrastructure, and because there will be very few companies who can compete without a fully end-to-end automation platform in place.

Adaptive: As companies turn on different modules of the partner portal software, these modules have to fit into an existing infrastructure and have to adapt to data flows on both PC and mobile platforms.

Global: Whatever partner portal software is selected for deployment, it will necessarily have to accommodate a global infrastructure, including things like European data privacy laws and the regulations of various countries.

Intelligent: The customer will need to be able to learn more about what works and doesn’t work in their channel management approach by understanding and analyzing the intelligence that is provided by the analytical engine of the partner portal software.

Comprehensive: Eventually, when all of the modules are turned on, the software will automate the entire channel marketing process from end to end, and it will manage the process through a unified, integrated approach.

Affordable: Of course these deployments will have to be priced competitively, and it will also have to be possible for growing enterprises to deploy cost-effectively. Therefore, the total cost of ownership will have to be clearly visible and the return on investment must arrive within a few months instead of years.

Localized: Because deployment is comprehensive and global, it is essential that the entire experience be localized in multiple languages—not only to make it easy for vendors to do business with partners but also to make sure that portal content is relevant and responsive.

When it comes to partner portal software, the good news is that there are a few companies like ZINFI who have already been working towards this vision for some time now. We at ZINFI have taken the lead in defining the category of Unified Partner Management, and the unified approach can be truly MAGICAL. If you want to know more about ZINFI Unified Partner Management and the future of partner portal software, please visit www.zinfi.com.