Partnerships are no longer just add-ons; they are the backbone of go-to-market transformations. By leveraging partnerships, companies can expand their reach, innovate faster, and deliver more value to customers. However, the scarcity of talent equipped with the necessary skills and experience to excel in partnerships and alliances is a significant hurdle.

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Main Challenges

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👉Lack of Overall Market Understanding

The first challenge lies in the overall market's limited understanding of the pivotal role that partnerships and alliances play in long-term business success. Many organizations still view these functions as supplementary rather than integral to their growth strategy. This misconception can lead to underinvestment in these areas, resulting in missed opportunities for market expansion, innovation, and competitive advantage.

👉Scarcity of Talents

Another significant hurdle is the scarcity of talent equipped with the necessary skills and experience to excel in Partnerships and Alliances. Unlike more traditional roles in sales or marketing, these positions require a unique blend of strategic thinking, advanced relationship management, cross-functional and company operations. The specialized nature of these roles means that finding the right candidates can be particularly challenging.

👉Talent Acquisition teams

Recruiting for Partnership & Alliances Teams follows traditional recruitment processes, typically beginning with an initial interview by HR or Talent Acquisition Teams if your profile aligns with the job description. However, fewer than 20% of HR professionals fully understand the strategic importance of Partnerships & Alliances within an organization. This lack of understanding often results in job descriptions that do not align with the actual expectations of the company's sales team.

Frequently, companies seek candidates for Partnership & Alliance roles with profiles similar to those in Sales teams. However, there is a significant difference between the skills and attributes of a successful Sales Account Executive and those of a successful Partnership & Alliance professional.

👉No Official Trainings Recognized for the world of Partnerships/Alliances/Ecosystems

The absence of widely recognized training programs or clear career paths further exacerbates the talent shortage. Aspiring professionals often struggle to find suitable tracks to get started and improve their skills in partnerships and alliances. This lack of formal education and training opportunities can deter potential candidates from pursuing careers in these fields, thereby limiting the talent pool.

However, if you do some advanced research, you may discover the following trainings:

• France: PAD Consulting is a Consulting firm founded by René CAUSSE with 20-years experience in Indirect Sales that offers a full 2-days training for Channel/Partnership teams. This is dedicated to Sales Executives and Junior Partner Managers.
• International: Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals offers their CA-AM certification path. ASAP offers four different types of exam reviews to help you prepare for the CA-AM certification exam. All four options are bundled and include the workshop, materials and the exam itself.

Outside these organizations, you may also consider leveraging coaching from expert coaches with solid background in Partnerships & Alliances:

• Bond Agency - Partner-Led Growth, SaaS Tech Companies Alliances Agency ,founded by Eva Fayemi and Ruben Westmeijer : Has built a collective of complementary Go-to-market & Alliances Experts to support tech companies in building successful practices and closing fruitful partnerships.
• Kiflo, PRM vendor founded by Steven Muhr 🚜: Has build a collective of Partnership & Alliance Experts to serve its Tech end clients
• LinkedIn: You can also source your Partnership Experts through LinkedIn. For instance, in France, you can rely on high-level Partnership Experts such as Thomas Le Cun , Maxime Imbert, Nicolas De Swetschin, Hippolyte Thibierge, Serge Costa, Jean-Claude RICARD. For international expertise, you can rely on talented Ecosystem and Alliances professionals such as Eva Fayemi, Ruben Westmeijer, Valerie Vaquerizo 🌏 Linkon Axon, Eleanor Thompson

Also, you can trust reliable Communities of Partnerships such as:

• International: Partnership Leaders, Pavilion, Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals
• France: Partnershift - Partnership Community, ADALEC Partnerships & Alliance Association

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Partnerships & Alliances as the Last Pool of Talents

Partnerships and alliances are sometimes perceived as the last pool of talents, often seen as a fallback option for sales or marketing professionals. This perception undermines the strategic value of these roles and can lead to a lack of dedicated focus and resources. To build a winning partnerships and alliances team, organizations must recognize the unique contributions these professionals bring and invest accordingly.

According to me, Partnership & Alliances Teams must embody your company excellence, values and vision. Giving this responsibility is a game changer and should be considered deeply beforehand. I do recommend chosing the appropriate talents by reaching an agreement between at least 3-4 Department Managers, for instance: Head of Sales Manager, Head of Marketing , PreSales Director, Head of Customer Success and of course Head of Partnerships.

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Key Characteristics of Effective Partnership Managers

To operate effectively in partnership roles, professionals must possess several indispensable characteristics:

• Strong Pedagogical Skills: Ability to attract stakeholders and engage them in learning about the technology.
• Emotional Intelligence: Essential for building solid and lasting relationships through numerous daily interactions.
• Cross-Functional Vision: Deep understanding of the company's operations, including sales, pre-sales, marketing, finance, and legal.
• Holistic View and Proactivity: Acting as a "Swiss knife" with a wide set of skills, vision, and proactivity to drive strategic initiatives.
• Team Spirit and Leadership: Strong collaboration and the ability to inspire and motivate teams while ensuring accountability.
• Opend-mindness, multiculturalism and multilingualism: Often partnership role are covering several countries/regions. In EMEA particularly, speaking fluently foreign languages will be a must and having a comprehension of other culture a big advantage.

Transitioning to Partnership Roles

For professionals within a tech company, transitioning from roles such as Sales, Pre-Sales, or Customer Success to a Partnership role can be a natural progression. Here’s how:

1. Leverage Existing Skills: Utilize relationship-building, strategic thinking, and communication skills.
2. Gain Cross-Functional Experience: Engage in projects involving different departments.
3. Seek Mentorship: Find a mentor within the company who has experience in partnership management.
4. Training and Certification: Enroll in training programs and certifications focused on alliance management.
5. Networking: Attend industry conferences and networking events to build relationships with potential partners.

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Expert Feedback by Thomas Dussarrat, International Partnership & Alliance Specialist

With nearly 20 years of experience in the software industry, particularly within Go-To-Market (GTM) teams, and over 8 years specializing in partnership and alliance roles, I have had the privilege of supporting more than 40 companies both as an employee and an external consultant. My journey has reinforced my belief in the power of inclusive approaches within company operations.

Here’s some additional feedback:

The Value of Inclusive and Agile Individuals

In my extensive experience, the individuals who stand out the most are those who adopt an inclusive approach to their roles. These professionals transcend their job descriptions, demonstrating a deep commitment to the company's success and a keen sense of responsibility in their daily efforts. Their mantra of "continuous improvement" and agile mindset is what drives innovation and resilience within teams.

Characteristics of Exceptional Talents

1. Continuous Improvement: Exceptional talents are always seeking ways to improve and innovate. They are not satisfied with the status quo and are constantly looking for opportunities to enhance processes, products, and team dynamics.
2. Agile Mindset: The ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances is crucial. These individuals are flexible and can pivot strategies as needed to meet new challenges and opportunities.
3. Resilience and Energy: High resilience is a hallmark of these professionals. They often engage in activities such as sports or other hobbies that help maintain their energy levels and mental well-being, enabling them to perform at their best.
4. High Performance Expectations: They set high standards for themselves and their teams. However, their focus is not solely on personal success but on the collective success of the company and extended teams.
5. Flat Hierarchy Vision: They prefer and promote a flat hierarchy, viewing themselves as intrapreneurs who can drive initiatives and innovations from within the organization.
6. Recognition and Coaching: These individuals are often highly recognized by their peers and team members. However, they may sometimes lose focus on their core responsibilities due to their broad vision and involvement. Proper coaching from leadership is essential to keep them aligned with the company’s trajectory and prevent them from spending excessive time on operational issues outside their primary role.

The Concept of "Passerelles" (Gateways)

According to me, what can truly make a company "ecosystem orchestrated" is to have "Passerelles" (Gateways) in every company department. These individuals are facilitators who make processes smoother and more aligned to serve the company's growth objectives. They are not limited to serving their own department like Marketing, Sales, PreSales, Services, Legal, etc. Instead, they represent their department's expertise while having a full understanding and consideration of the big picture of what the company is trying to achieve with its clients.

Their priority is to serve the clients to the best of their ability and value all the intermediaries along the way. They are deeply involved in the overall customer and partner experience and have a strong capacity to be amazing ambassadors and resilient for accountability.

Transforming your Sales Development/Business Development Team into and Ecosystem Champion Team

Per my experience, I see a huge opportunity to transition successful Sales Development Representatives with great growth mindset and interpersonal skills into Partnerships & Alliances roles. In fact, by having a profound understanding of the product, messaging, value proposition, and client installed base, they are well equipped to arm the Partner Sales Teams with a sufficient amount of relevant information to source new projects and position your technologies. Too often, Sales Development Representatives are stuck in their roles and do not have sufficient opportunities to grow. Educating them on Partnerships and Alliances will help them better qualify the end-client Partnership & Ecosystems landscape and therefore, this information will be very useful to then activate the right partners to influence the targeted end-clients! Therefore, I strongly recommend you to hybrid the most promising Sales Development roles so that they spend 50% of their time helping navigate strategic accounts with the Account Executive internally and the partners externally.

Embracing an Ecosystem Vision

According to me, the companies that will succeed tomorrow are those that embrace an ecosystem vision and strive to remove the blocking effects of company silos. While silos between departments won't disappear overnight, there is a lot of efficiency to gain by recruiting and empowering people and supporting them in their daily work so that they fully embody the company vision and make it their own. Micromanagement will always remain the biggest risk, and particularly in today's economy. Micromanaging is killing the best talents at software companies. You now need to identify your "passerelles" (Gateways) internally and empower them so that they can lead the way to ecosystem-led motions.

In the rapidly evolving tech landscape, the strategic importance of partnerships and alliances cannot be overstated. Building a winning partnerships and alliances team requires a thoughtful and strategic approach, focusing on understanding the unique roles, identifying the right talent, and fostering an inclusive and supportive environment. By recognizing and nurturing these talents, companies can unlock new opportunities for growth and success.

The individuals who embody an inclusive, agile, and resilient approach are invaluable assets to any organization. Their ability to drive continuous improvement and their commitment to the company’s success with the partner's ecosystem make them pivotal in navigating the complexities of the modern business landscape. By investing in their partnerships and alliances capabilities, organizations can foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and sustained growth.

As the business landscape continues to evolve, those who invest in their partnerships and alliances capabilities will be best positioned to thrive in the long term. Embracing an ecosystem vision and striving to remove the blocking effects of company silos are crucial steps. Identifying and empowering "passerelles" (Gateways) internally will enable companies to lead the way to ecosystem-led motions, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and sustained growth.

In our next article, we will delve into the challenges of kick-starting partnerships within startups and scale-ups, providing insightful testimonials from HR specialists on this matter. Stay tuned for more strategic insights and actionable advice.

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Thomas Dussarrat, International Partnerships & Alliances Specialist,  Founder of VIVA GTM

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