Stuff Happens!

As often happens when you get together with someone you've worked with in a prior life, you reminisce. And, not surprisingly, a lot of the reminiscing revolves around the funny or not so favorable memories. So, it wasn't surprising when a former colleague and I found ourselves commiserating recently about some of our favorite stories, like the time my boss gave me a performance review in the car while the director of finance sat in the back seat making faces at me in the rearview mirror (true story!).

Another such memory from the years I spent working at a software company is the story of the "Legendary Partner Dreaded by All." To sum it up: the partner's executive sponsor was a mad man - mad, as in angry. Picture account reps with their hair on fire running out the door and you'll get a sense of the tone of the relationship. He once physically leapt across the table at an unsuspecting account rep who came to deliver new pricing information. No matter what news was delivered, this exec was predictable in his over-reaction and ability to perceive any change as a deliberate attempt to sabotage his business. The drama was palpable.

Our tolerance for the relationship was high, however, because a lot of customers bought our software from his company. As one of the highest producing resellers we had, there was little incentive for his company to accept change.

A couple of years later, however, we expanded our product offering and needed partners with deeper professional services capability. Our dependence on this partner waned, as did any benevolence we could muster to help the company build the professional services competency it now needed to compete. At the end of the day, the scars were deep and it was an easy decision to shift resources to partners who were enthused about rolling up their sleeves and adapting to new market opportunities.

And, therein lies the point of the story: while some partners may be good for short-term revenue, they may not be good for your business in the long run. Aside from the mental anguish caused by a partner that cannot work with you through change, the cost of managing an inflexible partner can exceed the benefit of all that revenue.

An important litmus test for any relationship is not, generally, how well things are going, but how well you navigate through the rough spots together. Those that perform well are the partnerships worth keeping.

Pick a partner and ask yourself how this partner would react to the following news:

• We were just acquired.
• Our (loved-by-all) VP of Channels is leaving.
• The product's late.
• We're reducing our partner discounts (or cutting back on co-op).
• We're bringing on more partners.

While they may not like the news or changes, the partners that recover quickly are those worth keeping for the long haul. Most challenges have been faced in the past and, like Groundhog Day, they will continue to rear their ugly little heads for time eternal. And, of course, it works both ways in that your partners expect the same flexibility from you when they present an unforeseen challenge.

So, in the spirit of the age-old axiom "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger," here's to partnerships that rally through thick and thin to stay ahead of the curve.

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Clients Seeking Candidates

• Industry Campaigns Senior Manager - Boston area
• Product Marketing Manager - Boston area
• Channel Account Manager - United Kingdom (new since last month)
• Inside Sales Representative – Wallingford, CT (new since last month)
• Product Marketing Specialist/Associate - Boston area (new since last month)
  

If you know of anyone who might be interested, please have him or her contact us for more information.