Alliance Partner Program Assessment and Recommendations

Situation:
The alliance partner organization of a Fortune 500 HR software and services firm had steadily grown the number of partnerships and the revenue influenced through these partnerships. To accelerate growth and maximize the investment in the partner organization, leadership sponsored a critical assessment of the current partner strategy, as well as the structure and management programs to support the strategy.

Challenge:
The client’s partner program had evolved from a narrow focus on a small number of consulting firms, and expanded to include additional types of partners. While the team was successful in expanding the number of partners, the partner management program was ad hoc and focused on tactical, reactive activities. In addition, the partner program was siloed across the organization. Each business created its own partner program, causing an uncoordinated experience for the partners, who sought a more strategic and integrated partnership. Leadership also expressed concern with tactical management issues. These included accurate quota setting, unclear crediting rules and sales compensation overpayment.

Solution:
Alexander Group assessed the current state alliance partner strategy, and conducted internal stakeholder and external partner interviews. To address short-term pain points and drive long-term growth, Alexander Group developed an initiative roadmap. To foster long-term growth, Alexander Group recommended implementing a partner center of excellence across the business units to drive a more coordinated and holistic approach to partner management. Alexander Group also recommended a partner targeting model to prioritize partners and align client investment accordingly. To drive immediate results, Alexander Group developed a revised quota methodology to better align the partner organization goals with influenced revenue, clearly defined the crediting rules for each group within the partner organization and redesigned sales compensation plans to drive key behavior and return on investment.

Benefit:
In the short term, the client leveraged Alexander Group recommendations to improve the accuracy of the quota setting process and improve the return on investment in the sales compensation plan. Long term, the client is making broader operating model changes that will help drive a unified partner approach.

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