How to Increase Business Productivity with Partner Onboarding Software
Getting businesses to sign up for your partner program is a major achievement. But that won’t have a positive impact on your own business until they become productive partners. Learn how to achieve this using the simplest method possible – partner onboarding software.
How Can Partner Onboarding Software Increase Business Productivity
Much like anything else, the process of partner onboarding doesn’t always go smoothly. There are so many things that can go wrong and you can’t always predict them, especially since you have to account for the processes of a whole other business.
Of course, we do have some data that sheds light on potential problems. As shown by a survey conducted by Ovum, one of the major issues has to do with how time-consuming the process can be. It turns out that 40 percent of enterprises take longer than 30 days to onboard a new partner.
But even if time isn’t causing productivity issues, there’s always the matter of getting your partners to improve their sales. Or if you already have lots of partners and you’re planning on scaling your business, there’s the issue of scaling the onboarding process.
This is where partner onboarding software comes in. It refers to software created to help you automate the process, so you can guide, educate and build relationships with your partners without wasting valuable resources on it.
Encouraging New Channel Partners’ Productivity with Onboarding Software
There are three things partner onboarding software can accomplish that has a direct impact on your partners’ productivity:
- Build strong relationships
- Create a friendly atmosphere
- Calm your partners’ anxiety
But let’s take a look at how Teamwork, a successful project management platform, does it with no more than eight emails automated with the help of such software.
Nurturing and Building Strong Partnerships
Strong partnerships start with understanding human psychology, which then leads to a strong relationship. There’s no strong relationship without give and take. In order to know what you need to offer, you have to assess a person. Partners sometimes can be difficult people and you can try a difficult person test in order to fully interpret their psychology. If you want to boost your partner’s productivity, you need to provide them with everything they need to succeed, and do so at just the right time. Here’s an example of what this can look like, based on how Teamwork has automated their partner onboarding emails:
Email #1:
The partner gains access to the partner portal. They receive information on how exactly earning commission works and how to start referring customers to your products or services. The new partner receives this email as soon as tey register.
Email #2:
The partner receives examples of other partners’ successful marketing efforts. But they’re also provided with all the resources they might need to create such content themselves. The new business partner receives this email one day after the start of the onboarding process.
Here are some examples of resources you can send to your new partners to help boost their productivity:
- Branding materials
- Banners
- Social media assets
- Email copy
Email #3:
The partner has access to all the digital marketing services and other marketing resources they might need to gain a better understanding of your products or services. These resources can be anything from target audience profiles to case studies. The partner receives this email three days after joining the program.
This just goes to show that with onboarding software, it only takes three automated emails to start building a strong relationship with your partners.
Creating a Friendly Atmosphere for New Partners
To create lasting relationships with your partners, you need to establish a friendly and supportive rapport. This is how Teamwork does it:
Email #4:
If the partner hasn’t started selling yet, they receive an approach with an additional incentive. In the case of Teamwork, this is a bonus for the first five signups, but you can easily adjust it to match your own goals and resources. The new partner receives this email five days after they start of the onboarding process.
Email #5:
The partner receives a recap and the opportunity for a one-on-one call with the partner manager. Seven days after joining the program, the partner receives this email.
Email #6:
As soon as the partner accomplishes a predetermined goal, they receive a congratulatory email. In the case of Teamwork, the software programs this email for after the first ten clicks, but you can choose whatever works best for your business.
And if you want the communication between you and your partners to be friendly, it’s best to:
- Send emails from individual, not team accounts
- Address the partner by name
- Using an informal writing style
And if you want the partners’ overall experience to be pleasant, it doesn’t hurt if the people they communicate with, have a positive attitude. A positive company culture is not impossible to achieve, even when you’re working with remote teams.
Calming the Anxiety of Your Partners
Even if you do everything else right, your new partners might simply be insecure about the outcome of your collaboration. To avoid this, consider implementing some of Teamwork’s methods:
Email #7:
If the partner hasn’t started selling yet, they can receive help in putting together marketing materials tailored for their business. Teamwork sends this email after 14 days of inactivity.
Email #8:
If all else fails, the partner receives an additional incentive. In the case of Teamwork, this is the opportunity to hit a higher commission tier sooner than planned. They receive this email after 30 days of inactivity.
When it comes to boosting the productivity of inactive partners, it’s important to avoid getting discouraged. After all, 75 percent of world trade flows indirectly. And apart from nailing the partner onboarding process, there’s little you can do besides improving your own business, be it through talent acquisition or more sophisticated timekeeping.
Don’t Forget to Monitor & Track Onboarding Performance
If you want your partners to be successful, data should be your best friend. You can think you know what works and what doesn’t, but the reality might be something else entirely. You never know, at least until you check the data. Therefore, the best partner onboarding processes are the ones that are monitored.
How Can Partner Onboarding Software Help Your Business?
Using partner onboarding software should help you build relationships that will last for years and bring greater success to both you and your partners. And if you want to bring your overall productivity to the next level, read about our timekeeping software here.
Teamwork’s 8 Emails for Partner Onboarding
- Email #1:
The partner is introduced to the partner portal. They’re given information on how exactly earning commission works and how to start referring customers to your products or services. They receive this email as soon as the partner registers.
- Email #2:
The partner is given examples of other partners’ successful marketing efforts. But they’re also provided with all the resources they might need to create such content themselves. They receive this email one day after the start of the onboarding process.
- Email #3:
The partner is given all the digital marketing services and other marketing resources they might need to gain a better understanding of your products or services. They receive this email three days after joining the program.
- Email #4:
If the partner hasn’t started selling yet, they’re contacted with an additional incentive. They receive this email five days after the start of the onboarding process.
- Email #5:
The partner is given a recap and offered a one-on-one call with the partner manager. They receive this email seven days after joining the program.
- Email #6:
As soon as the partner accomplishes a predetermined goal, they receive a congratulatory email.
- Email #7:
If the partner hasn’t started selling yet, they’re offered help in putting together marketing materials tailored for their business. They receive this email after 14 days of inactivity.
- Email #8:
If all else fails, the partner is offered an additional incentive. They receive this email after 30 days of inactivity.
