What if your CRM worked for Partnerships, too?

Podcast Link

Last year, around this time, there were some pretty big announcements in the Partner Tech space.

• First, PartnerHacker announced a merger with Reveal to launch Nearbound the same day I went deep on the value of Salesforce list-views. Still bothers me we didn't coordinate so they could get the bump from my viewership, but... one can only do so much.

• Then, Crossbeam announced a new partnership with Pavilion to accelerate learning around 'Ecosystem Led Growth.'

Since then, more things have been happening...

• Jared Fuller released a Nearbound book

• Bob Moore released an 'Ecosystem Led Growth' book

• Allbound acquired Channel Mechanics

• Multiple partner tech companies have made AI related announcements

• New Partner related tech companies continue to pop up while old ones push for innovation and market share

But the really, truly big news for #Partnership people is that....

CRMs are Still the Worst (for Partnerships)

A year after I wrote this article the first time, #CRM companies still have no native answer for Partnership teams struggling to use core systems.

Every CRM I checked - Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics, and even Zoho - fails to include 'out of the box' functionality for Partnership management. This means any company looking for native functionality has to upgrade licensing for the entire organization to get access to the customization capabilities they need. This can add significant cost - we're talking thousands of dollars in most cases - and then they still have to build it!

Since writing the original article I've had dozens of conversations around Partnership attribution and put together a few quick videos of various solutions I've seen. These conversations + my professional experiences have coalesced into a very consistent response.

Tracking attribution is a byproduct of all the work that has happened to make attribution possible.

The Ice Machine Conundrum

I snapped this photo in the midday rush. If you've ever worked in a restaurant that faced this problem you're already grinning from ear to ear because you know exactly what I'm going to say next. If you've never worked in a restaurant or experienced working in one with a cheap owner, let me explain.

I grew up working in restaurants. This is where I first learned concepts like 'front of house' and 'back of house.' It's where I first saw pecking orders and hierarchies really come to life. It's the world that exposed me to customer satisfaction, upsells, and learning how to get things done with speed and efficacy.

In this world where every second matters the worst job you can have is filling up the ice machine. It's a never convenient but always a shared job that irritates everyone from the customer to the line chef trying to get food out the door. Why you ask? Oh fortunate you that never felt this pain... let me expand.

• That latter stayed in the way for 10 minutes while the employee made 5 trips to the back of the restaurant, through the front desk, prep areas, and cook lines.

• Customers had to work around it in a very limited space this entire time. One couple had to stop their kid climbing on it to get a drink.

• The employee had to haul a 5 gallon bucket of ice up that ladder 5 times that I saw (hello Slip/Trip/Fall claim!).

• The line lost a cook in the middle of lunch rush (my onion rings were a bit crunchy).

• A spill can send ice all over the counter and floors, creating more hazards and time lost.

• It's generally needed at peak hours, pressuring employees to rush the job and increasing the risk.

What drives me nuts is that virtually every time I see this I know, with 100% certainty, that a solution exists. Ice machines can be installed on top of the machine to keep the ice flowing and avoid every single delay, hassle and liability mentioned above. So why don't they do it?

In this case I can see two likely reasons that have the same core issue: cost.

1. Not enough space (resources). They may have been told the space was too short and they'd need additional work to accommodate the bulk of the ice machine. Given they could get or had a standing ice machine for a fraction of the total cost it 'made sense' to just go have someone do the fills instead of trying to build a solution.

2. Legacy Setup. This is an older, established joint and they may also be working with a legacy setup. The option may not have existed when they started and their not prompted to make a change when what they have 'works well enough' as it is. They've got front-end bussers (ops teams) they can assign to relieve the burden from the wait (sales) staff.

Regardless of the reason the excuse is the same - avoiding an 'expensive' investment because they can't see the long-term payoff. The ice machine would make things easier, safer, and everyone happier, but it's not "necessary" because we can solve the problem with headcount.

Sound familiar?

The number one solution for the Partner Attribution problem is a related object lookup on the Opportunity record that allows you to 'tag' a Partner Account.

Attribution as a Byproduct

When I said attribution is a byproduct what I mean is that attribution is built on all the activity that came before it.

• Someone had to decide to invest in a Partner rhythm

• Someone had design a program model

• Someone had to build a target list and start reaching out to Partners

• Someone had to negotiate and sign those partners into agreements that typically include definitions and payment terms

• Someone had to work with the Partner to train on the product

• Someone had to stay close to source leads and make introductions

• Someone had to put all this information in a spreadsheet, or email, or something to attempt and highlight 'value'

• Someone, typically higher up, likely asked the other someone to "Prove it."

And now.... you 'need' attribution in the CRM.

If a related lookup field is all you do to support Partner Attribution, it's like putting your ice machine in the kitchen and asking your PAM to always make sure the soda fountain is full.

The more you build from that starting point, the more complicated and custom your environment will become, making it increasingly difficult to consider holistic solutions because your dependencies are simply too great and too costly to rebuild.

The Partnership Ice Machine

Last year I included a list of all the various elements you should consider to support Partnership work in the CRM. Feel free to go back and review for your own use, especially if you're not using Salesforce, because the rest of this post will have little value for you.

If you are on Salesforce, I only have one question....

Would you like to buy an ice machine?

Partner Foundations is a Salesforce native app built with Partnerships and Attribution in mind. Extending core objects for Partnerships, Partner Foundations accommodates ecosystem growth with limited initial requirements to achieve base level attribution and performance metrics. Achieve accurate, scaleable attribution with all the related background work in days at a fraction of the cost of typical internal development and ongoing support.

Interested in joining our beta-launch?

Email me to get on the list and schedule a conversation: aaron@partnerstrat.com