5 Painfully Obvious Reasons Your B2B Partner Program Is Underperforming

Introduction

Many B2B revenue leaders understand the true potential of partner-led growth in increasing reach and driving sustainable revenue growth.

But building a partner-led motion is a different story.

Many leaders find their partner programs losing momentum. Leads run dry, and partners are inactive. The initial excitement fades, and the once-promising partnership strategy stagnates.

Indeed, navigating B2B partnerships is not as simple as ABC.

So if you're reading this, you're in luck!

In this article, we’ll explore the real reasons your B2B partner programs fail and provide actionable steps to build a strong foundation for lasting B2B partnerships.

5 Common Reasons Your Partner Programs Underperform

Unclear Internal Goals

There's a lot of buzz and excitement. Everyone says, "We're going to drive revenue through partners". But there's no direction to achieve the desired outcome. If you don't know what you're aiming for, how can you, your team, and your partners expect to hit the bullseye?

Communication and Enablement Gaps

You onboard your first partners. What's next? Do you constantly check in to support them, or do you just leave them to their own devices? When there are no clear next steps and only radio silence, partners tap out.

Complex and Frustrating Processes

Partners take too many steps. They need to fill out lengthy forms to register a deal on your system, and it doesn't help that they have to traverse the thick jungle that is your complex partner portal.

What are supposed to be simple tasks turn into time-consuming headaches.

Tracking Chaos

Referrals are coming in, but trying to track them down is another story. They're lost in your overcrowded inbox, in a sea of WhatsApp messages, and on bloated spreadsheets.

You search, search, and search for that one referral that might turn into a $M deal, and when you eventually find it, it's already too late: the buyer is no longer interested.

Misalignment on Goals with Partners

Partners may agree to initiatives, but they fail to deliver due to being overstretched or focused on their own objectives, leading to unmet expectations and strained relationships.

6 Steps to Reactivate Partner Programs for Sustainable Growth

Here are some steps to diagnose the problem with your partner program and pinpoint where your partnerships are stuck:

Audit Your Partner Program

To pinpoint areas of improvement on your B2B partner program, begin by evaluating its current state. Identify where the partnership motion fizzles out by pretending to be a partner and ask yourself:

An audit helps you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your program, allowing you to make data-driven decisions for improvement.

Set Clear, Short-Term Goals

In your B2B partner program, every action should aim toward a specific goal, much like a compass guiding a ship to its destination, guiding your partners and teams on where to go, how to get there, and what they'll achieve upon success.

This is where you need metrics to inform what goals you should reach.

In the short term, these are the metrics you want to track:

• Partner Activation Rate: How many onboarded partners are active? 20-40% are good benchmarks.

• Leads Created: Number of leads submitted by partners.

• Time to Lead: How long is it before they deliver incoming revenue streams? The shorter, the better.

• Lead Frequency: How often do partners submit leads to you?

• Sales Acceptance Leads: How many leads brought by partners are accepted by sales teams?

• Sourced and Influenced Revenue: The total revenue generated by your partners, either by bringing in a new lead or helping you close the deal.

• Partner Satisfaction: How do partners feel about different aspects of your program?

With these partner program metrics, you can find the best objectives to build a healthy, thriving partner ecosystem that generates consistent revenue.

See also: How to Calculate ROI from Partner Referral Programs

Talk to Your Top 5 Partners

Reach out to 5 of your most active partners. Ask them:

• What's working and what's not?

• How can you make it easier for them to collaborate with you?

• What incentivizes them to refer customers to you?

You'll uncover hidden insights and a wealth of feedback, such as quick fixes or strategic overhauls, that can improve your program performance. Be sure to schedule regular check-ins so you can identify issues before they become major obstacles.

Re-Engage Inactive Partners with Value

When you reach out to partners you haven't contacted in a while, don't ask for leads.

100% of the time, they'll ignore you.

Instead, you should engage them with value. Give them something new and helpful:

• A new case study

• A playbook to get the most out of your B2B partner program

• Incentives, like a bonus or even a referral

Anything to help your partners succeed and make them feel special will always spark partnership motions.

Give Visibility to Partner Performance

Regular communication is key to keeping partners engaged and informed. Here are some actions you can take:

• Ask for insights on leads and advice to take a step closer to closing the deal

• Let partners know what is happening to their leads

• Share what actions are yielding results

• Inform partners on how close they are to a payout

This transparency fosters trust, as partners feel informed and included in the process. Ensure that partners have the necessary information to perform effectively, stay motivated, and contribute positively to the partnership's success.

Tip: When using Expando AI™, consider using the Collaboration Portal, where you can give partners real-time, actionable updates in one place to help them get closer to getting a payout.

Eliminate Friction Ruthlessly

One way to keep the ball rolling in your partnerships is by creating a centralized system where all relevant data and processes are integrated. This approach offers several benefits:

• Unified data; all information related to leads, sales, partner activities, and performance metrics is stored in one place

• Reduced discrepancies, ensuring that all decisions are based on accurate and up-to-date information.

• Enhanced efficiency, so partners and internal teams can focus more on strategic activities rather than administrative tasks.

• Improved collaboration, where partners can easily share information, track progress, and coordinate efforts.

• Real-time updates and dashboards, giving partners immediate visibility into their performance and the status of their leads and sales.

Tip: Consider using Expando AI™ to consolidate messy tracking flows into one clean source of truth. Expando AI™ takes care of manual processes that come with B2B partnerships, from lead attribution and automated payments.

Conclusion

When it comes to building thriving B2B partnerships, here's one thing that you should always remember:

Friction is a silent killer of partnerships.

They're found everywhere: in processes, communications, collaboration, anywhere.

So when you see friction in your partner program, kill it before it kills your partnerships.

If you’re ready to take your partner program to the next level, book a demo with Expando AI™ to get an audit of your partner program and discover how to optimize it for success.