How to Make Partnering a Business Strategy with Jill Rowley

Channel Journeys Podcast

How does your company view partnering? Is it a functional department siloed from the rest of the organization? Perhaps it’s integrated into your sales strategy. But it stops there. One of the messages I’ve been promoting discussing with ecosystem leaders and analysts is that partnering has to be much, much more.

My thinking on this topic was actually inspired by today’s conversation with Jill Rowley, Strategic Advisor for Nearbound. Jill shares why partnering needs to be not just a department, but a fully integrated business strategy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Here are some of the key things I learned from Jill:

• When social networks exploded, buyers now had access to peers and communities with whom they’d rather engage than a pushy salesperson.
• The ecosystem isn’t just partners, it includes peers, analysts, everything outside your four walls that your customer trusts and is influenced by.
• Like Inbound and Outbound, Nearbound is the term coined to describe a sales and marketing play. It’s a strategy of surrounding the customer. How can you get nearer to those who are nearest to the customer?
• People don’t want to be targeted, hunted, prospected, and interrupted. They are overwhelmed and inundated with content. They want to go to the people they trust for information.
• We’re moving from the how economy to the who economy. Find out who is surrounding the customer, who can help the customer along the complete buyer journey. Go fish where the fish are swimming. Find out where your customers are swimming and become part of that network.
• To execute a Nearbound strategy, starts with knowing your ideal customer profile, who else do they work with, what other technologies do they use, who are the partners who sell and implement those other technologies?

LINKS & RESOURCES

• Send a personalized connection request to Jill on LinkedIn
• Get a copy of the new book Nearbound and the Rise of the Who Economy
• Try Impartner Partner Management

The post How to Make Partnering a Business Strategy with Jill Rowley first appeared on Channel Journeys.