Stronger together: Everything you need to know about partnerships in GTM
The most undervalued motion of go-to-market, but 66% of companies use it!
Dear GTM Strategist!
Ah, would it not be wonderful if someone else would do sales, development, and marketing instead of you?
It can happen. Welcome to the wonderful universe of partnerships.
This is why I feel it is important to have this conversation right now:
2024 has been very volatile for many businesses on my radar:
E-commerce friends complained that the honeymoon period of Meta advertising is over with recent privacy settings changes.
B2B companies that rely on outreach and email marketing saw open rates from hell with the deliverability changes at email providers.
Service providers complained that clients are becoming very conservative and careful when making new deals, and the sales cycles are much longer.
And I was thinking: OK, if these are the challenges - what is the solution?
I reverse-engineered my portfolio companies that are up for great Q1 results, and I was surprised to realize that most of my “winners” have strong communities, email lists, durable content engines, excellent business development skills, and wait for it …
… here comes the secret ingredient:
They nurtured high-quality PARTNERSHIPS.
Contrary to some people, I believe that partnerships can be built very early on as a core of your GTM strategy.
Why?
I have experienced the benefits of this again and again—not only for my company but also for clients that I like to call partners because we co-create and aim to have a long-term relationship.
Case #1 - At OriginTrail, partnerships and co-creation of pilot projects with great companies and organizations, such as GS1, Oracle, BSI, Walmart, etc. were crucial to helping us secure USD 22.5 million in funding.
Case #2 - In my business, the LTV (lifetime value) of businesses acquired through partnerships is 3x higher than with other gigs. Trust brings trust.
Case #3 - This week, one of my favorite companies, EarthCare.ai, announced two exciting partnerships. They could give a masterclass on how to recognize and close great opportunities. They are proud alumni of TechStars Berlin accelerator. They were also admitted to the Audi accelerator program, and they got development support from Tretton37, a Swedish development company that works for Ikea and H&M. If you still think it is impossible to have a pre-product market fit partnership, please reconsider.
Bravo team! 👏
So let’s explore one of the best and most undervalued growth levers from my Go-To-Market Strategist book. I invited a seasoned partnership expert Eleanor Thompson (prev. Microsoft & Softcat, now CEO at Branchworks) to co-create some sweet, sweet content for you.
So let’s reveal the partnerships!
Partnerships - the most overlooked and undervalued element of GTM?
You did not ask me for a definition of a partnership, but I will give it anyway:
“A partnership is a mutual commitment of two or more entities to achieve a common goal.”
The common goal component is critical. Whenever you are thinking of partnerships, you should not be just like, “What is in it for me?” - but you should strategically select a complementary partner that has something that you do not have and needs something that you can deliver.
Playing on your strengths and enemies' weaknesses is always the best way to win the go-to-market game, but when it comes to partners, your friends and allies, it is mission-critical to have their best interest at heart and mind all the time.
Do not let your imposter syndrome play tricks on you. There are plenty of things that you can bring to the table as a go-to-market company:
More revenue for both partners - new sales opportunity
Strong technology
Status of an innovator
New audiences and access to new markets
A sweet joint press release that will jingle the corporate sustainability bells
The best partnerships that I made in my career were based on the following:
Getting someone else’s audience
Co-developing a product/service together and creating new revenue as a joint venture
Exchange knowledge and information to create new products
But always based on reciprocity. Nobody likes a free rider. Embrace your strengths and you know what - just ask the potential partner:
What can we do for you?
What would make this partnership a success for you?
Once you establish a common ground and commitments in terms of resources, everything gets much easier.
The key to effective partner activation
Here is the glue of any GREAT partnerships that I have ever established or initiated: TRUST.
How do you react when things go south?
Do you keep your promises?
Are you accountable?
Are you transparent?
Will you disappear?
As simple as this sounds, think about the best friendships and relationships you have. The core principles are the same, aren’t they?
First, we have a sniff test. Do we like each other? Do we share the vision? Can we work together?
The second is shoulder-to-shoulder. If we commit to doing something, will it be done? Will you follow up, be proactive in communication, and find solutions instead of problems?
Last but not least, are we in it for the long term? Sure, we can do business together once, and I will pay you a “10-30% provision” of the new business that you help to win. But are we in it to win it together in the long term?
Like friendships and marriage, most candidates will not pass every stage.
In practice, up to 10% of partners account for more than 90% of revenue created through this channel. Less can be more, but if you can do a “long tail” and carry out a partnership program as part of your GTM strategy—go, go, go.
Whatever revenue you create through partnerships is likely to be more than if you did not have this channel active. So why not?
Everyone will teach and preach how to do content, paid, and sales, but a handful of experts have something applicable to say about partnerships—not “paper partnerships” but those that actually create value and revenue.
Based on GTM Partners' research, 66% of GTM companies utilize partnerships as one of their go-to-market motions. If you do not, what on Earth are you waiting for? Run a pilot with the most suitable candidate. There is nothing or little to lose.
8 types of partnerships
Not everything evolves around money. Ideally, it leads to money, a great reputation, and higher-leverage opportunities in the long term. Partnerships bring so much more value to the table than pure transactions.
Like friends, partners come in many different shapes and sizes. The key is to achieve a consensus on what is in it for both parties and be serious about pursuing this mission. Quality triumphs over quantity any time when it comes to partnerships.
The easiest way is to start with promo partnerships - “pay as you go” - however, this is not always the case. You can co-create with a client or a partner even before you go to market. Here are some ideas:
What will you choose?
Engagement is the key - do not be lazy like I was 🙈
When I talk about developing partnerships, I have a confession to make.
I know that I am not perfect, and I try my very best, but my emails, WhatsApp, LinkedIn messages, and Messenger are a complete mess.
Sometimes I miss an email for 3 weeks to 3 months.
This is terrible for possibility for close and I needed to get my s*** in order.
This is why I chose folk CRM to systematize my business development and partnership efforts because the starring system ⭐ on Gmail was no longer a viable option.
Here, you can see how I manage my partnerships in folk:
In practice, there are no shortcuts when it comes to partnerships.
My best-intended advice is to run your go-to-market partnerships as a CRM. You are accountable for:
Monitoring potential partners
Booking a meeting with them
(IMPORTANT) Follow up after the meetings
Send reminders
Agree on a pilot and how to measure the success
Make a pilot collaboration a success
Present results and pitch new ideas.
Choose your Moby Dick.
Do your own research.
Find your way in.
Never let go.
It is not over till you say so.
Are you with me?
Stronger together!
Your turn:
Listen to the GTM Strategist Podcast episode with Eleanor Thompson (Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube)
Take folk CRM for a spin and sync the data to manage the partnerships, investment and sales opportunities with ease and responsibility: www.folk.app
Create a list of your ideal partners and create personal pitches for them
Set your partnership goal for Q2: how many partners do you want to acquire and what does success look like to you? How will you measure it?
My turn:
Partnerships are wonderfully explained in my Go-To-Market Strategist book. I have interviewed Jaïr Halevi from Miro for the book, we have worked together to establish partnerships with VCs and startups in Europe for his Startup program.
Support my CRM efforts by taking folk CRM for a spin. Thanks for supporting my content, folk app! www.folk.app ❤️
If you have not read my book GTM Strategist yet, March is a wonderful time to do it.
Ladies, I wish you all a happy International Women's Day tomorrow 💐
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