Kelly Sarabyn’s Post

⏳ A couple of weeks ago, I announced my new LinkedIn series - "Business Re-definers: Strategies That Redefined the Way Businesses Operate". 🎟️ In the first season of our series, we'll delve into a fundamental, unique, and transformative business concept - 'Partnerships'. 🤝 Partnerships are the game-changers driving success across industries. From B2B and B2C to SaaS, Manufacturing, Consumer Goods, Entertainment, and Automobiles, strategic alliances are the key to growth and innovation. 🛫 Join me on this exciting weekly journey as we dive into the world of iconic partnerships and uncover their profound impact on businesses worldwide. Discover why decision-makers are embracing partnerships as a crucial go-to-market strategy. 🎫 Season 1 is divided into two compelling parts: 💡 Part 1: 'Partnerships - A Radical Business Concept' We'll explore the essence of partnerships, the undeniable need for this strategy, empirical case studies, and their long-term impact on businesses. 🌐 Part 2: 'Iconic Partnerships Across the World' We'll spotlight some of the most groundbreaking partnerships that have redefined industries globally. PS: 📝 🚦 Now, as someone who always has a lot on the go, juggling multiple projects, ideas, and tasks, sometimes means that I partner with putting things off! 🤖 📈 But this time, I’m getting into a new partnership, one with consistency, and committing to a weekly schedule (or at least bi-weekly) 🙂📆. 🎞️ So stay tuned, and help me keep things on track! 🏁 Let’s make sure this doesn’t turn into a "when I get around to it" series! 😄⏳ 📌 Together, we’ll explore insights, stories, and lessons that will inspire and empower you to leverage partnerships for unparalleled business success 🚀 #Partnerships #BusinessStrategy #SaaS #Innovation #Leadership #LinkedInSeries

I surveyed 3,373 leaders on the state of partnerships. This survey included CxOs, Founders, Sales, Partnerships, Marketing, Ops, Product, HR, Finance, Engineering and Legal and asked them for their view on the state of partnerships and their top priorities. Here's what they shared: 1. The #1 priority? Building partner pipeline and revenue. No surprise here. 43% highlighted this as their top focus. 2. The #2 priority? Partner enablement. Nearly 4 out of 10 said this was their second focus area. I was delighted to see this on the list. I'm a big believer that partners that have deep capabilities around your platform can drive optimized customer experiences that lead to meaningful business outcomes. And by enabling partners properly, you're setting up the partnership for long term success. 3. The #3 priority? Building a partner program from zero to one. This was fascinating to see so high up on the list. You have my commitment I'll be sharing more lessons on how to build from zero. I remember how hard it was to build from zero my first time. Since then, I've done it 5 times. It's gotten easier each time. I was lucky because I was able to learn from many others that were far ahead of me in this journey. This is why I write about my learnings as much as I can. I want you to know you are not alone in that journey, and the partner community (me included) is here to help you be successful through the learnings. Let's all lift each other up and win together. 🤝 For those of you that like visuals, I created an infographic on this Partnerships Insights study below.

When I started in Partnerships, I had the fortune to tap into some great mentors for help on strategy and planning but one thing that I always wished I’d had, was a set of templates to start from. Well, my friends, Nelson Wang is giving the partner people what they want. I’ve utilized some of these as Nelson has rolled them out and they’ve been so helpful. Even if it doesn’t fit the structure of what you’re currently doing, templates can be a great way to jump start or help you iterate on your own systems. Check it out and comment on his post for access! #ecosystem #standardizepartnerships #training

Last week I joined a Pavilion Chief Revenue Office roundtable. The topic of choice by popular demand - Partnerships! A hot topic for good reason. During the conversation I realized a few systemic reasons why partnerships fail: 💰 Revenue leaders often approach partnerships with their own goals top of mind. 🔒 Partnership programs are often siloed, and not aligned to the strategic initiatives of the organization.  📉 The center of gravity around the direct-to-customer teams often leads to under-resourced partnership efforts, setting them up for failure. ❌ The ideal company profile of the partnering companies is NOT the driving force behind the partnership. 📊 While many revenue leaders are metrics driven, partnership programs rarely have clear goals that are integrated into the data and measurement infrastructure of the company. 💭 Partner programs are often unfocused, celebrating the number of partnerships, vs. revenue outcomes of select partnerships. Here are some thoughts on how to avoid these pitfalls: 🤝 Create a partnership team mission that puts the mutual customer first. 💻 Enablement, Enablement, Enablement. Consider yourself an extension of your partners direct teams, by researching, creating content, and training in order to support your partners’ efforts. 🎯 Be very clear about what partnerships you will focus on based on your ideal customer profile. 📋 Be disciplined and don’t pull yourself thin with too many partnerships. 🔗 Align partnership objectives, initiatives and metrics with your company’s strategic objectives and revenue team’s objectives.  🗂 Integrate partnership initiatives into cross-functional organizational initiatives. 🗣 Over communicate your partnership team plans and objectives during kick-offs and other team planning sessions. While scale, the type of partnership program you are building, the role your company plays in the partnership, and many other variables impact your strategy, I’ve found these core tenets help create an environment for success. So much more to say on partnerships, and it's a channel that revenue leaders are finally paying attention to. It's time for partnership innovation! Some shout-outs on folks who are saying a lot and creating Partnership innovation: Jill Rowley Jared Fuller Jay McBain Barrett King Asher Mathew Kelly Sarabyn I’m also grateful to have been a #chiefrevenueofficer for Elite partners in two of the top ecosystems in the world - HubSpot and Atlassian. You both got it right - Thank you!!

#catalyst24 was enlightening and full of insights! It was wonderful to meet and learn from Partner Leaders across tech and SaaS. A few of my notes from a session on getting alignment across your company for partnerships - Start with the CEO, and understanding her vision and goals, - Set a vision and goals for partnerships that align to the company, - Socialize that vision up, down, and sideways and then repeat. - Align on the Build vs Buy vision and ensure this is understood by the company - Establish champions in the sales, marketing, product teams who can tell the success stories of how partnership give them leverage in achieving their goals. - Establish separate budgets and P&L for partnerships to better track impact; carve out P&Ls for partnerships teams with differing goals (e.g. GTM Partnerships, Product Partnerships) - Think like a leader in the business, not just a advocate for partnerships. Its key to frame and prioritize the goals of the partnerships team with those of the business to achieve alignment. Thank you Rich Gardner, Greg Portnoy, Dai Vu for sharing so humbly, honestly, and specifically on your experiences, including the mistakes that have been made and the lessons that have been learned. Thank you Asher Mathew and Partnership Leaders for bringing together a great group and such rich topics!

Scaling through partnerships is such a high-leverage, high-value way to grow. There is so much gains to be had both for the company, it's partners, and the customers... And companies that do partnerships well tend to see outsized growth. But getting it right is easier said than done 😬 What kind of partner program should you build? How to get buy-in and resource allocation? And how to show the value of the initiative across your revenue and product teams? If there is one person that can answer this it's Mike Stocker who has a ton of experience building and scaling partner teams (Marketo, Facebook, VidYard, RollWorks), and currently VP of Partnerships at CallRail. So in the recent episode of A Slice of SaaS I put on my student hat 🎓 and we had a great chat about: 1. The "four lenses of partnership success" that Mike uses to evaluate and demonstrate the value of partnerships 2. The initial steps and challenges in setting up a partner program, and the importance of a strategic approach 3. Essential tools that facilitate partnership management and enhance collaboration 4. The importance of viewing partnerships as long-term investments rather than seeking immediate gains 5. What Mike's would do if he'd start a partner program from scratch today 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? - Increased market presence: Enhancing brand visibility and market reach through co-marketing efforts. - Partner sourced revenue: Generating direct revenue from partnerships through referrals and collaborative selling. - Broadening product capabilities: Expanding product functionalities and improving integration with other tools to enhance the user experience. - Improving retention and renewal rates: Using partnerships to increase customer stickiness and reduce churn rates by offering integrated solutions that deliver greater value. 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 - Setting clear expectations: Clearly understanding and communicating what each party seeks to gain from the partnership (it's not just about you, put yourself in the shoes of the partner). - Strategic alignment: Ensuring that the partnership aligns with both parties' business goals and customer needs. 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 - Partner data platforms: Tools like Crossbeam and Reveal can help identifying overlapping customers and opportunities. - Partner relationship management systems: Platforms like PartnerStack for managing partner interactions and tracking progress. Check out the full episode on YouTube (link in the comments) or wherever you listen to podcasts 🎧 #ASliceofSaaS #partnerprograms

As I was working on a post, reflecting upon things I've been sharing with Tempo Software's future Partnership Champions, I took a break to listen to Bill Cushard's Rebel Intrapreneur podcast featuring Steve Cross. And what I realized is that I've been channeling Steve's insights on channel strategy. Pretty exciting, isn't it? Here are my 3 pillars of success for all of you who are eyeing a career path in partnership management: 💻 Know your customer 🤝 Know your partner ❓ Ask questions Understanding your customer is the top priority for every Partner Manager. Partnerships are inherently cross-functional, making it essential to grasp the intricacies of your target audience. Dive deep into: • Product demos • Marketing presentations • Internal certifications Knowledge is power and even more powerful in Partner Manager’s hands. Know where your solutions stand and how your personas look like, because now we are moving to The Most Important Part 👇 Know your partner. Not all partners are created equal, and I’d say even more - each partner organization operates differently, and one of your primary jobs is to figure out how: • Their channel management looks like (if at all) • What their solution focus is • How they work with customers/prospects Armed with this knowledge, you'll be better equipped to align your solutions with their offerings, and needless to say - this is one of the keys to the success of your partner program. Last but not least, ask questions. Be curious, inquire deeply, and seek clarity at every turn. By fostering an environment of open communication, you not only strengthen existing partnerships but also uncover true potential for growth and innovation. And yes, asking questions helps you better understand your partners. Trust me, I've been there too. That would be it from me for today 🤓 And remember, success in partnership management boils down to a genuine curiosity and a willingness to collaborate. #PartnershipManagement #BusinessDevelopment #RelationshipBuilding

In 2023 we heard from a number of partnership leaders that they will bring their entire teams to Catalyst 2024. Today we welcome the OpenSesame team to Catalyst 2024! This is the first of many announcements as partnership teams utilize a purpose build conference to enable themselves for success. This year we will have partnership leaders, their teams, founders and CEOs at the conference. The conference will cover the following topics: - Partner Management - Partner Sales - Partner Marketing - Platforms - Marketplaces - Ai - Career - Tools We've expanded the conference features to include: - Talks - Meetups - Deep Dives - Modern Cuisine - Expert Advice - Health & Happiness - Awards The best part of the event will always be the opportunity to connect with other professionals and executives on how to build better, efficient businesses using partnerships. If you are interested in having your team join us for Catalyst, please post a comment below and we'll help you Thank you Rebeca Mesa, Christopher G. Smith and the OpenSesame team for joining us this year.

The MSPs/businesses that thrive don’t rely on hope or chance; they build systems that bring in leads and lock in revenue month after month. 💪 Stop guessing and start scaling. It’s time to level up. Are you ready to lock in for the rest of 2024 and hit the ground running in 2025? #BusinessSuccess #LeadGeneration #RevenueGrowth #BusinessSystems #ScaleUp

A funny thing happened today: Someone asked for my help in designing a partner program from scratch. While I have never done that, I recalled the first piece of content I wrote for Partnership Leaders. I interviewed Zak Pines from Formstack on how they built their Partner Program. The result was an article with a very clear list of steps and tons of experience-based insights. I shared that blog on Slack and it was the perfect way to get the ball rolling. Love it when content saves the day. If you want to check it out, here's the article: https://lnkd.in/gWfZj9bJ #partnerships #partnershipleaders #partnerprogram