Partner-to-Partner (P2P) success, Part 2: The York Group on revenue objectives, identifying Dynamics partners and selection criteria

In Part 1 of this series, The York Group President Harald Horgen described the risks of ISV-channel partner relationships, on both sides.

The rewards are there for strategic partners - but, they must do the math. Horgen suggests that the technology-oriented ISVs must put themselves in the partner's place and ask, "How does this technology, however magnificent it is, make business sense?"

In turn, channel partners are tasked with filtering ISVs with selection criteria that lead to meaningful business conversations.

MSDynamicsWorld: You advise channel partners to calculate revenue objectives carefully.

Harald Horgen: That's what really determines if the relationship has its own vision for success.

The biggest driver in whether or not a partner can make money with the solution comes down to the gross margin that they can generate from the total transaction.

A strategic relationship is one where the channel partner becomes self-sufficient to a very large extent. They're doing their own marketing to building their own pipeline. They have a dedicated or designated sales person and that's absolutely the essential part of it; they ideally have a full-time salesperson working on a specific solution and driving that business, supported by a funded marketing plan from the partner. That partner is responsible for this product, they go through sales training with the ISV, and they are compensated on the outcome of the sale.

If a partner doesn't have that, then it's not strategic, it is just something in the portfolio, and by definition it becomes a very reactive approach, an opportunistic approach to sales.

So a good first measure ...