What Makes a Partner Manager Good at What they Do?

If you want to try and boost your sales, it’s safe to say that partner programs are essential.  So many companies spend time, energy, and money on developing and tweaking their reseller programs because it is one of the best ways to drive results. If you don’t feel as though your programs are up to scratch or if you want to ensure that you are hiring the best partner manager, then you can find out everything you’ve ever wanted to know, right here.

 

What Does a Partner Manager Do?

 

First of all, what is a partner manager and what do they do? Partner managers who work with SaaS companies are generally responsible for the recruitment of new resellers. They also need to train them and support them throughout their journey. That’s not all though because they also coordinate between two companies and pursue joint opportunities that are mutually beneficial.

 

What Makes the Ultimate Partner Manager?

 

A good manager will have a great deal of responsibility. They will listen to both parties, have a good understanding of each business model, and will also be willing to continually develop both their own skills and that of their team, which leads to the next point.

 

What Are Popular Skills for Strategic Partnership Managers?

 

A partner manager will often have multiple responsibilities, so if you want to know what makes a partner manager good at what they do, you need to understand the jobs that they have. Generally, a good partner manager will have the following skills.

 

Strategic Thinking Skills

One of the key responsibilities that a partner manager has is to strategize your programs. The person who you are considering as your partner manager needs to have strong thinking skills and they also need to be able to solve problems relatively quickly. They should also be able to set and meet SMART goals for your program. Once you have hired your manager, they should be able to readjust the strategy based on the overall results you are achieving.

Data Analytics Skills

Data plays a crucial role in the job of a channel partner. The main reason for this is because it will deliver insight as to whether or not the strategy you have is working. The person who you hire should have good data analytics skills and they should also be able to analyse how the program is performing. They should know at all times, the cost per lead, the churn rate, and the general performance analytics of the program. This will help them to guide your strategy and it will give you the best understanding of how things are going.

Planning Skills

From onboarding partners to recruitment and even collaboration, it’s safe to say that it’s vital that your channel manager has a lot of responsibilities to juggle. They will assist partners on the deals that they have, and they will also take care of both payouts and commission. It’s in your best interest to hire people who are both organised and coordinated.

Sales Skills

Expertise in sales and marketing is another quality that you should try and look for in your manager. At this point, you will have to make a decision based on your recruitment strategy. If you have a program that only tends to recruit a couple of high-profile partners, then you will need to make sure that you have a manager who is very well-versed in sales. On the flip side, a partner program that is intended on getting as many people as possible will need to have a background that is focused more on marketing. At the end of the day, if your partner has a minimum margin of 10% and you know that your product is only delivering 5% then you aren’t going to succeed. This is why sales skills are crucial.

Problem-Solving Skills

As mentioned above, you have to make sure that your partner is good at solving problems. You should expect the occasional hiccup to happen, but at the end of the day, your manager is the first person who your partners will go to in the event of this. That’s why you have to make sure that your manager is able to deal with any issues quickly and effectively. Your manager will need to step in at the right time and they may also need to involve other teams as well so that the right solution can be uncovered.

Training Skills

The candidate you hire needs to have good skills when it comes to training. When you look at nearly every SaaS company out there, you will soon see that the manager usually has the job of training new agencies and resellers when the process of onboarding has been completed. It’s expected that the manager is going to train and implement any new processes, so they have to be good at supporting others on a regular basis.

People Skills

This is, of course, an absolute no-brainer. At the end of the day, your partner will be the backbone of your affiliate, sales, or referral program. Every candidate who you hire has to be able to establish and then maintain good relationships with everyone on the team. Your manager will have a partner-facing role, and this means that they need to have good communication and interpersonal skills. This will mutually benefit everyone who is on board. Studies have shown that around 40% of partnership meetings are about business, and the rest is about building trust, so making sure that you are all on the same page is crucial.

 

How to Support your Channel Manager

 

If you want to make sure that you are making the most out of your program, then you have to make sure that you support your channel manager. You have to make sure that they have the right tools and you also need to make sure that they can perform any of their tasks with ease and efficiency. Investing in a manager without giving them the right tools to work with is somewhat self-defeating. You need to have good PRM software and you also need to make sure that you are able to track your leads.

 

Want help with your partner program? Contact us now for a free consultation.