You cannot have a successful channel program without having great partners. To have great partners, there needs to be a well-organized, proactive, and a consistent plan put into place. When you have the right strategies, you can communicate with potential partners that fall into your brand and channel goals, which will improve your overall recruitment rate. Here are a few tips to ensure you have the best partner recruitment plan.

Define Your Perfect Partner

When you are planning to start a recruitment phase for new partners, the most important thing is to know who is best for you. You need to create an IPP, an ideal partner profile. What should be listed in your IPP as standards are things like cultural fit, strategic fit, and operational fit. The biggest thing to be sure of is that they can grow with your organization. Here are some additional key attributes you should include:

• Growth Rate and Business Size
• Sales and Financial Alignment
• Operational Style
• Vertical Market Expertise
• Specializations and Certifications
• Service Capabilities
• Demand Generation Processes

Partner-Facing Content

Even during the process of finding the right partners, you still have to remember that content is still going to be king. You want to take a good look at your current campaigns and content. Make sure that the messaging and audience match and address the needs and goals of your current or ideal partners. Use this content to nurture existing and potential partners to make sure they stay engaged and enabled. With well-thought-out partner-facing content, companies can foster successful partnerships and ultimately strengthen their presence in the marketplace. It should accurately reflect the company's values and mission statement so that partners feel confident in representing the brand.

Long-Term Approach to Partnership

There are three stages of the partner's journey, just like with a buyer's journey: awareness, consideration, and decision. The only difference is when it involves a buyer, there is access to the content and company information readily available, but with a partner, it is more restricted for exclusive access. You want to ensure all information listed on your site drives awareness through digital channels such as social media and blogs.

Before you start your recruitment process, it's important to understand what your brand and channel goals are so that you can effectively communicate the value proposition of partnering with your business. This will help ensure that the partners you recruit have a shared vision and will be successful in working with your brand.

Leverage Winn's experience for your next partner recruitment campaign!