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Do You Have the Right Stuff to Partner with Microsoft HP or IBM

Written by: Andy Piper

Article Overview: Partnering with technology leaders like Microsoft, HP or IBM takes a huge commitment and a lot of effort to get off the ground. Before you start to engage, you need undertsand what these companies reqiure from all their partners. It will save you time and allow you to make the most of your partnership investment.

Do You Have the Right Stuff to Partner with Microsoft HP or IBM

Small technology companies want to partner with giant companies like Microsoft, HP or IBM for different reasons. Some see dollar signs by getting these highly credible and highly connected sales teams to introduce their products to large customers; other companies see it as a necessary defensive measure in order to keep these giant companies from making decisions that could easily drive them out of business. Whatever your motivation, partnering with these companies is a serious undertaking. The path toward achieving success is filled with lots of challenges needing to be met. Before you set out and try to build a relationship with one of these technology giants, there are certain characteristics that sales teams need to see before they see you as a partner worthy of more than their standard partner program.

The easiest characteristic they need to see is a natural synergy between the two companies. This means that when you make a sale, you have to sell more than just a few licenses. You must be able to sell enough of their product to put a nice dent into an account manager’s multi-million dollar quota. Your sales opportunities will need to have at least $50,000 - $75,000 worth of business for your partner.

The next thing they look for: how well you understand their business. A lot of people purely focus on the product synergies. But, identifying opportunities is not as straight forward as many people think. Large companies have discovered ways to get customers to pay for products and services in advance. So, you need to learn how to accurately qualify opportunities for your partner.

Sales teams from these industry leaders demand a willingness to develop a fair partnership. You have to show them you are willing to roll up your sleeves and do an amount of work proportional to the amount of money each partner gets in the deal. Usually, for these technology giants, your ratio will be much higher. They will expect you to do much of the work required to close the deal.

Finally, every sales associate wants to introduce partners that are as high a caliber or higher than their own. That can be a pretty tall order for leaders like Microsoft and IBM. None the less, they consider how credible you are in the industry and look for a history of success. Additionally, they will have concerns about how to address areas of competition between your customers. These and other considerations allow sales teams to calculate the odds of closing business with you.

There are several methodologies to engaging these giant technology companies. But, if you are unable to pass this basic litmus test, your efforts are not likely to be successful. You may want to consider partnering with another company that is a better match. On the other hand, if you have a solid understanding of how to partner with Microsoft, HP or IBM and are willing to make the investment, then developing a long-term partnership with these companies and reaping the financial rewards makes a worthwhile business goal for the upcoming year.

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Article Tags: achieving success, amount of money, challenges, defensive measure, different reasons, dollar signs, giant companies, industry leaders, motivation, natural synergy, partner program, partner sales, partnership, quota, sales opportunities, synergies, technology companies, technology giants, undertaking, willingness



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