Depending on the industry you’re in, you may rely heavily on business partners to help you sell, distribute, set up or service your product. Examples of business partners are dealers, distributors, resellers, manufacturing reps, and sub-contractors.
Using a CRM system to manage business partner relationships is a fast-growing practice, and has even spawned its own acronym – PRM (Partner Relationship Management). PRM usually involves giving your partners access to your CRM system over the web.
Partner access is especially important when there is ongoing collaboration or a team approach between the partner and your company. Here are some typical PRM features:
Lead Registration
Companies sometimes require their partners to register the leads they work. The lead is then assigned to that partner and protected against other partners or salespeople from working it (at least in theory). This can all be done through a web site connection to the CRM software.
Lead Distribution
Somewhat the opposite of lead registration, lead distribution is the process of a company notifying its partners of new leads. Sometimes these leads are assigned to a specific partner. Sometimes they are made available to all qualified partners and then assigned to whichever partner claims it first via the CRM software.
Opportunity Tracking
Opportunity tracking involves the partner and the company sharing information about a particular sales deal, such as target amount, expected close date, obstacles/objections, product interest, competitive influence, etc. The company is understandably very interested in this information. It helps them forecast partner sales, which without constant partner input is very difficult to do. Unfortunately partners are often reluctant to provide this information, via a CRM system or other means, for a variety of reasons (see “Roadblocks to PRM” below). Sharing this opportunity information can also facilitate team selling between the company and the partner.
Marketing Collaboration
If partners and the company work together on marketing events, giving the partner access to the marketing section of the CRM software can be helpful to both parties. Activities can be assigned and tracked through the system in order to carry out the events, and both parties can link leads and opportunities to their marketing campaigns to enable an ROI analysis.
Service and Support
Partners who rely on the company for technical support for themselves or their customers can enter and track support incidents via the web, search a knowledge base, and enter quality or defect problems. This is especially important when the partner and the company work together to resolve a customer issue. By entering information in the same system, the details of the problem and its resolution are easily shared between partner and company, making the whole process more efficient.
Project Collaboration
Although not necessarily a standard out-of-the-box feature of CRM/PRM systems, project management is often something companies use a CRM system for. Consequently, project information can be high on the list of what should be shared with partners. Because the company and its partners may need to work very closely together in executing a project, efficient communication and tracking can benefit both parties.
Roadblocks to PRM
Partner access via the web is full of potential benefits, but the trick is getting the partner to use such a system. Why would there be any resistance?
– Too Much Trouble to Use – Unless current procedures are very tedious or manual, it may be a struggle to get partners to use an online system. It is quite possible that some of the new activities required by PRM simply aren’t being done in any fashion today, and so anything new, no matter how slick or easy, will be seen as an additional burden and be resisted. To overcome this roadblock, concentrate on providing real value to the partner in the system. Make their life easier with it. Compensate them in some way for using it. Don’t let the benefit be for your company only.
– Partner Mistrust – This is a problem with sales-oriented features. Partners are often very protective and secretive of the leads they uncover and the deals they are working. This comes down to the company’s ability to convince partners of its honesty and ability to honor the arrangement established to protect leads and opportunities from being “stolen” by another partner or salesperson. If the rules of engagement are well defined by the company, and just as important, well understood by the partner, a strong case can be made for trust and sharing lead/opportunity info. Again, the partner has to be convinced there is something to be gained for taking this perceived risk.
CRM software vendors who offer a partner management solution typically provide many of the features discussed above out-of-the-box. By carefully planning and implementing such solutions, companies are extending their CRM systems to their partners, trying to make them more a part of the family and leverage their talent and knowledge. If the chief goals of CRM, which are revenue, efficiency and customer satisfaction, are applied with the partner in mind, both the company and the partner will benefit from a PRM system.
David Hagerman is Director, CRM Practice for Hagerman & Company. David’s responsibilities include helping clients with all aspects of a CRM implementation, including strategic planning, needs analysis, design, installation, customization and data migration. He holds technical certifications for Pivotal, SalesLogix and MSCRM software.
Hagerman & Company, Inc. is a Value Added Reseller/System Integrator
(VAR/SI) and Consultant specializing in improving organizational productivity through the implementation of technology. A large supplier of software and consulting services in the CAD/CAM, PDM, and CRM market; the company markets its products and services primarily to manufacturing firms and the AEC (architects/engineers/constructors) industry in Mid-America.