In our most recent post, we shared our 4 C’s framework to help you solve the biggest problem for partner managers: how to qualify a partner so you work with the right ones.
But before you can start qualifying (or disqualifying), you first need to have prospects, right?
Unless you are getting tons of inbound applications or have already a refined IPP (Ideal Partner Profile), where do you start with prospecting?
This is how to start looking for partners:
Partnering with another SaaS company can help you in various ways. Depending on the two solutions and how they complete each other, it can range from co-marketing activities around a joint value proposition to a deep integration. If you are looking for a product partner the best way to start is to have a chat with your colleagues — those who are working with your customers or are looking into your customer’s workflows.
Sales can be a starting point, although in our experience Customer Success (CS) and Support teams usually know the customers even better. Also, your product team should have a good insight into your customer workflow. Ask them which other complementary products your customers typically use — either before or after they are using your product, or in parallel. Whenever there is a case where your customers “copy and paste” something from or to your product, you have a lead!
If you are looking for professional service businesses (consultancies, agencies, system integrators etc), there are some additional starting points. The first step is somewhat obvious, and at the same time often overlooked: check your own customer base! There might already be partners “disguised” as customers. 😀 Some call this the “shadow channel” - the channel partners you are not (yet) aware of and are not yet leveraging.
Talk to your colleagues from CS to know which service companies your clients are typically working with. Also ask your Product partners if they work with service partners;most likely these could become your channel partners, too. You can always check your competitors’ websites for inspiration, too.
Use these entry points to find the first partner prospects and test your partner-market fit. Is your partner value proposition compelling for them? Are they interested in working with you? Understanding which prospects resonate with your proposal best is a great way to start working on your IPP (Ideal Partner Profile) — more about that in our next post!
Learn more about partner prospecting in our upcoming courses in the PXP Academy.
How Reveal can help
Using an account mapping platform like Reveal can also help you identify, evaluate, and grow your ecosystems through new partners.
Connect with your current partners and analyze key data points—such as win rate boost, deal size boost, the number of overlapping accounts, and the number of new prospects—to decide who your next partner should be.
You can even filter through their network of 12k+ companies by ecosystem, location, or level of business overlap to align your partnerships with key business initiatives.
