This is a presentation for The Cloud Software Association members hosted on 12/4/2020 by Alex Glenn of Partnerprograms.io on how to work with agency partners. Learn more about membership to the CSA: https://www.cloudsoftwareassociation.com/

1. How to gain agency buy-in
for your partner program
This presentation will help your team understand
agencies, their needs, and how to "get into business"
with them as their true partner.

2. Contents:
MY BACKGROUND
NOMENCLATURE & DEFINITIONS
RELATIONSHIP SEGMENTATION
MOVE FROM TRANSACTIONAL TO RELATIONAL
REVIEW THE DATA FROM A YEAR OF AGENCY
INTERVIEWS
PARTNER TYPES TO FOCUS ON DURING PMF
STAGES
ECOSYSTEM VIABILITY AND PMF TESTS
COLD OUTREACH
PARTNER PERSONAS
DEVELOPING 'CIRCLES'
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

3. Part 1:
What to know.
THE WHAT, WHY AND HOW TO
"PARTNER" WITH AGENCIES.

4. A quick bit
about myself.
Ran my own digital
marketing agency.
2006-2012
Leading marketing teams for three
platforms managing their stacks and
marketing agency contracts.
2013-2016
Consulted with tech startups on
everything from growth to
software.
2017-2019
I launch Partnerprograms.io to show
agencies how to grow with tech partners.
July 2019

5. The "partners" we are
referring to:
Agencies or Consultants: Experienced individuals or
'agencies' who are trusted to analyze, advise, and
help a company with anything difficult choices,
campaigns, strategies, product developments or
implementations.

6. CO-SELLING PARTNERS
Anyone who can give you the correct
decision maker > supply an
introduction >> and assist in the close.
These are typically consultants or
agencies who are great salespeople.
RESELLING
Those who hold the contract - are
billed for the software, can resell
effectively, and typically those in
the agency or consulting roles.
CONTENT PARTNERS
Those who are not great at sales,
but are savvy and can publish
great content with an influential
voice and extend the reach of your
brand / program. They may never
refer anyone.
REFERRAL AND
IMPLEMENTATION
PARTNERS
Those who are active in your
program under it's terms - either
approved experts, or receiving
benefits for referring.

7. Understand how agency-tech
relationships are segmented:
These are tools which
agencies typically use
and so do their ideal
clients for the same
purpose. CRMs and SMM
tools are great examples.
EITHER
Tools which the
agency typically does
not need/use (or
possibly is often priced
out of) for internal use.
CLIENT USE
These are tools that
the client never see's,
logs into, or knows
the agency uses. Any
white labeled tools
are an example.
AGENCY USE

8. Agency partner FAQ's
ANSWERSYOU NEED TO HAVE ON THE FIRST CALLS:
When and how
does the agency
partner get
referrals (or traffic
/ leads) from you?
Where is the
agency required?
Where in this
relationship are
their billable
hours?
What sales
training and co-
sales support is
your team going
to provide?
What are you
offering them
today, this week,
this month that will
contribute to their
goals?

9. MOVE FROM
TRANSACTIONAL
TO RELATIONAL
"Partnerships" are not based on comp.
That's called an employee, contractor
or affiliate.
- Thank you Cory Snyder for the
words here!
The overall goal should to gain partner buyin is to:

10. Part 2:
Review some
data.
WE SURVEYED OVER 200
AGENCIES AND COLLECTED 31
ANSWERS, AND OVER 1700
DATA POINTS TO LEARN
WHO/HOW/WHY THEY
PARTNER...

11. 60% +
OF ALL SURVEYED
AGENCIES
PARTNERED WITH
AT LEAST ONE TECHNOLOGY.
100%
OF SURVEYED
AGENCIES OVER 50
EMPLOYEES
PARTNERED WITH AT
LEAST ONE TECH.
https://partnerprograms.io/resources/the-agency-partner-analysis-project/
MOST AGENCIES PARTNER WITH AT
LEAST ONE OF THEIR TOOLS.

12. 45%
OF AGENCIES SURVEYED NEED
TO DIVERSIFY SERVICES.
72%
OF AGENCIES NEED
TO FOCUS ON NEW
BUSINESS
STRATEGIES.https://databox.com/major-marketing-agency-challenges-2018-hubspot-agency-growth-report
FINALLY, IT'S CRUCIAL TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT AGENCY
PARTNERS ARE CONCERNED WITH:

13. SMALLER SURVEYED
AGENCIES REPORT
UPFRONT COSTS AS THE
PRIMARY REASON THEY
AVOIDED PARTNER
PROGRAMS.
CONVERSELY, LARGER
AGENCIES ARE MORE
INTERESTED IN
REFERRALS AND
ALIGNMENT.
https://partnerprograms.io/resources/the-agency-partner-analysis-project/

14. Surveyed
agencies under 20
employees reported
higher revenue
attributed from
partnerships on
average.
Effectively, this
means the agencies
you may want to
focus on are smaller
than you would have
thought.
https://partnerprograms.io/resources/the-agency-partner-analysis-project/
WE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT THE
VALUE OF SMALLER AGENCY
PARTNERS...

15. Part 3:
Finding
"Program
-Market Fit."
ORGANIC DEMAND > PMF >>
FORMALIZING
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16. WHAT TO FOCUS ON AT THIS STAGE:
CO-SELLING PARTNERS
Anyone who can give you the correct
decision maker > supply an introduction >>
and assist in the close. These are typically
consultants or agencies who are great
salespeople.
RESELLING
Those who hold the contract - are
billed for the software, can resell
effectively, and typically those in
the agency or consulting roles.
CONTENT PARTNERS
Those who are not great at sales,
but are savvy and can publish
great content with an influential
voice and extend the reach of your
brand / program. They may never
refer anyone.
REFERRAL AND
IMPLEMENTATION
PARTNERS
Those who are active in your program
under it's terms - either approved experts,
or receiving benefits for referring.

17. Ecosystem
viability
1. Your ideal prospects (not partners, actual
customers) are going through a major
adjustment.
2. There is a lot at stake around the decision
to implement you or a competitor.
3. Your prospects are involved with an
agency or consultant to advise them on
this transition.
4. And finally, your product should solve a
MATERIAL need.
FIRST, GET THE TEAM TO UNDERSTAND
THE CRITERIA NECESSARY TO NEED A
PARTNER PROGRAM.

18. Now, before you do any cold
outreach, look at your users and
find out who has what pain points:
Content Creators
50%
Salespeople
35%
Implementors
15%
DO YOU HATE SELLING? DO YOU
STRUGGLE TO SELL
MORE/FASTER/LARGER DEALS?
DO YOU LIKE CREATING INBOUND
THROUGH CONTENT? DOES YOUR
TEAM GENERATE GREAT CONTENT?
ARE YOU A SAVVY SOFTWARE
IMPLEMENTOR? DO YOUR CLIENTS
COME TO YOU FOR TECH EXPERTISE?

19. Before you
do any
outreach...
TO BEGINNING YOUR
PROGRAM
Focus on what the partner sells now, and
who they currently partner with.
DEFINE IPP'S BASED ON SERVICES, KNOWN
PARTNERSHIPS, AND TECH STACKS
A SaaS these agencies know of (and use) that is not a competitor
and works in a funnel or workflow with your solution.
FIND A PARTNER YOU "SELL WELL WITH"
Focus on what the partner sells now, and
who they currently partner with.
PULL A LIST OF TARGETS, RESEARCH THEIR
SERVICES AND NON-COMPETITIVE PARTNERS
Those who struggle with sales, co-sell with them. If
they create great content, co-market with them...
POLL YOUR USERS TO GET AN IDEA OF
WHERE YOU CAN HELP AGENCIES.1
2
3
4

20. Now that you have targets and a
co-marketing partner
CREATE YOUR PARTNER INCENTIVE STRUCTURE
First, determine who,
when and how you will
funnel referrals to the
agencies. i.e. An
implementation partner
qualification program.
What is your referral
commission - and how
are you going to track
it?
Can you create content
/ events / promotions
which help them in any
way?
What level of support
are you going to
provide each partner
type, and is that
required, white labeled,
direct...?

21. Co-marketing
partners to
co-selling
partners
Step 1 = In a Google Sheet or Airtable, define the data
segments you have with total rows (i.e. closed lost opp's =
450).
Step 2 = Then define the partner persona who are also after
that segment.
Step 3 = List out co-marketing campaign types, with the
reach and target audience.
Step 4 = Approach the partner prospects with the first "ask"
of collaboration.
Step 5 = Create the first co-marketing collaboration.
Step 6 = After recording, but before you publish, reach back
out to the partner with a request they email it to their lists.
Step 7 = Publish the first collaboration.
Step 8 = Send all content links to the partners/instructors.
Step 9 = Reach back out and mention that you use an account
mapping tool (Crossbeam or Sharework.co, both have free
accounts). Request a call to strategize co-selling.
Step 10 = IF they agree, proceed with account mapping -
looking first at overlap, then creating an agreed upon
strategy for outreach.
HTTPS://WWW.PARTNERPROGRAMS.IO/RESOURCES-FOR-TECH-COMPANIES/HOW-TO-CONVERT-NEW-CO-MARKETING-PARTNERS-TO-CO-SELLING-PARTNERS

22. Outreach strategy for each segment
You've just
published a co-
marketing campaign
with your partner
who speaks to this
audience. Now it's
time to leverage that
to get onto calls.
PUBLISH
COLLABORATION
First, connect with
those you have
enriched or have
received from the
co-selling share.
Wait a few days, and
then share the link to
the collaboration.
LINKEDIN
CONNECTIONS
Emails can begin at
the same time -
making sure you are
using copy that's all
about an intro call to
discuss alignment on
a new program
which supports their
sales and lead gen
initiatives.
EMAIL AND CALL
REQUESTS

23. Here's a cold email to
an agency that
received a positive
reply.

24. Here's a cold email to
an agency that will
almost never receive a
positive reply..

25. And never reach out to someone who has
never referred to you nor is an avid user
with a request to promote your product for
commissions.

26. DO'S AND DO NOT'S OF COLD
OUTREACH:
DO: HYPER SEGMENTATION
Segment by their vertical (ecomm, b2b,
local), current partners, and target client
size (SMB, mid market, enterprise).
DO: OFFER VALUE RIGHT AWAY
This means in your first email have a
specific offer of bringing them value that
has nothing to do with your product.
DO NOT: ASK TO PARTNER
- In the first emails, you are not trying to
get someone who does not know you to
partner. This first sequence is about what
you and your content/budget/audience
can do for them.
DO NOT: SELL YOUR PRODUCT
The biggest mistake is a product pitch in
the first emails and calls. IF the agency is
interested, they will research your product
on their own.

27. Part 4:
Finding partner
"Circles"
AS YOU CREATE MORE CIRCLES
WITHIN YOUR ECOSYSTEM,
YOUR PROGRAM WILL BEGIN
GROWING ORGANICALLY.
SetupSetup
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28. THEIR EXPERIENCE
They believe the investment in Netsuite is
worth it because of their ecosystem, but will
only look into other tools when necessary Or if
they are fully-supported in the process.
Size: 10 employees
Clients: Retail, Hospitality
Annual revenue from partnerships: ~$80,000
Services: Netsuite, SuiteCommerce, Bronto
implementation
Alex, CEO of Old
North Collective
PARTNER STATUS:
Netsuite, Pendo, FullStory, Bronto
POSITION
Alex has recently put his agency on
track to become a top Netsuite partner
and double-down on mainly providing
implementations and support for their
businesses. therefore, integrations with
Netsuite are all of interest.
AGENCY PARTNER PERSONA:

29. WHY THEY CHOOSE NOT TO
PARTNER
Lack of alignment all around,
Remaining unbiased / agnostic,
Clients needs change too frequently
Size: 200+ employees
Clients: Any Statups, Any SMBs, Enterprise,
Consumer Brands, B2B eCommerce, D2C
eCommerce, Local Retailers
Annual revenue from partnerships: unknown
Services: PPC / SEM, SEO, Social Media
Management, Content Marketing, Graphic Design,
Videography, B2B Lead Generation, Email
Marketing, CRO
POSITION
If we're going to leverage a tool, we're going to want
to work closely with them to ensure we have the
support as a partner and not just a customer. This is
imperative because we do a lot of business with
each marketing technology. When we look at new
partners, we look based on individual clients needs
one at a time as they come in. However, we get a ton
of inbound and of those, we choose who to consider
based on larger strategy/goals of our services.
Ashley, VP of Partnerships.
at Hawke Media
PARTNER STATUS:
https://hawkemedia.com/partners
AGENCY PARTNER PERSONA:

30. Would they be good partners
FOR EARLY-STAGE programs?
KNOWS HIS CLIENTS BACKEND INSIDE/OUT.
ALEX IS LOOKED TO FOR OPERATIONAL GUIDANCE.
HE ALSO WORKS ON CUSTOMIZING LARGER SITES, ECOMM AND CONSUMER BRANDS.
THEY WILL INSPIRE FAITH BY ADDING A QUALITY LOGO AND BACKLINK.
BUT THEY HAVE OVER 100 SOLUTIONS PARTNERS.
AND THEY DO NOT WORK ON CLIENTS OPERATIONS OR BACKEND.

31. Connor and the
Aptitude 8 agency
PARTNER STATUS:
Salesforce, Hubspot Diamond,
Outreach.io, InsightSquared
POSITION
Their business is built around Hubspot
and Salesforce implementation. And
ancillary tools are being referred to, but
not implemented, resold or "pushed".
THEIR EXPERIENCE
Portals are useless.
Add-on tools do not know how to co-sell.
Add-on tools do not have a trained POC for
them to send referrals to.
AGENCY PARTNER PERSONA:
Size: 10 employees
Clients: Mid-Market software
Annual revenue from partnerships: ~$50,000
Services: CRM implementation

32. Gabi and the
Trujay agency
TECH STACK
HubSpot MA/HubSpot CRM, Xero, Asana,
Klipfolio, IntegrateHQ, PandaDoc,
Dedupely, DiscoverOrg, ZoomInfo
POSITION
HubSpot Solutions Partner - Platinum Tier
WHY THEY HAVE NOT
"PARTNERED" WITH MOST TOOLS:
We prefer to remain unbiased / software
agnostic,
Dealing with Partner Managers is a
headache,
The program setup is just too
complicated.
AGENCY PARTNER PERSONA:
Size: 21-50 employees
Clients: Mid-Market - Enterprise software
Annual revenue from partnerships: ~$100,000+
Services: CRM Implementation / Integration, API
Integration Support, Data / Analytics

33. How to enable
agencies like
these:
STEP 1 = SHOW HOW YOU HELP
THEM EARN NEW BUSINESS
At this level, these agencies need to know
exactly when and how to achieve
"implementation partner" status. Have a
clear roadmap, tiers and timeline for getting
the agency partners into the round robin (or
exclusivity over a region/type)
implementations system. Make that the
focus of initial calls/pitches.
STEP 2 = GIVE THEM SOMETHING
TANGIBLE TO SELL
Agencies won't sell ancillary tools. They
may recommend it, but they won’t “sell” it.
Show them a complete build using your tool
they can sell as a package.
STEP 3 = INSTILL TRUST IN
SALES SUPPORT
Nothing looks worse then when the
client gets bounced around after
being referred to a partner. Make sure
the partner has a POC who
understands the playbook and is
there for sales support..
STEP 4: GET THEM INTO A 'CIRCLE'

34. NOW THAT YOUR TEAM KNOWS
WHO/HOW TO ENABLE, WE NEED TO ADD
STICKINESS TO OUR PROGRAM.
Circles are better than rows - An analogy applied to partner program strategy.
VS

35. Circles are inherently sticky.
Here's what they're made of:
A
B
C
A. YOUR SOLUTION.
B. ANOTHER SAAS
WHICH ADDS VALUE.
C. AN AGENCY
PARTNER WHO CAN
IMPLEMENT YOUR
SOLUTION IN THIS
CONTEXT.
A NEW SERVICE
TO SELL

36. COMPREHENSIVE
SERVICE TO OFFER
THEIR CLIENTS
Your partnership
offer is now
something
tangible for their
clients in the form
of a relevant
service ready to
sell.
IDEAL PARTNER
AGENCY
CONVERSION
In our experience,
agencies will take
on software in
stages and become
better partners
based on the end
goal of the service
revenue.
A B C
A B C
Now, the target
agency partner is
selling a new
service to their
clients which
includes your
software and
your support.

37. A B C
A B C
A
B
C
A NEW SERVICE
TO SELL

38. Do you have your head around it now?
Do you understand Program-Market Fit?
PARTNERS ARE ON COURSE TO OFFER NEW SERVICES ON YOUR SOLUTION:
AND, OR, PARTNERS ARE SUBMITTING FOR REFERRAL CREDIT REGULARLY:
PARTNERS ARE EAGER TO SUBMIT THEIR PRODUCT FEATURE NEEDS;
YOU HAVE RUN SUCCESSFUL CO-MARKETING CAMPAINGS THAT SNOWBALLED INTO CO-SELLING ROUTINES:

39. 90-day plan
HERE IS WHAT TO DO IN
YOUR NEXT 90 DAYS
Poll your agency users for what they are good at. Use this data + your integrations
to create your persona's WITH how you can help them / work with them closer.
Join our enablement mastersclass ;) and also build out your use case classes
showing agencies how to setup, sell and support new services on your solution.
JANUARY
Find those tech partners you sell well with, generate some content with them + an
agency in your or their network. Start outreach tests with the data you enriched
beginning with LinkedIn, using that content.
FEBRUARY
Using the 'Circles' you've formed, start a co-
selling routine in a free Sharework or
Crossbeam account. Use the courses +
collaborative content as hooks.
MARCH

40. That's it.
BOOK A TIME
partnerprograms.io/meet
EMAIL ME
alex@partnerprograms.io