Fundamentals of Successful Technology Partnerships

At our recent Partner Engage event, a number of the Symantec Sales and Marketing leadership team members shared successful approaches to solving customer challenges together with our partners. Here on The VAR Guy, we’ll bring you the stories and actionable insights from the event that highlight how some of our partners have taken advantage of resources, tools, technologies, programs and relationships to the benefit of their customers.

Despite the ever-changing technology landscape—and the massive shift in how customers evaluate, acquire, deploy and use technology—the fundamentals of technology partnerships have not changed in 25 years. In fact, we find that there are several key indicators that exist between all successful technology makers and their key partners.

Here are a few ideas that we covered at the event. See what resonates for you, and which of these you could use to help grow your business.

• Relationships are key

Active engagement and joint action as a team are the hallmarks of enduring partnerships. In the examples of success we reviewed, the partners who worked with Symantec field reps to determine the strategies to win, and did joint sales calls (also known as “riding the train”), fostered understanding and helped drive results.

• Consistent communication produces confidence

This includes confidence in a solution for an issue a customer is experiencing. Or, it could be the ability to convey confidence that you’re the right partner with whom Symantec should be working on a particular deal. Having a regular cadence and consistent touch points and messages that reinforce the value you bring to your joint customers fosters trust and can be the difference between a win and a loss.

• Planning creates shared vision

Define success on both sides of the partnership, and hold each other accountable to the goals set forth. By implementing ways to stay actively engaged throughout the lifecycle of a deal or a period of time, you’ll reap the benefits tenfold.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these ideas. I’m sure there are other approaches not listed here that are just as important. What are some other fundamentals that come to mind as you think about partnerships that have been successful?

Mitch Lemons is senior director, Channel Business Development. Guest blogs such as this one are published monthly and are part of The VAR Guy's annual platinum sponsorship.