The fear of a partner “screwing up your deal” is a common one for sales reps. While partners can bring expertise, resources, and reach to your efforts, a mistake can quickly unravel all your hard work. This concern is valid. Bringing any new human – partner or not – into a deal adds risk.

For this reason, every sales rep should be thoughtful about who they invite to their deals. Knowing the potential pitfalls you may encounter and arming yourself with proactive strategies will help mitigate this risk.

 

5 Common Partner Mistakes

Let’s look at some of the most common partner mistakes that can derail your deals.

Mistake #1 – Commission Breath

Picture this: You identify a partner to complement your offering and to help win a deal. You invite them in and share that you think the deal is closing next month. The partner gets excited and tells their boss about the potential close date. Here’s where things can go wrong.

As the date approaches, the partner rep gets nervous and (without communicating it to you) reaches out to the prospect, asking about timing. This pushy, desperate behavior is known as “commission breath.” It can put the entire deal at risk through lost respect and damaged trust.

Mistake #2 – Overpricing

Be cautious of getting priced out of a deal due to partner pricing. This risk is particularly pronounced on the services side, where costs for implementation and activation can escalate.

The best way to prevent or minimize this challenge is to focus on accurate scoping and detailed discovery. In competitive situations with price sensitivity, look for unnecessary scope and trim the fat without compromising project success. Ensure you’re still delivering value to avoid churn and maintain upsell/cross-sell opportunities. Overpricing hurts the reputation of all the partners involved.

Mistake #3 – Underpricing

Underpricing can also damage your deal, enabling competitors to sell against you.

Imagine this net-new scenario: You’re selling a product with an ACV (Annual Contract Value) of $150,000, while your competitor offers a similar product at $30,000 ACV. If you know the buyer has the budget for your higher-priced product, you can approach the stakeholders and articulate the reasons behind your premium pricing. Highlight your unique selling points and how you stand out from the competition. Emphasize the value and reliability of your offering.

However, if your partner’s pricing is significantly underpriced, it can undermine the perception of value and reliability you’ve worked hard to establish. This discrepancy may allow your competitors to leverage pricing as a selling point against you.

Likewise, in net new sales, if your pricing significantly varies from industry standards, it can cause suspicion and put the overall deal at risk.

Underpricing can also impact upsell/cross-selling. For instance, if your partner fails to deliver what the customer needs, leading to unexpected costs later in the engagement, it reflects poorly on your recommendation and affects customer trust. As a sales rep invested in upsell/cross-sell and retention, ensure your partners won’t nickel and dime your customers after closing.

Mistake #4 – Executive Alignment

As the anchor account executive (AE) or vendor in a deal, you should always be aware of all introductions to the buying committee. Every action should be intentional, especially with multiple stakeholders involved. A seemingly harmless introduction can cause an unexpected ripple effect.

For example, introducing a technology partner because they solve for a critical requirement can quickly turn into a co-selling situation. If the partner’s AE introduces their VP to the VP on the buying side without prior communication, it can lead to misunderstandings or negatively impact the deal. It could also be positive, but it should have been communicated first. Effective communication among all vendors involved can prevent such unintended disruptions.

Mistake # 5 – Customer Success Misalignment

Lack of communication with customer success managers can also lead to risks in deals.

For instance, imagine you’re pursuing a net new deal where the prospect already uses a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system from one of your partners and you’re selling a CPQ (configure, price, and quote) tool as an add-on. You initiated the deal independently without consulting the CRM partner team.

As you progress with the right stakeholders on the buying side, suddenly, two unexpected competitors enter the picture. Why? Because someone from the buying side contacted their CRM’s customer success manager (CSM) for advice or mentioned exploring CPQ solutions. The CSM, unaware of your involvement, offered various options.

Had you communicated with the CSM beforehand, sharing your value proposition and how it aligns with their goals, it would have made a big difference. Establishing this relationship sets you apart and leads to deeper discovery. During such conversations, you can even uncover additional pain points, ensuring comprehensive solutions are crafted for the customer.

When the customer interacts with the CSM, they’ll be well-informed and likely recommend your solution if it addresses their needs. However, failing to align with the CSM adds risk to your deal. Your partner could unintentionally wreck it and that would be on you!

 

Addressing Partner Mistakes

Rules of Engagement

There’s a right way to address these potential partner mistakes – it starts with implementing clear engagement rules during deal kickoffs. These guidelines shouldn’t be lengthy, boring manuals that nobody will read. They should be essential, easy-to-follow instructions to:

• Establish clear communication processes with prospects.
• Define when to communicate independently versus jointly.
• Maintain a centralized repository for call recordings and notes.

A Managed Approach

Moreover, managing these processes and administrative tasks shouldn’t be a burden for sales reps. That’s where Forecastable comes in. Our managed service takes care of all the administrative aspects of co-selling, ensuring seamless communication and alignment. Without this centralized approach, teams tend to operate independently – basically direct selling together – which is not true co-selling.

Forecastable’s specialized focus on co-selling ensures effective collaboration and successful outcomes.

Partnering for Success

Understanding the common mistakes that can harm your deals and taking proactive steps are crucial for protecting your sales efforts and improving collaboration with your B2B partners. With clear communication, organized documentation, and a managed approach to working together, you can leverage partner relationships without fear of them wrecking your deals!