Why Activating Partners Is the Real Work of Partnerships
When people think about partnerships, they often picture the big moments—signing a deal, announcing a strategic alliance, or launching a joint offering. But the truth is, the hardest and most important work happens after the ink is dry. It’s the daily grind of activating partners that truly defines the success of a partner program.
If partnerships only depended on contracts, our jobs would be easy—and frankly, obsolete. But they don’t. Activation is where the real work begins. It’s aligning with your partner’s business goals, building joint plans, and doing the hard work of bringing those plans to life.
We’re asking one company to sell a product they don’t build, don’t support, and in many cases, don’t even directly profit from. That’s not a light ask. It takes trust, commitment, and a shared sense of purpose.
Successful partnerships are built in the day-to-day. That means:
Awareness – Educating partners on your product and its value.
Campaigns – Running joint marketing that actually reaches customers.
Sales Collaboration – Supporting partner sellers with training, resources, and co-selling.
Negotiation – Working through deal terms and customer objections.
Patience and Persistence – Staying focused and committed over time.
Activation isn’t a moment. It’s a series of small, consistent actions that move the partnership forward.
Here’s where most teams go wrong: they celebrate the big events—webinars, conferences, splashy campaigns—but they don’t track the activities that led there, or whether those efforts created long-term value.
If you want to earn future investment for your partner program—whether that’s internal buy-in, budget, or headcount—you need to show more than lagging indicators like sourced revenue. You need to track the leading indicators: the projects, the meetings, the enablement sessions, the co-marketing work.
Partner teams need simple, clear tools to collaborate with partners, track their activities, and see what’s working. Without that, you’re flying blind.
Success in partnerships isn’t just about doing the work—it’s about doing the right work, together, and knowing how it connects to your goals.
So ask yourself: are you activating with intention? Are you tracking the path to success—or just hoping the results will come?
Build with purpose. Track your results. And turn your partnerships into engines of growth.