Startup CXO

Chapter 78When Things Go Wrong in a Partnership…and They Will

No partnership is perfect. And by “perfect,” I mean something that once started just naturally evolves and blossoms into a fruitful win‐win‐win for you, the partner, and customers, free from operational hiccups. Think of a partnership like planting seeds in spring. If you don't water those seeds, if you don't tend to them, if you don't fertilize them, they might still grow, but they'll never be as healthy as the seeds you do take care of. Let me be clear, in a partnership, things WILL go wrong. It's how much you prepared for it and how you and the rest of your organization handle it that determine whether or not a partnership will succeed.

Your first partnership will be tormented by a zillion paper cuts and possibly one big one: your sales reps. While a lot of issues are small, just remember that from the sales reps' perspective, if the effort outweighs the benefit, no one will support it. People often say that salespeople are coin operated. While I don't like that analogy, it does highlight the reality that commissioned employees make 99% of their decisions on their ability to earn. If a sales rep finds it easier to sell product A versus product B, guess which one they will sell?

The other situation you're likely to face is when a company and their partner have the ability to sell the same solution to the same audience. Enter channel conflict. A set of rules (Rules of Engagement) must be clearly outlined and adopted ...