Train for Gain: How to get the most from your partner networks POWERING PARTNER PERFORMANCE THROUGH CHANNEL TRAINING Copyright © 2016 Docebo - All rights reserved. To contact Docebo, please visit: www.docebo.com
Train for Gain: How to get the most from your partner networks
POWERING PARTNER PERFORMANCE THROUGH
CHANNEL TRAINING
Copyright © 2016 Docebo - All rights reserved. To contact Docebo, please visit: www.docebo.com
Copyright © 2016 Docebo - All rights reserved. To contact Docebo, please visit: www.docebo.com
1 The Power of Partner Channels
2 Challenges
Protecting the Brand Maintaining Partner Channel Engagement ManagingGrowingNetworksEfficiently PreventingPartnerConflicts Evaluating Partner Success
3 Best Practices for Partner Channel Success
4 Learning Tech Solutions
5 The Right LMS for Channel Partner Enablement
6 Sources
TABLE OF CONTENTS
POWERING PARTNER PERFORMANCE THROUGH CHANNEL TRAINING 2
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THE POWER OF PARTNER CHANNELSPartnerchannelsofferorganizationsawaytoincreasethereachofaproductorservicewithoutinvestingheavilyinthesaleseffort.Insteadofbuildinganewsalesteam,withalltheaddedcostthatbrings,organizationscanpartnerwithlike-mindedcompaniestoselltheirproductorservice.
Awebsitedesignsoftwarecompanymightofferintegrationswithasocialmediatoolandcreateapartnerchanneltobenefitbothofthem,forexample.Eachoftheirclientsmightneedsolutionsthatcouldbeofferedbyoneofthechannelpartners.Becausetheydon’tcompeteonthesolutionstheyoffer,itmakessensetothepartner.
Despitethepotential,manyorganizationsaren’tleveragingthefullpowerofpartnerchannelsbecauseofthearrayofchallengesthatcomewiththepractice.
NEARLY 80% OF COMPANIES USE PARTNER CHANNELS TO GENERATE INCOME
65% OF CMOS FEEL UNPREPARED TO DEAL WITH CHANNEL GROWTH
80%
65%
Source: http://www.slideshare.net
POWERING PARTNER PERFORMANCE THROUGH CHANNEL TRAINING 3
CHAPTER 1
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Partner Channel members face their own roadblocks as well, but only the parent organizationcansolvetheseproblems.
PROBLEMS FACED BY PARTNERS
ONBOARDING QUESTIONS
21%
PORTAL AND ONLINE ACCESS
12%
CREDENTIALS AND CERTIFICATIONS
21%
CHANNELPROGRAMS
25%
PROGRAM PAYMENT STATUS AND ISSUES
21%
Source: What are the biggest challenges and struggles channel partners encounter when working with their vendor
POWERING PARTNER PERFORMANCE THROUGH CHANNEL TRAINING 4
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PROTECTING THE BRANDPartner channels need the right knowledge, materials, skills and processes to begoodbrandambassadors.Thiscanbedifficultbecauseoftheaddedchal-lengespartnerchannelscanbring.Channelpartnerscanbespreadamongsthundredsoforganizationsacrosstheglobe.Channeltrainingandcommunica-tionsneedstobeabletobridgeculturalandlanguagedivides.Partnerchan-nels need product knowledge, as well as customer service and sales training to ensureagoodcustomerexperience.Badcustomerexperienceswithchannelmemberswillmainlyreflectpoorlyontheparentorganization.
MAINTAINING PARTNER CHANNEL ENGAGEMENTOrganizationscan’tsimplydeliverone-timetrainingandexpectthepartner-shiptomovesmoothly.Channelpartnersneedmarketingmaterial,producttrainingandincentivestobemotivatedtomovepartnerproducts.Withouttheright knowledge and incentives, channel partners will mention your product if itcomesupbuttheywon’ttaketheextraefforttomakeasale.
MANAGING GROWING NETWORKS EFFICIENTLY Managingpartnerchannelsacrosstheglobecanbeadifficultandexpensivetask.Businessesneedtostayontopofchannelpartnergrowth,leadgene-rationandregistration,trainingandmanyotheraspectsoftherelationship.Withouttherightsystemsinplace,apartnershipisdoomed.
PREVENTING PARTNER CONFLICTS Withmultiplepartnerchannelssellingthesameproducts,conflictsareine-vitablewithouttherightproceduresinplace.Organizationsneedtopreventconflictsandunnecessarycompetitionamongstchannelpartners.Theyalsoneedclearplansforwhenproblemsslipthroughthepreventivenet.Channelpartnersandparentorganizationsalesteamscouldbeaffectedbychannelconflicts.Theclientiscaughtinthemiddle,riskingabadcustomerexperience.
EVALUATING PARTNER SUCCESSJust like any aspect of sales, partner channels need to be continually evalua-tedtoensuresuccess.Organizationsneedrobustdatadeliveredinauseableformattofindweaknesseswithinthesales,marketing,orcustomersupportchains.Partnerchannelsaren’tjustsellingaproduct,theyareactingasbrandambassadorsfortheparentorganization.Lownumbersareasymptomofalargerproblem:Withouttherightdata,poorcustomerexperiencescouldbeaffectingtheparentbrandwithouttheirknowledge.
CHALLENGES
POWERING PARTNER PERFORMANCE THROUGH CHANNEL TRAINING 5
CHAPTER 2
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STRONG ONBOARDING FOR EARLY ENGAGEMENTA healthy onboarding process can get new hires up to their best potential quicklyandefficiently.Thesameprincipalappliestopartnerchannels.Astrongchannelpartneronboardingeffortwillallowpartnerstocreateuniquevaluepropositionsfortheircustomersandprovideasolidreturnoninvestment.This early engagement will also help create a strong relationship and help re-tainandacquirenewpartners.Partnerchannelonboardingprogramsshouldmirrortheparentorganization’sonboarding,whilekeepinginmindregionalandculturaldifferences.
LET THE EXPERTS HELPCompanieshaveinternalexpertsthathaveworkedhardtolearneverydetailoftheproductsandservicestheyareselling.Allowingpartnerchannelstousethis knowledge can help ensure brand cohesiveness and keep engagement up.Givechannelpartnerstheopportunitytoconnectwithproductmana-gers or product marketing departments to ensure they are learning from the expertswhoknowtheproduct’svaluepropositions.Don’tjustlimitthishelptoproductknowledge.Customersuccessandsalesexpertscanalsobetappedfortheirskillsandknowledge.
TAILOR TRAINING TOWARDS THE MARKETTraining material should be tailored towards the channel partners market culture,languageanddialect.Considertheinfrastructurewherechannelpar-tnersarelocatedaswell.Accesstotrainingmaybelimitedbyinternetbandwi-dthandcomputeraccess.Ensuringtrainingmaterialcanbeutilizedbymobiledeviceswillincreasetheusability.Smart phones and tablets are much cheaper than traditional desktop and laptopcomputers.Ensuringmobileusabilitywillincreasethelikelihoodtrainingcanbeconsumedinlesstechnologicallyadvancedmarkets.
INTEGRATIONS FOR BETTER RELATIONSMakesureallpartnersharedsystemscancommunicateeasilyandexchangereliabledataforevaluation.Singlesign-on(SSO)isamust-haveforagreatadministratoranduserexperience.Themoredifficulttherelationshipisforpartnerchannels,themorelikelytheyaretoignorethepartnership.
BEST PRACTICES FOR PARTNER CHANNEL SUCCESS
POWERING PARTNER PERFORMANCE THROUGH CHANNEL TRAINING 6
CHAPTER 3
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INCENTIVIZE AND REWARD SUCCESSPartner channels should be motivated and rewarded as early as possible to keepengagementup.Don’tjustincentivizesales.Beginanengagingrelation-ship,startingwiththeonboardingprocess.Rewardingtrainingcompletionandcertificationswillensurepartnerchannelswillbeproperlytrainedfromthebeginningoftherelationship.
PREPARE FOR (AND PREVENT) CHANNEL CONFLICTSDevelopapartnerdealregistrationsystemanddefinerulesofengagementearlyinthepartnershiptoreducethechanceofconflicts.Partnermanage-mentsoftwarecanaidtheseefforts.Reinforcetheruleswithcertificationsandtrainingofferedthroughanlearningmanagementsystem(LMS).
MONITOR SALES AND TRAINING RESULTS TOGETHERPartnerchannels,likeanyaspectofbusiness,needtobeanalyzedconstantly.The right tools can allow partner channels to be watched remotely and mana-gedwithlittletonohands-onmanagement.Ifapartnerchannelisundersel-ling, sales data can be compared to training data to look for potential weak-nesses.
POWERING PARTNER PERFORMANCE THROUGH CHANNEL TRAINING 7
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AnLMScansolvemanyoftheproblemsfacedbychannelpartnerships.Ifyourpartner training program can strike the delicate balance needed to educate your partners on your product and service while retaining your company’s branding and culture,youcanmorecloselyaligntheexperienceofyoursalespartnerstothatofyouremployeesandbuildastrongernetworkbuiltoncommongoalsandobjectives.
WHITE LABELING Use white labeling on all communication, marketing and training material to reinforcebrandcohesion.ChooseanLMSthatofferscustomizationfeaturesandgiveeachpartnertheirownportalthattheycanconfiguretosuittheirneeds.
LEARNING FROM VARIETYAn LMS can deliver knowledge in a variety of ways to ensure every learner is supported.Backupinstructor-ledclassroomtrainingwithonlineandmobilelearningmaterialsthatcanbeaccessedatthepointofneed.Formaltrainingalonehasalowretentionratewhennotpairedwithon-the-jobtraining,somakesurepartnerchannelsgetsomehands-onexperiencesaswell.
SOCIAL TOOLS UNLOCK KNOWLEDGESocialtoolscanbeutilizedtounlockexpertknowledgewithintheparentorganizationforchannelpartners.ChannelpartnerscanusemessageboardswithinanLMStoposequestionsforindustryexperts.Peerscanalsoanswerquestionsandratetheseanswerstoensureonlythebestinformationisused.
INCENTIVIZE AND GAMIFY FOR GROWTHGamificationandrewardscanbeapowerfultooltoencouragepartnerchan-nelengagement.Alearningmanagementsystemwithgamificationandau-tomaticrewardrulescansimplifythetaskofincentivizingpartnerchannels.Channel administrators can setup automatic rewards based on performance anduseanLMStomonitorprogressanddistributerewards.
LEARNING TECH SOLUTIONS
POWERING PARTNER PERFORMANCE THROUGH CHANNEL TRAINING 8
CHAPTER 4
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AUTOMATE TRAINING Automaticenrollmentrulesandcertificatescanreducethetimenecessarytoensurepropertraining.AnLMScandelivertrainingmaterialtochannelpart-ners.Enrollmentrulescanbeconfiguredtoensuretherightmembersreceivethetrainingtheyneed.Certificatescanensurepartnersareproperlytrainedbeforetheybeginrepresentingtheparentbrand.
COMMUNICATION FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTIONLMSsocialtoolscanbeapowerfulresourceforconflictpreventionandresolu-tion.RequiredcourseswithintheLMScanbeusedtoenforcerulesofenga-gement.Partnerdealregistrationsystemscanbeexplainedwithacoursewithrequiredcertificationtoensuretheyknowtherules.
MONITOR, EVALUATE AND REVISE A robust learning management system can deliver analytical data that is mission criticaltothechannel’ssuccess.Salesdataisonlypartoftheequation.Salesdatacanonlyshowhowapartnerchannelisperforming.Itdoesn’tshowtheweaknesses within the partnership, but you can tie training data to sales data topaintaclearerpictureofyourrelationship.AgoodLMSwillprovidethisdataacrossalltrainingmodalities,notjustformalonlinelearningenvironments.
POWERING PARTNER PERFORMANCE THROUGH CHANNEL TRAINING 9
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When choosing a learning management system for partner channel enablement, considerthesefivekeychallenges.AnLMSdoesn’tjusthavetobeameansforde-liveringtraining.Itcanbeapowerfultoolforsimplifyingcomplexbusinessrelation-ships.
MOTIVATE AND ENGAGEBegin an engaging relationship with a strong onboarding process within the LMS.Usegamificationandautomaticrewardstoolstocreateahands-offin-centivizingpracticetokeepchannelpartnersengagedandmotivated.Withtheright incentives, channel partners will do more than simply mention a parent product,theywillsellittoboosttheirprofitsandcommissions.
REINFORCE BRAND AWARENESS WITH TRAININGKeep channel partners aware of product updates and brand culture with a varietyoflearningmaterialsdeliveredinmultipleways.AhealthyLMSwillpresentopportunitiesforsocialandexperientiallearningtobackupformalinstructor-ledtraining.WhitelabelingacrosstheLMScanalsostrengthencul-tureandbrandawarenessaswell.
SIMPLIFY CHANNEL MANAGEMENT WITH AUTOMATIONSAn LMS should have integrations and automation tools that reduce the time investmentwithchannelpartners.Automaticenrollmentrules,certificationsand rewards can ensure channel partner members have the right training be-foretheypotentiallymisrepresenttheparentbrand.Lesstimespentmanagingthepartnerchannelincreasesthelikelihoodofprofitability.TheLMSshouldalsoeasilyscalewithyourpartnerchannelnetwork.
COUNTER AND CONTROL CONFLICTSTraining within an LMS can reinforce rules of engagement for channel part-ners.Therighttraining,backedupwithon-the-jobexperiencescanreducethelikelihood of potential customers being contacted by competing channel part-ners.KeepingcommunicationschannelsopeniskeyforahealthypartnershipandaLMScanprovidethosetools.
ANALYZE FOR RESULTSTraining reporting data is paramount in determining weaknesses within a partnerchannel.Salesbychannelpartnersisonlypartoftheequation.Tyingsales data with training data can provide a better understanding of return on channelinvestment(ROCI)andshowweaknesseswithinthetraining.
THE RIGHT LMS FOR CHANNEL PARTNER ENABLEMENT
POWERING PARTNER PERFORMANCE THROUGH CHANNEL TRAINING 10
CHAPTER 5
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SOURCES1.Four Keys to Success: Channel Enablement
2.What is Channel Enablement?
3.BestPracticesinEnablingResellerChannelPartners-(SubscriptionOnly)
4.10 Channel Partner Problems
5.Docebo-TrainingGlobally
6.Is Your Brand’s Marketing Aligned with Your Channel Partners?
7.DealingwithPartnerChannelConflicts
8.State of Channel Partners
9.What Incentives do Partners Want?
POWERING PARTNER PERFORMANCE THROUGH CHANNEL TRAINING 11
CHAPTER 6
THE LMS YOUR PARTNERS WILL LOVE TO USE
Don’tleaveyourpartnerswithouttherighttoolstorepresentyourbrand.Docebo supports social and mobile learning to ensure your partners are armed with the right training content, whenever they need it, with a full suite of integrations and automation tools to reduce your time investment while fostering stronger rela-tionships.Meanwhile,Docebo’s advanced reporting tools can help you prove and improvethereturnonchannelinvestment.
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