Stop Treating Partners as Part of Your Team

Vendors often see their partners as extensions of their sales teams, but in reality, partners are independent businesses free to choose their alliances. Vendors must treat them as customers whose loyalty and business need to be earned.

Too often, vendors craft intricate programs designed to compel their partners to make significant investments in the go-to-market relationship, with the ultimate goal of securing their loyalty. This loyalty, in the eyes of the vendor, translates to a default preference for its brand and products. Essentially, vendors then expect partners to act as subservient agents that prioritize their interests. But this perception is fundamentally flawed and overlooks the true nature of the partner ecosystem.

Channel partners are, first and foremost, independent businesses. They have their own operating models, distinct value propositions, and strategic objectives. Partners don’t exist to serve a single vendor but to deliver value to their customers, often through a diverse portfolio of products and services sourced from multiple vendors. Partners’ multiple relationships aren’t a sign of disloyalty; they represent a strategic approach to meeting the varied and complex needs of their customer base.

The reality is that partners are advocates for their customers, not necessarily their vendors. Their primary goal is to solve customer problems and deliver solutions that meet their clients’ specific needs. This often means recommending products from different vendors, depending on which solutions best fit a customer’s requirements. In this context, a vendor’s assumption that its channel partners will automatically default to its brand isn’t just unrealistic but also potentially damaging to the relationship.

For vendors to succeed in today’s complex market, they need to abandon the notion that partners are merely extensions of their own organizations. Instead, vendors must begin to view these partners as customers in their own right — customers that need to be sold to, whose relationships need to be nurtured, and whose loyalty needs to be earned, not assumed. This shift in perspective is crucial for building strong, mutually beneficial relationships that can withstand the competitive pressures of the modern marketplace.

One of the key elements in fostering these relationships is understanding the partner’s business model and objectives. Vendors need to engage with their partners on a deeper level, gaining insight into what drives their business and how they deliver value to their customers. This understanding allows vendors to tailor their offerings and support to better align with a partner’s needs, making it easier for partners to include a vendor’s products in their solutions.

Furthermore, vendors must recognize that loyalty in the partner ecosystem is earned through consistent, reliable support, competitive offerings, and a commitment to helping partners succeed in their own right. This means providing partners with the tools, resources, and incentives they need to grow their business, rather than simply focusing on what the vendor needs to achieve. It also involves open communication and collaboration that conveys to partners their feedback is valued and will be acted upon.

Ultimately, the success of a vendor in the channel isn’t solely dependent on the programs it builds or the incentives it offers. Success hinges on its ability to understand and adapt to the needs of its partners, to treat them as equal stakeholders in the go-to-market process. By doing so, vendors can foster stronger, more resilient relationships that drive growth and success for both parties.

In this edition of In the Margins, Channelnomics CEO Larry Walsh and Channel Maven’s Heather K. Margolis explore this topic in depth, drawing insights from a discussion at ClubNext, a retreat for next-generation channel chiefs produced by Baptie & Co. The conversation highlighted the importance of rethinking the vendor-partner relationship, shifting from a model of subservience to one of partnership and mutual respect.