This week was the Salesforce AppExchange Partner Summit in Chicago, Illinois. Created specifically for AppExchange and ISV partners, the event provided a dedicated afternoon to network, learn, and have fun.
With five sessions focused on the Salesforce ecosystem and how partners can best work with the Salesforce team, there was an abundance of great information shared so we’re recapping some key insights from the day.
Partnership means aligning your message
One recurring message we heard at the Summit was that the best way to get the most from your Salesforce partnership is to actually treat it like a partnership. Salesforce works with a ton of partners and with that comes a lot of white noise. Tara Gonio, Senior ISV Solution Manager of Salesforce, outlined 5 key pieces to keep in mind when reaching out to your Salesforce Account Executive (AE).
- Align your message — Present your product in a way that makes sense to your Salesforce AE. Speak to how your product will not only benefit the customer, but how it complements what Salesforce is doing.
- Do your homework — The name of the game is know your audience. Are you presenting to your AE? Discuss the business benefits of your product and don’t get into the minutia. Are you talking with your SE? Explore the inner workings, and if you have a demo portal, share it.
- Focus on target accounts — Your Salesforce AE is there to help amplify you and you are there to help amplify your AE. Your AE gets hundreds of emails a day from partners asking for leads into accounts … and those by and large are ignored. Take the time to outline your ideal customer profile and choose around 20 target accounts. When you talk with your Salesforce AE, show how your combined solution addresses their problems.
- Explore the ecosystem — The easiest way to become invaluable to your Salesforce team is to show how you fill a space that Salesforce doesn’t cover. Look around and explore their solutions, technology, and speak with authority on how you both can win.
- Educate the masses — First and foremost, make sure that your listing and app are up-to-date, which means it is Lightening Ready and includes quality images as well as video. A fully built out listing is more likely to perform better than one that is either outdated or missing info. Next, once you’ve done your homework, educate your AE team on how to work and talk with Salesforce. Don’t undermine your hard work with an inexperienced team.
Tricks to Co-Selling and Growing Revenue Together
The next key piece that was discussed is how partners and Salesforce can work together to amplify their deals. Dan Dal Degan, CEO of SpringCM put it like this — the Salesforce ecosystem is so large at this point the name of the game is to bring more value and upsell to create stickiness within their accounts. If you can help them do that, then you will be set.
Conversely, because Salesforce is so large, has so many customers (over 150,000), and 3000+ AppExchange apps in addition to all the Salesforce Clouds, hearing back from AEs can seem challenging.
Understand Your Relevance
One trick outlined from the Salesforce team to get a call returned is by understanding your relevance to the customer and to the industry — once your relevancy is established, Salesforce is better able to understand how to leverage and sell your solution.
Don’t be a Bottleneck
The next trick is to not be a bottleneck once you are brought into a deal. Discuss with your AE how you can be part of the process. If you have assets and solutions at the ready to share, you will speed along the deal and help the rep close. But if you slow down the deal with improper messaging or muddy the waters by contacting the lead without letting your AE know, reps will be discouraged to choose your solution in the future and will likely pursue other avenues.
Optimize Alignment
Take advantage of all the resources you have available.
It was said multiple times in the conference — the better you align with Salesforce, the more successful you will be. This requires work on your end though. Leverage the partner community, connect with your rep regularly, and establish your authority. By taking advantage of Trailhead and earning relevant badges, Salesforce reps will trust that you have competency because they’ve had to go through the same training.
Final Thoughts
We had a great time at the first AppExchange Partner Summit! Having the insight and hearing the real-world experiences from partners and Salesforce alike showcases Salesforce’s dedication in having their partners succeed. For partners new and old, it is important to remember that when working with your Salesforce team, stay focused and explain how your partnership is greater than either solution alone. And when you are working with the Salesforce team, speak their language their way. With their myriad of partners, having a common lexicon makes it easy for the team to quickly and accurately understand what you do and how you do it.
Are you thinking about becoming a Salesforce partner, but aren’t sure of where to start? Check out our series Get Onboard with the AppExchange.
Or if you are ready to get started today, get in contact and see how we help SaaS businesses thrive on the Salesforce AppExchange.
