Woke, broke, stoke(d)

If you want to talk to sellers as a partner pro, you’ve got to use their language.

So you either have to learn that language or you have to connect them to people who already speak their language.

Luke Ruffing, a successful nearbound Seller, has been explaining nearbound to other Sellers using a woke → broke → stoked formula.

Check out more posts like this.

Sellers want simple, to-the-point, action-oriented information.

Use this post as an example of what good nearbound communication with your sellers looks like.

Present partner strategy to CxOs & the Board

Nelson Wang (your partnership mentor 😉) shared how he presents partner strategy to CxOs and the board for decacorns ($10B+) and a unicorn ($3.8B) to get executive alignment and resource allocation.

In one sentence, he: leverages the Amazon memo approach.

Step one: You write a business memo outlining the partner strategy in a Google doc. This forces you to write with clarity, brevity, and data.

To write like an Amazonian, you must:

• Instead of using adjectives like “fantastic” or “great,” write with concrete data to make your points.

• Focus on one idea per sentence and keep it short (aim for less than 30 words per sentence)

• Make sure you do the “So what?” test for each of your points

• If needed, what action do you want to CxO or board to take or make a decision on?

Step two: Send this memo in advance as a pre-read.

They’ll mark it up with comments and questions.

Step three: Everyone reads it in silence in the room together. This ensures everyone actually reads it.

Nelson explains the beauty of this approach is that it gives your executives the opportunity to give you feedback on what they view as priorities.

Then, it’s down to practice, practice, practice.

Practice keeps you sharp.

And to make it even easier for you to present, Nelson’s built a well-structured narrative and partner strategy deck that’s customer-centric. It’s called “The Partner Strategy Deck Template.”

Get it here.

Read more from Nelson in the Ultimate Partner Manager Library here.

CRO at Apollo tells it to Sellers straight

Leandra Fishman, CRO at Apollo, explains there are only 3 things that get her to open emails from sales people.

Check out the post.

And every decisionmaker we’ve talked to agrees.

You cut through the noise by leveraging relationships and intel you’ve gained from relationships.

That’s it.

Nearbound sales tactics aren’t “nice to have.” They’re necessary.

And if you want more proof, read through Ebsta and Pavilion’s B2B Sales Benchmark report where they show that only 31% of Sellers hit quota in 2023, and the ones that did leveraged relationships and intel to do so.

Welcome to the 31%

Sellers leveraging nearbound tactics are the only ones still hitting quota in 2024. Read Ebsta and Pavilion’s B2B Sales Benchmark report for more.

Help other partner leaders present better

Nelson Wang’s tips on presenting were awesome! Share this with a partner leader to help them present better.