Recruiting profitable channel partners has become vital to the growth of large technology companies, but it’s not easy. Making your program appealing to your ideal partner and providing them with the tools and materials to succeed will ensure the health of your channel community. Here we take a look at channel partner recruiting best practices for 2021.

Identify Your Ideal Partner Persona

Using tools to identify your ideal partner persona will help you to recruit more profitable partners and maintain the health of your current community. Determine which attributes best distinguish your ideal partner and build your audience around those characteristics.

Develop And Implement A Partner Recruitment Plan

Any successful marketing initiative requires a plan. Outline your goals, budget, resources and tactics you’ll use to recruit your new partners. Use multiple channels to reach out to your audience and be sure to have an effective plan in place to nurture prospects over time.

Streamline Your Onboarding Process

A streamlined and seamless process to onboard and train your partners is needed in order to remain efficient and begin generating revenue faster. While you want to leave ample time for training, the onboarding process itself should be well organized and efficient.

Offer Fair Compensation And Worthwhile Incentives

An attractive compensation plan that includes additional incentives for reaching certain goals is the primary draw for potential channel partners. Research the competition and solicit surveys from current channel partners to determine how they compare with your present structure.

Make Market Development Funds Easily Available

While you do want your partners to meet certain criteria to ensure your MDFs don’t go to waste, a lengthy and difficult application process can be a deterrent for both current and potential partners. Provide clear guidelines and approved partners they can use to implement their campaigns.

Provide Sales/Marketing Materials And Training

Arming your partners with adequate resources including co-branded content and campaign templates will allow them to focus their resources on selling your products. Providing in-depth training on how to market and sell your product will ensure they don’t lose any opportunities.

Winn leverages PartnerOptimizer to help you understand your ideal partner personas. We have helped some of the largest IT channels in the industry build profitable partner communities. Click below to learn more.