The Truth About Partnerships

“If you don’t understand people, you don’t understand business.”

– Simon Sinek

Partnerships…

It’s not easy to decide who to partner with.

But of the many factors to consider when choosing a software vendor, two of the biggest are: VALUE and CREDIBILITY.

In the partnership world:

“Value” means “Who are you? And what can you do?”
And “Credibility” means “Who recognizes you? And who cares about you?”

Partnerships can be mutually profitable for both sides.

But those of us who have experience in the Channels & Alliances arena understand that a partnership is A LOT like your everyday relationship:

You are not just signing a new contract or adding a brand to your portfolio, rather, you are adding a new friend to your social circle — a source of influence that will ultimately have a positive (or negative) impact on your customers.

Partnering with a software organization means inheriting a new product, a new culture, and most importantly, the potential to deliver value to both YOU and YOUR CLIENTS.

BELOW ARE 3.5 QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE PARTNERING WITH A SOFTWARE SOLUTION:

1. Are you just overburdening yourself with a new product?

Or…are your consultants increasing their industry knowledge? Are they delivering real value to clients by addressing their everyday pains?

2. Does your software partner ACTUALLY care about you?

Do they leave you to figure out the new platform for yourself?

Or…do they have superior training, support, and enablement? Do they actively listen to you with enthusiasm? Do they answer your calls and emails in the time-frame you expect?

3. Do they deliver exceptional value or exceptional fluff?

Are they just looking to increase profits…or do they make a visible impact on your client’s bottom line?

Can they quantify and qualify the messages in the marketing? Can they demonstrate the capabilities of their product when challenged?

3.5. Do they have a mediocre organizational culture — or are they truly passionate about what they do and their evolving industry?

Do they deliver the kind of service that you’d expect from a coach whose excitement & positivity is contagious? Can they put themselves in the shoes of others? Can they speak at both the level of an End User AND an Educated Buyer?

Regardless of who you partner with, the key to remember is that your partners will ultimately have a positive (or negative) impact on your customers.

Choose your friends and partners wisely. Make sure that your software partner not only understands business, but understands people, to quote Simon Sinek.

We here at Prophix always respect and learn from our competitors – that’s been our attitude since day one.

But more importantly, our attitude of listening to EVERY partner and EVERY client has enabled Prophix’s key strengths and differentiators, allowing us to win deal after deal, and honoring us with the thousands of relationships we have today with our customers around the world.