Session 7: Partner Recruit
This session emphasized the importance of relationship-building in outreach and partner recruitment, particularly within the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP). Successful outreach is about being helpful to others, maintaining personal connections, and offering helpful introductions. This approach fosters trust and long-term relationships rather than transactional interactions. Building rapport often requires multiple touches. Rushing the relationship by being too direct, too soon, often has the opposite effect.
The session also underscored the power of AI and social selling for more personalized outreach, helping recruiting partners stand out in saturated markets. Overall, the focus was on genuine human interaction and the long-term process of building trust and adding value.
Thank you to Brian Iinuma, President, IAMCP SoCal for this session review.
Why use care in partner recruitment?
When recruiting partners, using care is crucial because the foundation of successful partnerships lies in trust, mutual benefit, and long-term collaboration. Rushed or transactional approaches often lead to superficial connections that may hinder rather than help your business. Partners, especially in a competitive and saturated market, are wary of self-serving outreach that focuses on personal rather than mutual gain. A careless approach can alienate potential partners by making them feel undervalued.
Careful recruitment means taking the time to understand the partner's needs, challenges, and goals. Empathy is critical; Recognize their skepticism and address it with genuine interest in providing value. Building rapport requires patience and multiple touchpoints, focusing on long-term relationships rather than immediate transactions. When you show interest in helping partners succeed, either by introducing them to valuable contacts or providing relevant resources, you establish trust and credibility.
Using care ensures that the right partners are recruited, those aligned with your vision and capable of fostering meaningful collaborations. A thoughtful approach can lead to higher success rates in partner activation, stronger business relationships, and ultimately, a more sustainable and profitable partnership program.
Successful Partner Recruitment
Stop Chasing Deals, Start Building Relationships
Recruiting the right partners is one of the important steps in growing a business, especially for organizations that rely on a network of collaborators, distributors, and strategic alliances. Whether you're an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) looking to expand your distribution channels or a Value Added Reseller (VAR) seeking partnerships that will strengthen your portfolio, how you approach partner recruitment can mean the difference between long-lasting success and short-lived, superficial relationships. Careful partner recruitment is a necessity in today’s competitive business landscape, where genuine connections are becoming more difficult to establish yet increasingly valuable.
In this article, we’ll explore why being thoughtful when recruiting partners is essential, discuss the risks of a transactional approach, and highlight best practices that can help you build strong, meaningful relationships with partners.
Understanding the Risks of a Transactional Approach
Many organizations make the mistake of taking a transactional approach to partner recruitment, focusing solely on immediate benefits. This method often involves generic outreach, emphasizing the recruiting partner’s goals rather than understanding the prospective partner’s needs and aspirations. This "me-focused" communication often leads to disengagement. Potential partners, likely bombarded with similar outreach, can quickly sense when the communication is driven by self-interest rather than a desire to build a mutually beneficial relationship.
JP O'Donnell, a leader in partner development, noted in this session how common this is. "I can’t tell you how many emails I read that say ‘I,’ ‘me,’ ‘we,’ over and over—it’s three paragraphs of telling you how cool I am, and you’re like, ‘OK, congrats. Delete.’” This sentiment echoes the reality many professionals face: impersonal, one-sided communications often end up in the trash. For partnerships to be effective, there needs to be a shift from focusing on short-term gains to building lasting mutually beneficial relationships.
The Role of Empathy and Personalization
Key to successful partner recruitment: empathy. Understanding where the prospective partner is coming from, their business challenges, and what they hope to achieve is fundamental. Skepticism is natural, especially when initial outreach is made. However, by demonstrating knowledge about the prospective partner’s business and showing genuine interest in their success, you can begin to build trust and establish a relationship.
Empathy goes beyond just knowing what the partner does. It involves thinking about how you can help them grow, whether through introductions, shared resources, or tailored support. Even simple gestures, like congratulating someone on a new job or an anniversary, can help maintain those important touchpoints.
Taking a person-centered approach helps you stand out in a saturated market. Prospective partners appreciate when they are approached as individuals, not just potential revenue sources. By focusing on relationship-building, you demonstrate respect for their time and interests, which in turn makes them more likely to trust and engage with you in meaningful conversations.
Building Trust Takes Time
Another critical aspect of careful partner recruitment is understanding that meaningful relationships take time to develop. Often, companies may expect immediate results after one or two interactions, but this is not realistic. It often takes anywhere from 8 to 12 "touches" before a potential partner is ready to fully engage and establish a business relationship. These touches could be through follow-up email communication, valuable introductions, or sharing useful content.
This is where patience comes into play. Building trust requires multiple interactions over time, each one reinforcing your value as a potential partner. Scott Pearson shared how many companies make the mistake of rushing into a partnership without earning the right to ask for deeper engagement. He compared it to a premature marriage proposal, “Too many people go to it too quick—it's like, ‘Hi, will you marry me?’ It’s not how we talk as humans.”
Developing relationships that are built on trust and understanding takes time and effort, but the payoff is worth it. Trust leads to more open communication, better alignment of business goals, and greater likelihood of success in engagements that require collaboration.
The Value of the IAMCP and Referrals
One of the most effective ways to approach partner recruitment is by leveraging trusted networks. The International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP) is a prime example of how powerful networking can be in the partner ecosystem. IAMCP members are often more receptive to introductions from within their network because of the trust and credibility that come with those referrals.
Paul Solski, who works closely with IAMCP members, shared an example of how a referral from an IAMCP member led to a productive conversation with a prospective partner who would have otherwise been too busy to take the call. "Because I had a relationship with the IAMCP member who referred me, the recipient of the referral felt compelled to have the conversation," Solski explained. This underscores the importance of using trusted networks to facilitate introductions and begin conversations well.
Referrals bring an added layer of trust, as they come with implicit endorsements from someone the partner already knows and respects. This is why networking and relationship-building within trusted communities like the IAMCP are so valuable when recruiting partners. Within the IAMCP, trust is transferable.
Best Practices for Careful Partner Recruitment
Here are a few best practices for taking a thoughtful, relationship-driven approach to partner recruitment:
1. Avoid Self-Centered Communication: Make your outreach about the partner, not yourself. Focus on how you can help them and what value you can provide.
2. Use Empathy and Personalization: Demonstrate a genuine understanding of the partner’s business and their needs. Tailor your communication to show that you’ve done your homework.
3. Be Patient: Relationships take time to develop. Don’t rush into asking for business or deep commitments. Focus on building trust first.
4. Leverage Trusted Networks: Use established networks like the IAMCP to facilitate introductions. Referrals from trusted sources can lead to more meaningful conversations.
5. Provide Value: Every interaction should focus on adding value to the partner (i.e., just be helpful). Whether it’s through a valuable introduction, relevant information, or insights, consistently look for ways to be of service.
Conclusion
Careful partner recruitment is about more than just adding names to a list. It’s about building long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships. By taking a thoughtful, empathetic, and patient approach, you can recruit partners who are aligned with your vision and values. This ultimately leads to stronger, more profitable collaborations. As businesses continue to evolve in an increasingly interconnected environment, companies that prioritize relationships over transactions will stand out and succeed.
JP O'Donnell notes, "It’s not about being the coolest thing ever; it’s about adding value and building connections."
IAMCP members can watch the recording of this session by visiting this link.
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Take the Next Step: Are you ready to unlock the full potential of your partner network?
Join us for Masterclass #8: Partnership Growth on October 31st, where you’ll gain insider knowledge on how to manage and scale your partner relationships effectively. The expert panel will discuss proven strategies to engage partners, align your efforts and business objectives, and foster long-term success. Whether you're building your partner ecosystem or refining it for greater impact, this masterclass will equip you with the tools and insights to create lasting value for both you and your partners. Don’t miss this chance to learn from the best and take your partnership program to the next level.
To register, please visit this link.
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