How do you align your IT sales strategy with your partner?

1 Assess your partner's capabilities and goals

Before you start working with your partner, you need to understand their capabilities and goals. What are their core competencies, value propositions, and target markets? How do they differentiate themselves from their competitors? What are their short-term and long-term objectives and challenges? By assessing your partner's capabilities and goals, you can identify the areas of alignment and potential gaps or conflicts. You can also determine how you can complement and support each other in delivering value to your customers.

2 Define your partner's role and expectations

Once you have a clear picture of your partner's capabilities and goals, you need to define their role and expectations in your IT sales strategy. How will you divide the sales cycle, from lead generation to closing? Who will be the primary contact for the customer, and who will be the backup? How will you communicate and coordinate with each other? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that you will use to measure your partner's contribution and success? By defining your partner's role and expectations, you can establish a clear and consistent framework for collaboration and accountability.

3 Align your value propositions and messaging

Another key aspect of aligning your IT sales strategy with your partner is aligning your value propositions and messaging. How will you position your joint offering to your customers? How will you articulate the benefits and outcomes that your partner can provide? How will you address the customer's pain points and challenges with your partner's solutions? How will you handle objections and questions from the customer? By aligning your value propositions and messaging, you can create a compelling and consistent story that showcases your joint value and differentiates you from your competitors.

4 Leverage your partner's resources and expertise

One of the main advantages of working with a partner is that you can leverage their resources and expertise to enhance your IT sales strategy. What are the resources and expertise that your partner can offer to support your sales efforts? For example, can they provide technical demos, case studies, testimonials, or references? Can they share best practices, insights, or tips on how to sell their solutions? Can they help you with training, coaching, or mentoring? By leveraging your partner's resources and expertise, you can increase your credibility, confidence, and competence in selling their solutions.

5 Nurture your partner relationship

Finally, aligning your IT sales strategy with your partner requires nurturing your partner relationship. How will you maintain regular and open communication with your partner? How will you provide feedback, recognition, and appreciation to your partner? How will you resolve any issues or conflicts that may arise? How will you celebrate your wins and learn from your losses? How will you foster trust, respect, and mutual support with your partner? By nurturing your partner relationship, you can strengthen your bond and commitment to each other and your customers.