In partnerships, end-client value shapes and defines partner programs. That's why Linkon Axon (Founder at Arys) uses partnership value modeling to understand and quantify the value each partner brings to the ecosystem.
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PRINCIPLES
The opportunity is in front of you
"My ecosystem compatriots, we have to get this right."
That was Chris Messina (CEO at Thrum.co) talking to you, partner pros, about the opportunity you have to lead your company to their promised land.
"According to McKinsey & Company, around 90% of companies executing an ecosystem strategy aren't generating "significant" revenue, and about half fail to deliver any value in their early stages; is this real?
These numbers are from late 2021, but if you could talk to most of those professionals and the vast majority of their CEOs, you'd find those numbers haven't changed much, and, if anything, they may be even worse."
This is important. Every partner professional is in a great position:
- Partnerships and ecosystems are hotter than ever
- There's more educational content than ever
- Successful partner leaders are looking to help each other succeed
Now it's up to every partner professional to accept the challenge—will you use the tools at your disposal to usher in a new era of partnerships and ecosystems for your company?
TACTICS
How CallRail increased integration adoption by 167%
Jenn Keepes joined CallRail in April 2022 as their Strategic Partner Marketing Manager. Her primary goal was to evolve their integration with HubSpot from a basic data-sharing partnership to a robust, two-way data collaboration.
From Q1 2023 to Q1 2024, Jenn and her team were able to:
- Increase adoption of their HubSpot integration by 167%
- Drive 3x HubSpot-sourced opportunities YoY
- Increase the free trial-to-customer conversion rate by 42% for customers who activate the HubSpot integration
Two-way data sharing opens up a world of possibilities for HubSpot App Partners like CallRail. But data for data’s sake isn’t going to do anything but add some zest to your CRM unless it’s leveraged.
When Jenn Keepes began working on the opportunity, she knew she needed to work shoulder-to-shoulder with her VP of Partnerships, her HubSpot App Partner Manager, and her other GTM stakeholders to develop a solid strategy for the HubSpot ecosystem that drove significant impact for CallRail.
CallRail’s story is multi-layered, with many initiatives happening simultaneously.
However, there are 8 key decisions that she and her team made that drove their ultimate success.
Let’s dive in:
- Strategic hiring.
In 2023, CallRail decided to make a significant investment in their partnerships function by hiring VP of Partnerships, Mike Stocker. Mike brought an increased focus on partner data, with the goal of driving increased partner engagement and ultimately partner-sourced revenue. - Demonstrating value to HubSpot.
CallRail focused on showcasing the value of their partnership by releasing significant improvements to the integration and running strategic co-marketing campaigns like the "3 lessons from 3,000 Users," which marked the milestone of 3,000 CallRail users in HubSpot and garnered attention and credibility within HubSpot. - Leveraging two-way data sharing.
After gaining access to HubSpot customer data, CallRail ran several iterations of campaigns to maximize its value, including informing mutual customers of app updates, targeting mutual customers without CallRail's integration, and launching co-sell and co-service programs. - Internal enablement and sales training.
CallRail created a host of internal and external enablement and training assets to meet customers and sales reps where they are. The turnkey materials allow sales reps on both teams to seamlessly speak to the benefits of the partnership between CallRail and HubSpot without interrupting key workflows. - Finding internal Sales champions.
They prioritized getting those early wins for Sales to demonstrate value and make those sellers champions so others buy-in on the value of partner data. - Running nearbound in Reveal.
By leveraging HubSpot's two-way data sharing and a nearbound strategy in Reveal, CallRail saw significant results including a 167% increase in integration adoption, reduced churn, and increased customer satisfaction. - Integrating Reveal into Product-led Growth strategies.
CallRail not only integrated Reveal data with the Salesforce integration, but they also pushed the data into tools like Marketo and Pendo—their main drivers for marketing and PLG. This allows them to target specific audiences in-app and onboarding email campaigns to drive integration adoption. - Continuous evangelism.
CallRail constantly evangelizes their and HubSpot’s products together, sharing their "better together" story and values, generating momentum, and pushing success further.
These strategies have enabled CallRail to enhance its strategic partnerships, drive growth, and improve customer satisfaction within the HubSpot ecosystem.
Read the full nearbound story for a breakdown on:
- Going from one-way to two-way data sharing with a big partner
- Getting the most out of two-way data sharing
- CallRail's co-sell program
RESOURCE OF THE DAY
Use this partnership value model to formalize partner value
Linkon Axon (Founder at Arys) uses partnership value modeling to understand and quantify the value each partner brings to the ecosystem.
In partnerships, end-client value shapes and defines partner programs.
He and his team use partnership value modeling to build I.D. factors that:
✅ Can be measured
✅ Shows the promised value a potential partner can deliver
✅ Shows the tangible value his company can deliver to the partner and their customers
Check out the model below, and read his play-by-play here
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Stuff you don't want to miss!
- June 12th—Partnerships 101 (What's a Good Partnership)—Join Arun Kumar (Director of Strategic Partnerships at Incentivio) and Scott Pollack (CEO at Firneo) where they will explore the building blocks of successful partnerships in the tech industry. Register here.
- Nearbound Summit 2023 Recordings—The future of GTM is nearbound. Watch the recordings to hear how B2B leaders across departments unite with Nearbound strategies and tactics. Listen here.
You're all caught up.
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- How Sendcloud Achieved an 80% Increase in New Leads Sourced From Partners Using Reveal with Wilson Favre-Delerue
- The Elephant in the Ecosystem by Chris Messina
- The Era of Ecosystem Orchestration is Finally Here by James Hodgkinson
- How Fullstory Builds their Tech Partnerships Program with Reveal’s Help to Increase Their Renewal Rate by 14% with Nigel Liaw
- Nearbound and the Rhythm of Business by Jared Fuller
- Rhythm of Business Checklist by Jared Fuller
- How Pigment Increased Win Rates 5-10% with a Nearbound Overlay & Reveal with Wendy Wen
- How to use Reveal for Co-marketing Events
- Unleashing the Power of Nearbound: The Stats You Need to Know by Andrea Vallejo
- Howdy Partners #72: Psychology of Team-Wide Buy-In: The Answer to Partner Program Success with Maurits Pieper
- Mastering the Nearbound Rhythm of the Business: Key Takeaways from the Nearbound Book by Andrea Vallejo
See you tomorrow
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