While your relationships with customers have always had first priority, working and partnering with the right software business partner is becoming increasingly mission critical. Choosing the right business partner is important for your customers’ success, the success and growth opportunities for your employees and for your business. Making the wrong choice could prove fatal.

If you are looking to partner with a CRM vendor, consider a unique and innovative approach that provides the following for a win-win relationship that can make a meaningful impact on your business.

1. Share common values

   Open, transparent communication, and support — these are terms and actions that will drive success in the next evolution of business partner channel programs. Select a partner that shares your values and market perspective. Make sure they provide you with the tools and capabilities to enable success.

2. Rewarding results

   If you are serious about investing time, money, and effort into building a capability to deliver results for your business partner, you should be rewarded – not the same as similar companies, but for the results you produce. Look for a tiered reward model that is aligned for the success you deliver. Higher margins should be provided to those firms that make the biggest market impact.

3. The product should impact your market

   Look for the product that has unique features and will complement your product portfolio the best. Ease of use and implementation, adoption, and customer success are the keys. Innovation and thought leadership are focus areas to evaluate. Look for solutions that are game-changers and ahead of the market.

4. Emphasize return on investment

   Don’t be fooled into paying partner program fees for leads. Many times, these are unfulfilled promises, leading to a waste of time, effort, resources and capital. You want a partner that will provide you with a platform for success — an approach with tools, planning and enablement.

5. Commitment

   A relationship requires both parties to commit to each other success. Gaining market traction and building a strategic approach to work effectively with a business partner is difficult – but can be rewarding. Your business partner needs to provide the proper level of support in good times and while investments are being made for future success.

There is no perfect formula for choosing the right business partner. Conduct your due diligence and use these ideas to evaluate whether there is a fit that evolves your business and aligned with your goals.

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