Channel Readiness Mini Assessment Business Strategy Question Title * 1. At what stage is your overall Partner Business Strategy, including funding, staffing, and the state of your partner ecosystem? Very early stage. Some pieces in place. Solid but needs work. In great shape with room to grow. Fully optimized. Business Outcomes Question Title * 2. Describe your status relative to your business proposition for your partners, how you measure success, and the overall ROI of your partner strategy? Nothing formal in place. Some basic elements in place. Solid but needs work. In great shape with room to grow. Fully developed. Business Process Question Title * 3. How mature are your key tools and business processes that are required to operate your program effectively? This relates to your ability to transact, track, and report results, to effectively offer program incentives, MDF, deal registration, and other programs. Mostly informal and manual. Combination of some formal and automated, and some manual tools and/or processes. In solid shape but still requires some improvements. Tools and processes are proven, with opportunity for additional investment. Fully optimized. Partner Pricing Question Title * 4. How developed is your partner pricing/discount model? For example, do you have defined partner pricing with discount structures that consider program elements? For example, deal registration, rebates, and additional incentives. Ad hoc with inconsistencies. Basic tier structure in place. Mostly manual reporting. Established pricing model and tiers that work but could be better. Very well-established and working approach to pricing and reporting. Fully optimized approach to pricing, tiers and governance. Partner Marketing & Communications Question Title * 5. How developed is your approach to partner marketing, both marketing to partners as well as marketing with and through partners? Not defined. Ad hoc, reactive approach. Some elements in place. Lots of room for growth. Most elements in place, many of which are basic and/or manual with some questions about effectiveness. Well-defined programs producing real results with room for more investment. Optimized, a strong part of our overall program. Digital Experience/Partner Automation Question Title * 6. How established is the digital experience you present to your partners, including corporate website, partner portal, compelling content as well as order management and pricing systems? Very limited, highly manual. Not a good experience for partners. Some basic tools in place with improvements and investments needed. Solid. Most of the areas are covered. However, lagging industry best practices and/or competition. We deliver a positive partner experience in nearly all areas of digital engagement. Optimized, an area where we are seen as leading. Sales Question Title * 7. How well-defined is your selling model with your partners, including rules of engagement, sales compensation, channel conflict mitigation, partner forecasting, etc? Not well defined, inconsistent. Some areas are covered but still have some holes in the model. Solid shape, however some issues that crop up. Very good shape with the occasional issue that is typically resolved very quickly. Fully optimized. Clear, consistent, and transparent rules and processes. A differentiator. Product Readiness Question Title * 8. How are you doing when it comes to ensuring that your partners are involved in the product planning process, have the tools they need to sell and support products, and are informed about product changes in a timely fashion? Nothing formal in place. A big gap. Partners are informed but at the same time customers are. No formal process to receive partner input on product requirements. We use the same tools as the direct touch teams. Product release to partner process in place. We reach out to partners from time to time for their input on product direction. Some partners tools are in place. Product launch to partners process fully developed. Partners are very involved in the product requirements-gathering process. Sales and support tools are in place. Fully optimized a strong part of our program. Partners see and feel our commitment. Organization Question Title * 9. How would you describe the state of readiness of your partner organization? Please consider your organizational structure, dedicated resources, job descriptions, geographic coverage, roles, and responsibilities Not well defined at all. A mix of dedicated partner-facing roles as well as hybrid folks doing more than one job. Some job descriptions are in place. Lots of room for improvement. Partner organization structure is basic but in place. Support personnel from other organizations are in place. Still have some gaps. Partner organization structure in place with job descriptions and clear roles and responsibilities. Support personnel from other organizations are in place and feel they are part of the partner team. We are optimized. The organizational structure, role definitions, and individual/team goals align with all the key resources required to drive growth with our partner strategy. Training Question Title * 10. Describe your state of readiness when it comes to partner training, enablement, and onboarding. Informal with no dedicated tools, systems, or processes. Basic processes in place. Tools are either leveraged from other functions or created on the fly. Solid approach to enablement and onboarding. Still some work to do to be where we want to be. A key area of focus, commitment, and investment. We are doing very well here. We are very strong in this area with industry-leading tools, content and processes for partner onboarding and enablement. Financials and Budget Question Title * 11. Please describe your state of readiness when it comes to your process and approach to budgeting for your partner program Ad hoc. Little to no formal partner program budget. Basic budget in place. Anything above that requires a special request and business case. Well-rounded budget in place. Lacking the necessary amounts in some key areas. Budget,budgeting process, and strategy are strong and well-established. Low friction when asking for funding, including incremental funds. This is an area where we are fully aligned with our CFO. There is a sense that investment in our partner program yields very positive business outcomes for our company. Executive Support Question Title * 12. Please describe how aligned and committed your executive team is with your partner program and strategy Not aligned. Gives the impression that we are not a partner company. Reactive. Execs get involved when they need to or are asked. Our execs understand the value of our partners, are always willing to meet with partners, and demonstrate our commitment to our partners when asked. Very aligned. We have a formal, proactive approach to exec engagement with partners (i.e. QBRs, events, Advisory Councils, HQ visits). Our executives are aligned in the belief that we cannot reach our goals without our partners. They are involved in our partner business and demonstrate at all times our commitment to partners. Question Title * 13. Complete the information below to immediately see your results and tailored actionable resources to bring your channel program and strategy to the next level. We'll also email them to you for future reference. Name Company Job Title Email Address Done
