George heard the word “yes” blurt out of his mouth. He was so close to getting the deal, he didn’t want to say anything else. The client’s request was not unreasonable, but neither was it something that his company had done before. He had some friends — well, maybe they were more like business acquaintances — who he was sure would know how to fill in the blanks. George was about to enter “The Collaboration Zone.”
If that little scenario sounds familiar to you, then you are among the growing number of channel partners realizing — or at least considering — the opportunity of collaboration, or partnering among channel partners.
A survey by my company indicates these types of alliances are more prevalent than one might think. Sometimes they are short, ad hoc engagements forged by two people from different companies who know each other, trust one other and might even be able to conduct business on a handshake. But increasingly they are based more on expertise and reputation at the company level without the necessity for close interpersonal relationships as the basis for getting them started.
This is being driven by a number of developments. Arguably the most prominent is the exponential growth in technology. It is very difficult for even a large channel partner to expand its practices in all the necessary directions at the same time. And the current economic downturn makes that objective even more difficult. So many channel companies are investing in the areas most critical to their bread and butter, while turning to other partners to help them out in those areas that are more tangential to their core.
In addition, social networking, combined with the wealth of information on the Web, is making it easier for these companies to find one another and evaluate whether they might make suitable partners.
Sometimes the process is fairly straightforward. For example, another partner with the same skills might be needed in a given geography beyond the reach of the channel organization that holds the contract. These involve people who, in essence, speak the same language. Partners in the desired location are found, some dialogue occurs to ensure that the prospect indeed knows what they are doing and the process moves toward an agreement over fees, responsibilities, customer access and sometimes even promises not to poach from one another’s teams.
