Channel Partner Recruitment and Onboarding Made Easy with PRM Software

As with any process, channel management is easier with the right systems to support your efforts.  With PRM software, you can make the entire recruitment and onboarding process easy to understand, measurable, and manageable.

In our best practices section within our Support site, we outlined a few key things you should think about as you decide what processes you need for channel recruitment and onboarding and how PRM software can assist you with this process.  Below are a few of the key points but be sure to take a look at the full articles (as well as many other best practice articles!) to see how you can make channel management easy!

Partner Recruitment with PRM Software

During the partner recruitment process you need to develop a strategy around the following three areas:

1. Partner Profile – what does the ideal partner look like and how can your PRM software keep track of that profile against current and prospective partners.  An accurate profile that you can rely on will not only help guide you to the right partners, but it will also help you quickly move away from those that can be a distraction to your business goals.
2. Geographic Coverage – Your channel recruitment strategy needs to focus on key geographic areas that meet your revenue and market coverage objectives while ensuring that your solution can adapt to the various geographies.  By using PRM software, you can quickly see where your customers (and prospects) are as well as where you have partners so you can identify where your biggest gaps remain.
3. Partner Recruitment Process – PRM software can guide you through the process of identifying prospective partners, bringing them through the recruitment process including agreements and finally to the onboarding process.  The software you choose should be customizable to manage the various steps you have in your process and allow you to measure results and understand where it is working…and where it is not.

Once your PRM software is set up to support your recruitment process and identify your best partner prospects, you can actively start recruiting!

Partner Onboarding with PRM Software

Once your new partners sign on the dotted line, you need to bring them onboard…quickly and easily.  Partners that are brought up to speed quickly receive a good first impression, which is essential to making the partnership work in the long run.  Three components of the partner onboarding process you should consider (and that your PRM software should be able to support) are the following:

1. Executive Welcome – Partners that are welcomed officially to your partner program by your executive team receive the impression that they are valued.  This can mean the world to a new partner and will help the rest of the onboarding process go smoothly.
2. Business Plan – Once the partner has signed, it is essential to develop a joint go to market business plan.  This will not only guide your sales and marketing efforts but also outline your standard rules of engagement and training goals.
3. Partner Training – This is an essential component of the overall onboarding process and can take many forms including training resources within the PRM software, actual online training materials as well as in-person instruction.  All forms of training are good and need to be done frequently.

One thing to remember is that the recruitment and onboarding process does not stop a week or so after you finish the steps noted above, they need to be repeated, reviewed and measured throughout the partnership and recruitment process.  Your PRM software can give you insight into how the process is working and where you need to adjust.  Overall, PRM software makes channel management easy!