How to Motivate Partners When You’re Not a Top 3 Vendor
In a crowded channel ecosystem, standing out as a smaller vendor can feel like shouting into a void. With partners juggling hundreds of vendors, how do you capture their attention and earn their trust when you’re not Cisco, Microsoft, or AWS? In a recent webinar, channel leaders Craig Patterson (SVP Global Channels, Aryaka) and Lori Cornmesser (VP Channels) shared battle-tested strategies for motivating partners as an underdog vendor. Moderated by Rachel Tuller (Head of Global Channels and Alliances), the session unpacked the challenges, partner expectations, and creative solutions for smaller players to thrive. Here’s a deep dive into their insights.
The Challenge: Breaking Through the Noise
For smaller vendors, the biggest hurdle is mindshare. Partners are bombarded daily with calls, emails, and pitches from vendors vying for their attention. As Lori Cornmesser put it, “Getting them to call you back, think about your solution, or prioritize your offering is tough when they’re dealing with hundreds of vendors.” Craig Patterson echoed this, highlighting the resourcing gap—smaller vendors often lack the budget or headcount to compete with the deep pockets and robust infrastructures of industry giants.
Beyond limited resources, smaller vendors face the challenge of building trust and proving they can deliver value to partners and their customers. Without a well-known brand or extensive marketing budgets, you’re starting from behind. So, how do you overcome these obstacles? It starts with understanding what partners truly want.
What Partners Want: Value, Trust, and Simplicity
Partners aren’t just looking for flashy incentives—they want a partnership that delivers real value. Based on the webinar and insights from partners themselves, here are the core elements partners prioritize:
Value: Partners want to grow their business. As Craig noted, “You’ve got to separate yourself by helping partners expand their opportunities.” This could mean offering demand generation programs or unique solutions that complement their portfolio.
Trust: Partners need confidence that you’ll protect their customer relationships and deliver on promises. Clear deal registration policies and consistent rules of engagement are critical to building this trust.
Superior Service: At the end of the day, partners want happy customers. Your solution must solve customer pain points effectively, ensuring partners look good for recommending you.
Support: When issues arise, partners want a vendor who picks up the phone and owns the problem. Craig emphasized, “Relationships are forged in stressful situations—be there when it counts.”
Additionally, partners crave consistency and simplicity. They want low barriers to entry, streamlined processes, and automation where possible to make working with you easy. As one partner shared, “Don’t keep changing the program—give us time to implement before introducing the next thing.”
Solutions: Getting Scrappy and Strategic
So, how do you deliver on these expectations as a smaller vendor? The panelists shared a wealth of creative, low-cost strategies to stand out and build lasting partnerships. Here are five key takeaways:
1. Be Scrappy with Enablement
Without a fancy partner portal or robust PRM system, you can still engage partners effectively. Lori shared how she’s used her smartphone to record weekly videos for partners, sharing exciting updates, case studies, or quick tips. “You don’t need a big budget to show up consistently,” she said. These personal touches keep your brand top of mind and build rapport.
For enablement, focus on accessible content like case studies, success stories, or lightweight training sessions. Even without a formal portal, sharing assets via email or simple landing pages can keep partners informed and engaged.
2. Segment Your Partners for Maximum Impact
Not all partners are created equal, and a one-size-fits-all approach won’t cut it. Craig outlined Aryaka’s five-stage segmentation strategy to tailor engagement based on where partners are in their journey:
Stage 1: Dormant—No active relationship.
Stage 2: Exploring—Partners attend a webinar or take initial steps.
Stage 3: Onboarding—Partners complete certifications or training.
Stage 4: Deal Registration—Partners actively pursue opportunities.
Stage 5: Active Selling—Partners are fully engaged and driving revenue.
By segmenting partners, you can deliver targeted messaging and incentives. For example, a dormant partner might need a compelling webinar, while a Stage 4 partner benefits from demand generation support. This approach scales whether you have 100 or 10,000 partners.
3. Create Buzz with Creative Incentives
Incentives don’t always require big budgets. Craig shared a memorable campaign where Aryaka offered custom, Aryaka-branded Jordans to engineers who completed certifications. “Engineers love educational opportunities and recognition,” he said. The campaign generated buzz as winners shared photos online, amplifying Aryaka’s brand against larger competitors.
For a bigger splash, Aryaka hosted events where partners could drive high-end cars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis. These exclusive experiences drew partners who previously ignored their calls, leading to significant wins. Lori added that FastTrack programs—offering incremental discounts or bonuses for the first 90 days—create urgency and motivate partners to act quickly.
When direct spiffs aren’t allowed (e.g., in some public sector or EMEA markets), get creative. Lori suggested hosting company-wide perks like pizza parties or holiday events, ensuring the value trickles down to individuals indirectly.
4. Leverage Distributors and Marketplaces
Distributors can be a game-changer for smaller vendors. Lori emphasized their role in partner recruitment and brand-building, especially in new markets. “Distributors make you look bigger than you are,” she said. They often have established enablement frameworks, ideal partner profiles, and technical teams that can position your solution alongside complementary offerings.
Craig shared how Aryaka is using a distributor to expand into Spain and Portugal, pairing it with targeted BDR campaigns to recruit sub-partners. Similarly, marketplaces like AWS can amplify your reach. Lori noted that while marketplaces require investment, they’re essential because “customers are buying there, so we have to be there.” A strategic marketplace presence can drive partner-sourced pipeline and establish credibility.
5. Make Data-Driven Business Cases
To secure resources from your CFO, you need to speak their language. Craig’s advice: Know your numbers. Track every campaign’s cost per lead and return on investment. “If I put a dollar into this campaign, I know how much demand gen and sales it’ll generate,” he said. Presenting a clear ROI history makes it easier to justify investments.
Lori added that private equity-backed companies often demand trade-offs. For example, reducing non-performing resellers can free up budget for new incentives. When pitching headcount versus programmatic investments, she recommends framing it as a trade-off: “Here’s what I’m giving up, here’s what we’ll gain, and here’s the best, likely, and worst-case ROI.” This structured approach builds credibility with leadership.
Building Trust Through Relationships
Ultimately, relationships are the cornerstone of partner motivation. Lori shared a story of onboarding a partner by starting with a sales or technical leader who could advocate internally. “Sometimes it’s a salesperson who stumbles across an opportunity,” she said. By highlighting the value—e.g., guaranteed 30% gross margins—and creating momentum, you can turn a single deal into a broader partnership.
Craig emphasized starting with value-driven outreach. Aryaka targets strategic partners and offers specific opportunities, like demand gen campaigns tailored to high-intent customers. Their Throttle program uses 365 days of curated content and BDR outreach to generate leads, which are then passed to Stage 4 and 5 partners, reinforcing the partnership’s value.
Key Takeaways for Underdog Vendors
Being a smaller vendor doesn’t mean you can’t compete—it means you need to be smarter, scrappier, and more strategic. Here’s how to motivate partners effectively:
Get Scrappy: Use low-cost tools like videos or case studies to stay visible.
Segment Partners: Tailor engagement based on their stage in the journey.
Incentivize Creatively: Offer unique rewards like certifications, exclusive events, or FastTrack programs.
Leverage Distributors and Marketplaces: Use their infrastructure to scale your reach.
Know Your Numbers: Build data-driven cases to secure resources.
As Craig and Lori demonstrated, underdog vendors can punch above their weight by focusing on value, trust, and relationships. By implementing these strategies, you can turn partners into advocates, even in a crowded market.
Want to dive deeper? Check out the full webinar recording for more insights, and share your own tips for motivating partners in the comments below!