Crafting the ultimate partner program to drive partner success

Albert Einstein once said, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” Barracuda Vice President of Worldwide Partner Ecosystems – and an avid cyclist – Jason Beal is applying that same idea to Barracuda’s newly enhanced Partner Success Program. To promote growth, drive business, and maintain adaptability, you must keep your feet on the pedals – and that’s exactly what Jason and his team are doing.

Jason recently sat down with Rob Spee of Channel Journeys to shed light on this program’s foundations and the importance of nurturing partner relationships. He also shared how through a shared success model, partners can generate better results for their customers.

Tune in to the podcast here!

Key elements of a partner success program

The podcast explores central themes that are cornerstones to building a strong partner success program:

1. Prioritize partner empathy: For Barracuda, partner empathy is the ethos of its channel philosophy and strategy. “Talk to and listen to as many partners as you can. Understand their business, and from their perspective, that’s when you’ll be able to build the right business plan to have a mutually successful partnership,” Jason recommends.
2. Value before volume: Focusing on quality of partnerships over quantity of partnerships is key. Rather than striving for 30,000 partners, home in on the ones you do have to foster more meaningful and collaborative relationships.
3. Acknowledgement and appreciation: A true global partner success program requires recognition. Acknowledge and reward your partners’ efforts, contributions, and various ways they bring your solutions to market.
4. Land, adopt, expand, and renew (LAER): The LAER Model was integrated into Barracuda’s partner success program to ensure customers are supported through their entire lifecycle. As Jason puts it, “At the heart of our new partner success program is the LAER model, and those benefits and compensation absolutely apply for all routes to market where partners are taking our technologies to the end client.”
5. Enablement is key: Partner enablement is a leading driver in success and growth. Partners want access to the know-how, telemetry, product training, marketing, and more to help boost their multiplier and increase margins. This close collaboration and support is a win-win for all involved.
6. Telemetry data is critical: Sharing telemetry with partners will increase customer adoption and success. Improving partners’ understanding of data, products, and technology will enable them to strengthen customer relationships and better support their diverse business needs.
7. The multiplier effect: “My tagline particularly, even in the development of the program and in conversations with partners when looking at their multiplier, is that margin is important, but multiplier is even more important,” states Jason. Driving overall service revenue potential goes above product margins.

Check out the interview for further insights and to learn more about the foundations and strategies behind a comprehensive partner success program.

Note: This was originally published at SmarterMSP.