Do your homework

When building a referral network, put in the effort to show how you are listening and get specific on ways you can help your partners.

Put some research effort in and ask specifically:

You mentioned ____ was a priority. Would it help if I _____?

If it’s not needed, then you’ve got an easy follow-up:

What would be helpful instead?

Boom! You’ve already put in 10x more thought than everyone else they’ve talked to.

So, how do you stand out?

How do you set yourself up to actually help and actually get a referral network built?

Ask the right questions.

Thanks for contributing to this section of the PhD, Adam Pasch.

Building a successful partner program is hard work

As someone who’s made plenty of mistakes along the way, let me share some of the biggest ones I made:

🤦‍♂️ I tried to be all things to all partners and launched tech, agency, and reselling partnerships at the same time. Talk about a lack of focus!

💁 I expected to see results from new partnerships within a few weeks. Clearly, patience is not one of my strongest virtues.

🙇 I forgot to think about my partners’ needs. Oops, my bad!

🏃 I skipped the alignment step, leading to confusion and disappointment. Not my finest moment.

🙋 I measured success solely by the number of leads generated. Rookie mistake!

👋 I didn’t spend enough time building one-on-one relationships. Note to self: never underestimate the power of a good chat!

🙅 I failed to build deep enough relationships beyond my fellow PAMs. Whoops, missed out on some great connections!

💻 I didn’t leverage technology enough to scale, and I definitely didn’t strike the right balance between tech and personal relationships. Argh!

So there you have it, folks. My biggest blunders in building a partner program.

Thanks for contributing to the PhD, Rob Rebholz!

Learn to leverage Nearbound data in HubSpot

April 26th, 2023, from 3pm-4pm EST!

You’ve got partner data - now what? Why is Nearbound data so significant?

Join Connor Jeffers, CEO of Aptitude 8 and hapily, along with our own Jared Fuller, as they unpack the secrets of Nearbound, and how you can win in 2023.

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, Per Allin will also be joining us to share how Contractbook completely revolutionized their sales strategy by leveraging a Nearbound approach through HubSpot.

Register here.

Happenings

• SaaS Connect – April 19 -20 – Where SaaS partnership leaders meet to connect with the market. PartnerHacker’s Ademola Adelakun and Will Taylor will be there! Register here for a $50 discount.
• HubSpot x Reveal - How to be Successful in a Large Ecosystem - April 25, 2023, from 2pm - 2:45pm EST - Learn how HubSpot’s app partners have driven more revenue and increased retention by investing in the HubSpot ecosystem. Register here.
• Contractbook x Aptitude 8 x Reveal - Leveraging Nearbound Data with HubSpot – April 26th, 2023, from 3pm-4pm EST. Join Connor Jeffers of Aptitude 8, Per Allin of Contractbook, and Jared Fuller as they share how to unpack the secrets of Nearbound data so you can win in 2023. Register here.
• Partner Playbooks - April 27th, 11 AM CT – The Event Led Playbook for Partner Managers & Marketers! Mark Kilens (CMO of Airmeet) is meeting up with Justin Zimmerman (Partner Playbooks) to share how managers and marketers can drive leads, sales, and new partners with events and webinars! Register here.